Google Assistant

What is Google Assistant, how does it work, and which devices offer it?

Google has taken on Amazon's Alexa, Apple's Siri, and Microsoft's Cortana with its own voice assistant called Google Assistant.

Google first unveiled Assistant at Google I/O in May 2016, launched it on the Google Pixel and Pixel XL phones, brought it to Google Home and then Android Wear 2.0. Now it's all set for a wider roll-out to all Marshmallow and Nougat devices, so will be coming to a lot more phones.

What is Google Assistant?

Google Assistant is Google's latest iteration of an assistant. It's considered an upgrade or an extension of Google Now - designed to be personal - as well as an expansion of Google's existing "OK Google" voice controls.

For anyone who has been using Android for some time, you'll know that Google's Google Now feature smartly pulls out relevant information for you. It knows where you work, and it knows your meeting locations and travel plans, the sports teams you like, and what interests you. This data is presented to you in cards and through reminders on your Android device.

The "OK Google" side covers voice commands, voice searching, and voice-activated device control, letting you do things like send messages, check appointments and so on on your Android device, just like Apple's Siri on an iPhone or iPad. Google Assistant fuses all this together with a new bot-centric AI experience, designed to give you conversational interactions that cover both these areas and more.

When will my phone get Google Assistant?

Google Pixel and Pixel XL

The Google Pixel phones launched in the US in October 2016, with Google Assistant baked to the core, so they're good to go.

Other phones and devices

Google has confirmed it will begin rolling out an update the week of 26 February for Android 7.0 Nougat and 6.0 Marshmallow phones.

The update will bring Google Assistant to compatible phones in the US will be the first to update, with the UK, Australia, Canada and Germany following soon after.

The phones that will get Google Assistant include:

Samsung Galaxy S7

Samsung Galaxy S7 edge

HTC 10

HTC U Ultra

LG G5

LG V20

Sony Xperia XZ

Huawei P9

and many more

Google Home

Google Home with built-in, voice-activated Google Assistant launched in the US in November 2016.

We're expecting Google Assistant to launch in the UK some time in April 2017.

How do I know if my phone has Google Assistant?

To check if your phone has Google Assistant, say Ok Google, or press and hold the home button. 

On Marshmallow or Nougat devices that have had the update, that long press will launch Google Assistant, popping up with a page asking how it can help, as pictured below.

Android TV

The full integration of Google Assistant is coming to Android TV-compatible televisions and set-top boxes.

Pending a forthcoming software update, it will enable the new Nvidia Shield TV to be controlled almost entirely by voice, and Samsung SmartThings support will add the ability to control smart devices around the house. It will effectively turn your Shield into a Google Home or Amazon Echo, albeit one that plays media through a TV rather than speaker and has the ability to bring up on-screen results.

We've seen it work with a Nest thermostat, coffee maker and lighting in an early demo, so it's an excellent addition when it comes. Nvidia chose to use the game controller as the mic, however, so you do need to leave it lying around within earshot. Nvidia told us that was necessary. Putting the mic in the Shield TV box meant that it would have to be proudly displayed instead