Google Assistant’s future is likely in question at the moment, thanks to layoffs in the department at the search giant and also because of another cut-related announcement. Google shared this week that it is removing a bunch of features from Google Assistant, as well as its smart devices, like Google Home and Nest Home products. Is this the beginning of the end for Assistant as we know it or a re-focus on making it good again? Only time will tell.
GOOGLE ASSISTANT FEATURES CUT: In a short blog post, Google explained that they will try to “continue to make Google Assistant more helpful” by “prioritizing the experiences you love and investing in the underlying technology to make them even better,” which means removing a bunch of features that are supposedly underutilized. There are 17 features in a list provided on a Google Support page that touch on everything from stopwatches to using your voice to send audio messages or emails. Some of the features do seem like few would use them, but removing all of the recipe and cooking follow-along features from smart displays seems odd, as that is one of their most useful in-the-kitchen features.
Here’s the full list of Google Assistant features that are going away:
- Playing and controlling audiobooks on Google Play Books with your voice. You can still cast audiobooks from your mobile device.
- Setting or using media alarms, music alarms, or radio alarms on Google Assistant enabled devices. You can create a custom Routine that has similar behavior or use a standard alarm.
- Accessing or managing your cookbook, transferring recipes from device to device, playing an instructional recipe video, or showing step-by-step recipes. You can use Google Assistant to search for recipes across the web and YouTube.
- Managing a stopwatch on Smart Displays and Speakers. You can still set timers and alarms.
- Using your voice to call a device or broadcast a message to your Google Family Group. You can still broadcast to devices in your home.
- Using your voice to send an email, video or audio message. You can still make calls and send text messages.
- Rescheduling an event in Google Calendar with your voice. You can still schedule a new event.
- Using App Launcher in Google Assistant driving mode on Google Maps to read and send messages, make calls, and control media. You can still use voice control on Google Maps the same way.
- Asking to schedule or hear previously scheduled Family Bell announcements. You can create a custom Routine that has similar behavior.
- Asking to meditate with Calm. You can still ask for meditation options with media providers such as YouTube.
- Voice control for activities will no longer be available on Fitbit Sense and Versa 3 devices. You’ll need to use the buttons on your device to start, stop, pause, and resume activities. You can still voice control activities on Pixel Watches.
- Viewing your sleep summaries will only be available on Google Smart Displays. You can still ask for sleep details by voice on third-party smart clocks.
- Calls made from speakers and Smart Displays will not show up with a caller ID unless you’re using Duo.
- Viewing the ambient “Commute to Work” time estimates on Smart Displays. You can still ask for commute times and get directions by voice.
- Checking personal travel itineraries by voice. You can still ask for flight status.
- Asking for information about your contacts. You can still make calls to your contacts.
- Asking to take certain actions by voice, such as send a payment, make a reservation, or post to social media. You can still ask Assistant to open your installed apps.
You’ll notice that some of the features being removed have alternatives or suggestions to replace them, but not all. Some of these features are just going away for good. We hope these changes won’t make you run for the garbage immediately and can find some alternative use for the hardware. Maybe play some soothing music?
These changes (or cuts) will start around January 26. If you use the features mentioned above, you could see or hear a notification about their end date.
It appears that most of the soon to be deleted features could be construed as a security or privacy risk. CYA Google.
It doesn’t address me by my set name anymore. I miss that slight pause after a routine and my name. A tiny human touch but one none the less.
More Like Bungle Assistant. Ask my Hub Any traffic Delays…Time to put it back in the box and bring it to Goodwill.
These sounds like features that are better served behind a true AI paywall.
Can’t they just ask Bard to maintain them?
Make Assistant Great Again lol. On another note, isn’t it time to get Huawei back in the mix here in the US?
Google speakers are getting worse though right? I feel like they’re slow compared to Amazon’s, and features just keep going away, but I don’t hear really of any new ones being added. I can’t cast peacock to my screens lately either. Some of the restrictions on casting music lately, and just some of the overall clumsiness….sad.
