Google Assistant’s quick phrases will soon replace “Hey Google” hotword

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Sometime in April, a strange “voice shortcuts” page appeared for some users under Google Assistant’s settings page. This page directed users to an internal Google documentation for a new feature code-named guacamole. 

Few months after this hint in June 2021, we learned that that the new feature would be called “quick phrases” and it would allow users to bypass the “Hey Google” hotword for simple voice interactions. 

Now, more details have emerged about this new Google Assistant feature and how it would work.

According to 9to5Google, the new feature tagged Quick phrases will allow you to perform several tasks without having to mention “Hey Google”. For instance, if you want to ask the Google Assistant about the weather, there won't be any need to say the usual “Hey Google” first. Instead, you can just say “What’s the weather?” and the Google Assistant would understand and give the response.

Screenshots revealed by 9to5Google show how Quick phrases will be divided across various categories such as Recommended, Alarms, Connect, General info, Lights, Media Controls, Timers, and To-Dos.

The following Quick phrases are already being added by Google (some Phones running the latest versions for Android OS already have these latest feature):

1. Skip tracks: “Skip this song”
2. Set timers: “Set a timer for 2 minutes”
3. Set alarms: “Set an alarm for 7 a.m.”
4. Cancel alarms: “Cancel the alarm”
5. Show alarms: “What time is my alarm set for?”
6. Send broadcasts: “Send a broadcast”
7. Respond to calls: “Answer” & “Decline”
8. Ask about time: “What time is it?”
9. Ask about weather: “What’s the weather?”
10. Cancel timers: “Cancel the timer”
11. Pause & resume timers: “Pause the timer”
12. Reset timers: “Reset the timer”
13. Show timers: “How much time is left?”
14. Reminders: “Create a reminder”
15. Family notes: “Create a family note”
16. Turn lights on & off: “Turn the lights on”
17. Turn lights up & down: “Increase the brightness”
18. Control volume: “Turn up the volume”
19. Pause & resume music: “Pause the music”

The Quick phrases feature is still at the beta stage and hasn’t been rolled out to all users yet. It’s unclear whether the feature will be limited to newer Nest speakers and smart displays or if it will be available on older Google Home speakers as well.

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