It is now possible to have a more natural conversation with Google Home removing the need to say “Hey Google†before every question.
The Continued Conversation feature means the user now needs to say “Hey Google” to activate the Google home before asking a question or giving a command. The Assistant then carries on listening for around eight seconds after its response to the user’s initial question or command in case the user has any following questions. The homeowner knows that the Google Assistant is listening because the LED lights on top of the device will be spinning on a Google Home device or pulsing on a Google Home Mini and Google Home Max.
When the Google Assistant is no longer needed, the owner can simply stop talking or start talking to someone else and the Assistant will know that the conversation is finished and the microphone will close. Otherwise, if the user wants to immediately end the conversation they can say “Thank you”, “Thanks, Google”, or “I’m done”.
The Assistant is also capable of having a conversation with more than one person. For example, if the user asks a question, another person in the room can ask another question the response without having to say “Hey Google”.
The new feature cannot be used during a phone call, when alarms or timers are going off, and when the user is listening to media.
Unfortunately, this feature is currently only available in the US. However, we would imagine that this is a feature that will eventually be rolled out to a wider audience.
To turn on the Continued Conversation feature, the Google Assistant language must be set to English (United States). The feature is not available outside of the US even if this language setting is applied. Owners can turn on the feature by going into the settings on their Android phone or tablet, or in the Google Home app, click ‘Assistant Tab’, then choose the ‘Continued Conversation’ option.