Convenience is everything these days, and anything that can make our lives even a little simpler is much sought after. Google has aided the cause by introducing through Google Assistant to the world.
Google Assistant is a very popular service, with it being installed on over 400 million user devices, which includes a vast majority of Android devices and smart speakers. However, despite its popularity, a lot of the features offered by the voice assistant are not widely known by the general populous.
To maximise your Google Assistant’s full potential, here’s a guide on all the voice commands that you may have missed about the virtual assistant.
Splitting a restaurant bill
Group meals are normally happy occasions where you get to hang out with friends and chat about the latest happenings over piping hot food. Such situations eventually get soured when someone foots the bill on behalf of everyone and has to chase them to pay their share.
Google Assistant can ease the process by helping you to remind your friend about that $3.50 Roasted Pork Rice that he forgot to pay you for. Simply make this request via your Google Assistant to ask for money back, and your friend will receive an email notification, so no more excuses!
“Hey Google, request Andrea to pay me $15”
Alternatively, you too can pay your debts by asking Google Assistant to send money over. The money can be deducted from either your debit card or Google Pay balance. You’re good to go as soon as you have verified the transaction.
“Hey Google, send Brandon $4.20”
Remembering where you left things
Lose things easily? It’s a common problem for most people – you think you left your things at a certain place but it’s not there. Well, you don’t have to worry about that anymore with the help of the Google Assistant.
Just tell the voice assistant to help you remember where you’ve put the item and they’ll remember it for you. If you’ve forgotten about it, Google Assistant will help jog your memory.
“Hey Google, remember that I left my keys on the dining table.”
“Hey Google, where did I put my keys?”
This doesn’t just extend to remembering where you’ve left your personal belongings. You can also ask Google Assistant to help remind you to take your medication at a specific time, or take note of a change of meeting plans with a friend. Either way, it will prove very useful for absent-minded folks.
Getting your game back on track
Monopoly, The Game of Life, Yu-Gi-Oh! – these are classic games that we have played at one point or another in our lives. Sometimes we want to bring back the nostalgia and dust these babies up to play just one more game. But wait, we are missing a game piece! All is lost!
Not to worry, for Google Assistant has your back. It can act as a virtual game piece so that you can continue your game. Need to roll a die? No problem. You can even customise the type of die too. Now you can go back to enjoying your game like it was the ’90s again.
“Hey Google, roll a 12-sided die”
Entertainment for the lonely soul
Speaking of games, did you know that Google Assistant has its own selection of games in its library? It even has its own trivia games as well as a ‘choose your own adventure’ games! Why watch How to be a Millionaire when you can be a contestant yourself?
“Hey Google, play Lucky Trivia”
“Hey Google, play Castle Master”
Of course, you may want to play something more suitable for adults. Google Assistant’s library also has games like Blackjack for you to test your luck. Tell Google Assistant that you’ll like to play a certain game and they’ll immediately start it up. The full list of games can be found here: https://assistant.google.com/explore/c/5/ .
“Hey Google, play Blackjack”
You may play this solo or with a friend to see who is the ultimate game master. Have fun!
Need a virtual wisecracker or inspirational speaker?
Sometimes we feel a little down and need something to perk us up. Well, Google Assistant may not be a comedian, but hopefully, some of its jokes will have an effect on you.
“Hey Google, what does the fox say?”
You can even tweak it to add some local flavour by asking for a joke from Singapore.
“Hey Google, tell me a Singaporean joke”
The Google Assistant is also quite witty and it might surprise you by including a recent trend. It’s sure to lighten your mood! No prescription for the Great clown Pagliacci needed.
“Hey Google, make me a sandwich”
Maybe you need some inspiration to start your day right – nothing is more motivating than a good quote. Let Google Assistant be your philosopher for the day and inspire you to finish that assignment that’s due in three hours.
“Hey Google, tell me a quote”
The ultimate smart home voice controls
You see these sci-fi films in the cinema and you’re thinking about how cool it is that the characters can control their homes just with their voice. Well, that is no longer a fantasy. The future of smart homes is here and in the palm of your hands.
This needs a certain amount of preparation before you can get it to work. Your home needs to be equipped with smart-enabled light bulbs, switches and electronics in order for Google Assistant to execute the command. Consult the stores first before purchasing to make sure that your home is viable for the change. Once you’ve replaced your bulbs with shiny smart ones, your home has transformed into a bonafide smart home!
“Hey Google, switch off the lights”
“Hey Google, turn the lights green”
“Hey Google, turn on the TV”
Should you want to feel like a modern-day Blade Runner, you can also customise your assistant to do a specific list of things for your home just by uttering a phrase. Have a daily routine of reading the papers under the balcony lights in the early morning? Edit the Google assistant to turn on just the balcony lights and to read the news to you.
“Hey Google, good morning”
Speaker system extraordinaire
Google Home is an excellent speaker and they aren’t that expensive, so it isn’t impossible to find more than one in a house.
If you’ve got multiple devices in your house, you can use them as an announcement system for your family. Tell Google Assistant to broadcast your message and it’ll sound it out for your whole family to hear it. You can also customize it to play music along with your message just to add that little bit of cheer.
“Hey Google, broadcast I’m home”
“Hey Google, broadcast sleep time”
“Hey Google, broadcast the show is about to start”
Multi-task master
If you own another Google device, the Chromecast, you can also make use of it in combination with the Google Assistant to multi-task to great effect.
Ask the assistant to broadcast that cat video you just saw on the TV screen so that you show your whole family.
“Hey Google, play this video on the Chromecast”
“Hey Google, play this song on the Chromecast”
Listen to summarised articles from DANAMIC
Google Assistant has integrated apps in order to help you stay connected to your favourite services or platforms. These include news apps like CNBC and the Sky Sports which can deliver news to you within seconds.
In fact, we too have our own news service app! Keep up with our latest content and coverage by asking Google Assistant the following voice command:
“Hey Google, Talk to DANAMIC briefing”
From here, you can ask about the latest content that is currently live on our site from any of our verticals: Arts, Tech, Music, Gaming, Longform etc. Google Assistant will then read the headline to you, together with a brief summary of the article.
If one of these articles has piqued your interest and you need to find out more, just ask the assistant to e-mail you a link to the article. Now you won’t get to miss out on quality content whenever we post new stuff!
As you can see, the Google Assistant has a multitude of features that help speed up your daily routine, even if it’s just a tiny bit. We hope this guide has proved useful to you in saving you extra time to enjoy more important moments in your life.
danamic.’s interactive Google Action was created by Vecgraph, an agency specialising in the development of voice apps. For more information, visit the agency’s website at https://www.vecgraph.com/.
Photos by Soloman Soh and Goh Jing Wen of the DANAMIC team
