Google Assistant can now remind other people to do things you don’t want to

"Hey Google, pass the buck."

Life

Image: IDGNS

Setting a reminder is one of the most useful things you can do with Google Assistant on your phone or smart speaker, especially for the more forgetful amongst us. But a new feature rolling out to Assistant will make reminders even more useful.

Instead of asking Google Assistant to set a reminder, users can set one for someone else in their family or household. So, instead of saying, “Hey Google, remind me to take out the rubbish on Sunday,” users can say, “Hey Google, remind Susan to take out the rubbish on Sunday.” Then, the notification will appear on their phone or smart speaker at the specified time.

Assignable reminders will also work for location-based events, so if a user needed their husband to pick up milk on the way home, Assistant can remind him when he leaves work or passes the shop.

Google says the new feature will be available over the next few weeks in English on phones, speakers and Smart Displays in the US, UK and Australia, and will work with Google Nest Hub Max when it becomes available later this fall.

However, if you are already plotting ways to prank your friends using assignable reminders, you’re out of luck. You can send and receive reminders only from people with are in your Google family group (including children, provided they have an age-appropriate account) or have linked accounts on the same smart speaker in your house. Additionally, the reminder recipient must be in your Google Contacts list. And if things start getting out of hand, you’ll be able to block people from sending you reminders in the Assistant settings menu.

IDG News Service

Read More: digital personal assistants Google Google Assistant