{"id":153956,"date":"2021-01-13T14:23:07","date_gmt":"2021-01-13T11:23:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/what-is-google-assistant-and-what-can-it-do\/"},"modified":"2021-01-13T14:23:07","modified_gmt":"2021-01-13T11:23:07","slug":"what-is-google-assistant-and-what-can-it-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-google-assistant-and-what-can-it-do\/","title":{"rendered":"#What Is Google Assistant, and What Can It Do?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2717cded257\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2717cded257\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-google-assistant-and-what-can-it-do\/#A_Brief_History\" >A Brief History<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-google-assistant-and-what-can-it-do\/#What_Can_Google_Assistant_Do\" >What Can Google Assistant Do?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-google-assistant-and-what-can-it-do\/#Is_Google_Assistant_Always_Listening\" >Is Google Assistant Always Listening?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-is-google-assistant-and-what-can-it-do\/#Google_Assistant_Privacy_Controls\" >Google Assistant Privacy Controls<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><strong>&#8220;#What Is Google Assistant, and What Can It Do?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-692897\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/google-assistant-hero.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>In a world filled with virtual assistants, Google Assistant is one name you probably recognize. The market is full of Google Assistant-enabled devices, but what exactly is it, what does it do, and should you use it?<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_Brief_History\"><\/span>A Brief History<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Google Assistant had very humble beginnings. It debuted in May 2016 as part of Google\u2019s new messaging <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>,\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Google_Allo\">Allo<\/a>, and the original Google Home speaker. The speaker is where the Assistant\u2019s abilities first really shined. People could simply use their voice to access Google\u2019s vast knowledge base.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_693067\" style=\"width: 411px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-693067 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/GA_Contextual-1.gif\" alt=\"A voice command being sent to Google Assistant in the Allo app on a phone. \" width=\"411\" height=\"640\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Google Assistant in Allo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Shortly after its initial release, Google Assistant launched as a built-in feature on the original Google Pixel smartphones. A few months later, it started to arrive on other Android smartphones and Wear OS smartwatches. By 2017, Google Assistant had launched as an app for the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/google-assistant\/id1220976145\">iPhone<\/a> and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/google-assistant\/id1220976145\">iPad<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Google Assistant is now the successor of the company\u2019s previous virtual assistant, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Google_Now\">Google Now<\/a>. While Google Now focused primarily on surfacing information without your input, the Assistant added the important capability of having two-way conversations.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_397535\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-397535 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/hub2.jpg\" alt=\"google home hub\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" data-credittext=\"Josh Hendrickson\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Google Nest Hub <span class=\"imagecredit\">Josh Hendrickson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The virtual assistant was mainly only available on smartphones and smart speakers for the first few years. But in 2018, Google Assistant branched out to devices with displays. Google Assistant can now be found in phones, speakers, cars, smart displays, watches, and home devices, and more.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Can_Google_Assistant_Do\"><\/span>What Can Google Assistant Do?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Google Assistant has a long list of features and abilities. At its most basic level, it answers questions. You can ask simple things, like, \u201cWhat\u2019s the capital of Michigan?\u201d or \u201cHow old is Michael Jordan?\u201d When you perform a Google search on your computer or phone, you\u2019ll often see a box at the top of the results\u2014this is where Google Assistant gets its answers.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-693071\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/google-knowledge-graph.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"361\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Google Assistant is even more useful when it comes to personal results. If you allow it to access your Google account and other services, it can provide more than just <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a> information. For example, you can ask if you have any events on your calendar, get the local weather forecast, send text messages, and more.<\/p>\n<p>Google Assistant is also incredibly useful with smart-home devices. It can communicate with a number of popular smart home brands, including Philips Hue, SmartThings, Nest, Ring, WeMo, and many more. Just look for the \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/9to5google.com\/2020\/07\/08\/works-with-hey-google\/\">Works with Hey Google<\/a>\u201d or \u201cWorks with Google Assistant\u201d logo.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, it also connects with other Google products, like the\u00a0Chromecast.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_693069\" style=\"width: 639px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-693069 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/works-with-google-logo.jpg\" alt=\"works with google\" width=\"639\" height=\"243\" data-credittext=\"Philips\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\">Philips<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>After you connect any of these devices, you can then control them via Google Assistant. That means you can say \u201cHey Google, turn off the lights,\u201d or, \u201cHey Google, watch ESPN on living room TV.