Google on Thursday announced that an exciting new Google Assistant feature first demoed at I/O 2018 in May is ready to roll out to US users. Called Continued Conversations, the new feature will let speak multiple commands in a way that mimics real-life conversations between two people.
That’s a pretty huge advancement for the Assistant, as you won’t need to say the usual “Hey Google” before each interaction with a smart speaker, as long as all the questions and commands are issued during the same exchange.
So how does this all work? Well, you still have to say “Hey Google,” “OK Google,” or press a physical button to wake the Assistant. Once that’s done, you can have a continuous conversation with the Assistant until you say “thank you” or “stop.” Google offered one such exchange as an example:
So next time you wake up and the skies are grey, just ask “Hey Google, what’s the weather today?”… “And what about tomorrow?”… “Can you add a rain jacket to my shopping list”… “And remind me to bring an umbrella tomorrow morning”…“Thank you!”
The Assistant will stay active for eight seconds at most if it does not detect any new conversation, and the LEDs will be turned on for the entire duration of the conversation to let you know it’s recording. Obviously, if it recognizes that you’re issuing additional commands, it’ll continue to stay active.
To enable Continued Conversation, you’ll have to go to the Assistant Settings on at least one device, then Preferences, and then Continued Conversation. Once you’ve activated it, the feature will be available on all smart speakers set up under your account.
If you want to review your interactions with Assistant, you’ll be able to do it inside Google’s online My Activity section.