January 12th
Me: Hey Google, remind me I have a Dr.’s appointment on January 26th
Google: All right doctor’s appointment. This will be for January 26th at what time?
Me: 11am
Google: sure, I’ll remind you tomorrow at 11:00 a.m.
Me: ?????
This drives me insane. It used to not do this ????
Not to mention stuff they’ve already cut. When they dropped 3rd party list integration, I started looking for something else…
I’ve used maybe 1 of these features in the 6 years I’ve had these, so I see how they weren’t used. When you compare to Homepod Siri and Alexa, Google threw everything and the kitchen sink into Assistant to see what would get used. The reality is, most people just wanted some timers, alarms, YouTube videos, music streaming, and maybe to stream their doorbell or Nest cameras.
I really miss the “Let me talk to…” to get things done with 3rd party apps, but most abandoned them because of low and no use, or straight up were difficult to use because the tech wasn’t there. Like I’d hoped that “Let me talk to Dom” meant that I could have a natural conversation to order a pizza, but that was NEVER the case. Maybe features like these will come back when companies integrate GenAI. I created a GPT that can basically handle half the emails I get at work, so I’m sure companies will be able to work on this with Gemini Advanced at some point.
Just reminds me of everything else Google has sunset. I can’t beleive they’d remove features we already have. So frustrating and disapointing and it makes me lose faith in everything they have. What else will they take away.
Microsoft does this all the time also. Not sure what Amazons track record is.
There’s still a gaping hole where Google Reader used to live in my heart. It’s like an abusive relationship with them. They keep laying on the sugar just to take the sugar bowl away yet we keep coming back.
It’s all just preparation for “Assistant with Bard”. (so we tell ourselves)
Oh like they killed Reader because they wanted everyone to use Google+. Don’t need to say how well THAT went.
This is very disappointing. I think it might be time to switch to Apple products… I am sick of Google selling devices and services, then nerfing them or completely shuttering them. ugh…
Funny that you say that because that’s been my thinking recently.
Very bad news, also, did they not get the message that Duo is called Meet these days??
I guess this also ends the hope that these devices would get access to Bard instead of the Assistant.
Just in time for a new AI assistant that is much better
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e023dca0878af72f532ebf92c24b645c794da307e028d3fee8e662176f886e76.jpg
Luckily I don’t do any of those things but I can see how they could be useful. It’s certainly dumb to remove functionality.
So you can use broadcast to home devices in your home, but you can’t use your phone to broadcast?
my lenovo smart display is becoming more and more useless by the day. It had plenty of features couple years ago, now its just a device to google search stuff and play music.
Google is actively begging you to “run for the garbage” with your devices in how much they’ve gimped them as of late.
Even established features that would require no maintenance are being cut. Kiddo loved the animal of the day feature, but they cut it. Why? I’m not asking for more/new content, just keep playing the same stuff to the delight of kids.
Definitely regret setting up Google devices around the house at this point.
The music alarm isn’t surprising, it’s never worked right for me. Nine times out of ten, it’ll just start playing the default alarm sound, and then a few seconds later start playing the song simultaneously with ducked volume. And when I tap my speaker or tell it to stop, it stops the alarm, but the music keeps playing and goes up to its normal volume, so I end up having to make it stop twice. I hadn’t thought of making an Assistant routine to do it, maybe that’ll be more reliable.
It also seems to be getting dumber in general. I used to be able to ask “what date is 45 days from now?” and it would tell me. Now it mysteriously doesn’t know how to help with that and does a search instead.
That’s why I’m glad I have both Echo and Google Home. I prefer Google but they both have their advantages. I just don’t see the team reason for taking away these features. Unless there’s doing this for Google Bard AI. He’s alright but I really love my 1st gen Google Home (little air freshener).
this is what i think. when bard gets integrated these features will return. composing an email was one of the things they showed on the Bard demo.
My favorite was; “Remind me to pay the rent on the last weekday of every month”. It used to work.
Oddly, it can answer that question for the past for hundreds of days but can only answer it for the future 29 days.
Not amazing.