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another thing that comes with smart-home integration is the Google Home app (<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.google.android.apps.chromecast.app\">Android<\/a>\/<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/google-home\/id680819774\">iPhone<\/a>\/<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/google-home\/id680819774\">iPad<\/a>), which becomes your central hub for all the devices.<\/p>\n<p>Physical devices are only one part of Google Assistant\u2019s vast library of skills. It can also connect with apps and web services. You can use it to make a grocery list, read recipes aloud, listen to radio stations or <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> headlines, and so much more.<\/p>\n<p>Google Assistant can also do all of these things on smartphones and tablets. Additionally, it can open apps on your device, read notifications aloud, make calls, send texts, and more. Even without all the fancy smart speakers and home devices, Google Assistant is a handy tool.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_693047\" style=\"width: 320px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-693047 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/ezgif.com-gif-maker-1.gif\" alt=\"A scrolling list of the settings in Google Assistant.\" width=\"320\" height=\"560\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Google Assistant can do \u2026 <em>a lot<\/em>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A complete list of Google Assistant\u2019s capabilities is far too long to cover here. Most people won\u2019t ever use even half of the things it can do. The great thing about that, though, is it can likely do something useful for anyone.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Is_Google_Assistant_Always_Listening\"><\/span>Is Google Assistant Always Listening?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>One of the biggest concerns about Google Assistant is how much it \u201clistens\u201d to you. When you think about how it works, it makes sense that it\u2019s \u201calways listening.\u201d After all, if it wasn\u2019t, how would it hear your voice commands?<\/p>\n<p>The good thing is you don\u2019t have to use the \u201cOK Google\u201d command to launch Google Assistant. Devices that rely on voice input (like smart speakers) do require this, but many other devices do not.<\/p>\n<p>For example, if you use Assistant on your phone, you can turn off the \u201cOK Google\u201d detection setting and only launch it manually. Some devices also include physical mute switches, so you can turn off their listening capability.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_693072\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-693072 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/google-nest-mini.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"334\" data-credittext=\"Google\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\">Google<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>However, if you do use voice commands to wake Google Assistant, it <em>is<\/em> always listening. The important thing, though, is it isn\u2019t always\u00a0<em>recording<\/em>. Google Assistant only records\u00a0when it hears the \u201cOK Google\u201d or \u201cHey Google\u201d commands.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s similar to how dogs understand language. They can be trained to recognize their name and other commands. They also have ears, though, so while they hear everything you say, they only actually understand a few words.<\/p>\n<p>Google Assistant is always listening, but unless you use the magic words, it won\u2019t record or understand anything you say.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>How (and Why) to Opt-In to Google Recording Storage<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Google_Assistant_Privacy_Controls\"><\/span>Google Assistant Privacy Controls<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Even when you know Google Assistant doesn\u2019t record\u00a0everything, you might still be uncomfortable with what it does record.<\/p>\n<p>The good news is Google has several tools to help you control what Google Assistant saves about you. You can even use Google Assistant to delete your activity. Below are a few examples of commands you can use to do this:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cHey Google, delete my last conversation.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cHey Google, delete today\u2019s activity.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cHey Google, delete this week\u2019s activity.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>To dive even deeper, visit the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/activity.google.com\/product\/assistant\">Assistant activity page<\/a> in your Google account. There are options to delete your activity automatically after 3, 18, or 36 months.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-693068\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/activity-delete.jpg\" alt=\"turn on auto delete\" width=\"667\" height=\"318\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re concerned about privacy, utilizing these tools can allow you to take advantage of Google Assistant\u2019s features, while still maintaining some control over what it records.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p>Google Assistant is an extremely powerful and complex product, which makes it both incredibly useful and slightly disconcerting. It can definitely make your life easier, but you\u2019ll have to make some privacy concessions. It\u2019s up to you whether that trade-off is worth it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>How to Stop Your Google Home From Recording All Your Conversations<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. 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The market is full of Google Assistant-enabled devices, but what exactly is it, what does it do, and should you use it? A Brief History Google Assistant had very humble beginnings&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":153957,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/google-assistant-hero.png?height=200p","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-153956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153956"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153956\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}