Google Home now boasts multi-account support, enabling it to tailor responses for up to six people through individual voice recognition.
In a hugely significant update announced on Thursday, the firm revealed users asking “Ok, Google. How does my day look?” will receive a personalised response, addressing each user by name.
Related: Google Home review
That functionality will extend to personalised playlists, commute time, news briefings and other preferences established within the Google Home app.
Check it out in the video below:
In order to set up the device for shared account use, Google is asking owners to look out for a card that says “multi-user available” within the latest version of the Home app.
From here, under the Devices list, they’ll have an option to “Link your account” and teach Google Assistant to understand their dulcet tones.
Google explains: “So how does it work? When you connect your account on a Google Home, we ask you to say the phrases “Ok Google” and “Hey Google” two times each. Those phrases are then analyzed by a neural network, which can detect certain characteristics of a person’s voice.
“From that point on, any time you say “Ok Google” or “Hey Google” to your Google Home, the neural network will compare the sound of your voice to its previous analysis so it can understand if it’s you speaking or not.
Unfortunately, it’s only available to US Google Home owners from today, but it’ll roll out to early adopters in the UK “in the coming months.”
Although Google Home impressed us upon an early review, it has struggled to live up to the functionality of the Amazon Echo, which is currently further along in its development.
Individual voice recognition represents a hugely compelling reason for people hoping to use the speaker as an assistant in shared living spaces.
Does this news steer you closer to a Google Home purchase? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
