Google Assistant and its beneficial voice commands have found a special place in our hearts and for good reason. With automation, timely execution, and a more productive lifestyle in general, what’s there to not love?
But there’s Google Assistant on your smartphone, on your television, and in your car? Why are there so many Google Assistants when you only need one? Due to the linked nature of the Google ecosystem, people tend to get confused as to how to properly use it and how smart home devices can benefit from Google Voice integration.
Don’t worry, as we have compiled information regarding this and put it in one place. Continue to read the definitive and ultimate how-to guide for Google Voice integration into smart home devices.
What Is Voice Integration?
To clear up your confusion, let’s begin with the most straightforward question. Voice integration is the act of using voice recognition software in tandem with a platform to execute commands. This is the fundamental workings that make your virtual assistants tick.
The process is far from complete and does occasionally falter, but Google’s implementation has reached a respectable accuracy in the English language.
Virtual Assistants
Indeed, virtual assistants are the prime implementation of voice integration. By giving you a secondary method of input on various smart devices, both your productivity and ease of use are enhanced by magnitudes. This provides you with the ability to give commands to your smart home system in a far more natural and more relaxed manner.
Google Assistant is the main driving force behind the Google smart living ecosystem. Alternatives are Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, Microsoft’s Cortana, and many more.
Getting Started
Whether you have a Google Home, a Home Mini, or any other Google Assistant device, you can get a lot more out of it by making it your smart home control point. Google smart home is very versatile, with support for over 10,000 devices across approximately 1,000 brands.
Getting a smart hub or speaker would be the best option since using either, you can have a device dedicated to the management of your other smart home devices. This way, everyone in the house can adjust the settings according to their preferences without having to fuss over someone’s smartphone, though a smartphone works just fine too.
For users concerned about their privacy, you can take a look at Google’s privacy and data collection policies to learn more about what it uses your data for and what it retains. We go more in-depth in our article on privacy and what data or voice are recorded and where it is being used. You can check it out here.
Personalization
Google Assistant can save the profiles of multiple family members and respond accordingly whenever it detects any one of them. This is entirely optional, but partaking in this feature will give family members access to a schedule that is exclusive to them.
Pick a Set Location
You will want to put the device where you and your family need it the most since it is likely to be frequently in use. The ideal spot would be somewhere the device can easily detect sound from. Placing it somewhere in the kitchen is extremely helpful when you need to be walked through recipes or listen to some background music.
Large houses might need multiple units to cover the entire area, but it is best to get used to a single device before buying more. No need to worry about overlapping, though, since even if multiple devices hear you, only the one in closest proximity will respond.
Setting Up Smart Gadgets
Now, here’s where the real fun begins. Smart home devices are all the rage these days. Luckily, Google Assistant supports most of them. There are thousands of products ranging from lighting and thermostats to doorbells and even security systems.
Whatever you have installed or want to install, you can link it up with the control device. You will now have complete remote access to all these devices.
Synchronization
Before being able to use smart home items with your Google Assistant device, you will have to complete a simple setup process. This gets more tedious, the more smart home products you have, but it’s all worth it in the end.
After completing the setup procedure and connecting devices to the internet, open the Google Home app, click the Add button, and select Set Up Device. Now, click the Works with Google option. Next, choose your device from the given list and name your device. Just be sure to call it something you can accurately remember since more smart home gadgets mean more names. The settings for each device can be personalized for different members of the family.
Rooms and Routines
To make categorization easier, you can add smart gadgets to rooms and group routines together. Doing so will allow you to turn multiple smart devices on or off simultaneously. The best part about this feature is that you won’t need to remember individual device names. Just use categories to make everything simpler.
Routines add even more convenience. You can control multiple devices using grouped commands. Go over to the Routines tab, tap on Manage Routines, and click Add. By doing so, you can program Google Assistant to respond to any uttered phrase like, ‘Good morning,’ ‘I’m off,’ or, ‘I’m home.’
Routines can be fully automated as well, instead of using voice commands every time. Routines can tell you the weather, play music and podcasts, and even play messages on other smart devices.
Functions
Here are some of the things you can do with Google Assistant:
- Filter or screen calls to block annoying spammers and scammers
- Search the internet for news or facts
- Play music on your speakers
- Make the Google Assistant read a book or page for you
- Ask Google Assistant to tell you a joke or trivia or play simple games
- Record calls for when you want a log of what you talked about with someone
- Send emails
- Set up alarms and reminders according to your work schedule
That covers the bulk of it. Your home integration of Google Voice with your smart home gadgets is now complete. You can continuously improve your routines and automation over time as you see fit. As you learn more about the customization, you will be able to add much more creative commands and routines.
