Google appears to be mashing up a tasty new feature for Google Assistant. As spotted by Android Police, the company is readying a feature codenamed ‘Guacamole‘ that will let you talk to the Google Assistant without actually having to say ‘Hey Google.’
At this point, it’s not just a leak or rumor — several people have noticed the Guacamole right in their Assistant settings, including yours truly.
Tapping on this setting leads to a menu called ‘Voice shortcuts’ with a subtitle that says one can “skip saying ‘Hey Google‘ for help with quick tasks.
Unfortunately, toggling the feature doesn’t seem to do anything at this point, and the link provided doesn’t work.
Assistant users could already access some voice functionality without saying ‘Hey Google.’ For example, you can ask repeated questions and hold ‘conversations’ without repeating the wake word, and you can turn off alarms and timers on Nest devices by simply saying ‘stop’ once they start ringing.
But according to 9to5Google, Guacamole will take Google’s AI chops to another level. The aforementioned quick tasks will include stopping and snooze alarms on your phone and answering or decline calls.
No other features were mentioned, but still, it’s a start towards more natural conversations with Google Assistant.
The guacamole was supposed to be exclusive to Google employees testing the functionality, so someone must’ve screwed up the rollout. Still, with Google I/O happening next month, there’s a good chance we’ll hear more about this tasty feature then.
Thomas Burn
Thomas Burn is a blogger, digital marketing expert and working with Techlofy. Being a social media enthusiast, he believes in the power of writing.