Since the introduction of Google Assistant seven years ago, we have witnessed the remarkable transformation of voice technology in the way we accomplish tasks both at home and work. Today, Assistant assists hundreds of millions of people worldwide in completing their to-do lists.
Over the years, we have strived to make it easier for you to complete your tasks with Assistant, largely based on your valuable feedback. To continue enhancing your experience and creating the best Assistant possible, we are implementing several changes to prioritize quality and reliability, ultimately making it more convenient to use Assistant across various devices.
Our focus on making Google Assistant more helpful involves prioritizing the experiences you love and investing in the underlying technology to enhance them further. Consequently, some less frequently used features will no longer be supported. You can find a list of these features, along with alternative suggestions where available. Starting January 26, when you request one of these features, you may receive a notification that it will no longer be available after a specific date.
We are also streamlining the experience within the Google app by having the microphone icon trigger Search results in response to your queries, as it is the most popular use case. You can continue to activate Assistant using the familiar methods: simply say “Hey Google,” long press on the home or power button (on select phones) on Android, or open the Google Assistant app on iOS. However, the microphone icon in the Search bar will no longer be functional for actions such as “turn on the lights” or “send a message.” This applies to the microphone in the Pixel Search bar, which will now activate Voice Search instead of Assistant. To ensure access to the latest version of Google Assistant, you will be prompted to update the Google app if you are using an older version (v12 and older).
We understand that change can be disruptive but we are committed to making these transitions as seamless as possible. While Google Assistant has undergone significant evolution over the past seven years, our improvements are driven by your feedback, and we want to hear it. Simply say, “Hey Google, send feedback,” and share your comments with us.
