Google is bringing the handy Continued Conversation tools to the Google Assistant on Smart Displays. Owners of devices like the firm’s Home Hub will be able to engage in more natural chats with the Assistant without yelling “Hey, Google!” all the time.
The feature, which is rolling out to the Smart Displays in the United States initially, has been available on speakers like the Google Home for some time now, so it’s good to see Google extending the feature.
Continued Conversation effectively means that the microphone will continue listening for a little while (eight seconds) after each response in order to catch follow-up questions. So, if you want to ask “Hey, Google! How’s the weather today” you can follow up afterwards by saying “and what about tomorrow?” To get the forecast for the next day too.
Related: Google Home Hub review
That serves two masters. It means you don’t have to awkwardly use “Hey, Google” again and you don’t have to go through the whole spiel of requesting the weather again. Once you’ve completed the conversation you can end it by saying “thank you,” “thanks Google,” or “I’m done” and the mic will stop listening.
The tool also works with multiple people, meaning if one voice in the house asks the question, another can follow up with a follow up.
The news was leaked yesterday when Android Police revealed Continued Conversation had become available on Smart Displays within the Home app. Now Google has made it official, with the feature coming to all available smart displays.
In an updated support document, the company wrote: “Continued Conversations is currently available in English (US) across all Smart Displays, including the Google Home Hub, Lenovo Smart Display, JBL Link View and LG XBOOM AI ThinQ WK9.”
Are you a convert to the Google Home Hub devices? Do they provide the necessary leap in functionality over the Google Home speaker? Let us know @TrustedReviews on Twitter.
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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.
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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.