According to Statista, in 2018, global unit sales of Google Home stood at 12.5 million. It is estimated that by the year 2025, about 140 million Google smart speakers will be sold across the globe [1]. Google Home smart speakers, powered by Google Assistant, are increasingly gaining popularity and the trust of customers. From setting alarms to temperature control, there are over a million Google home commands you can ask your Google smart speakers to perform.
Loup Ventures even conducted a smart speaker IQ test in which they tested 4 of the most renowned smart assistants – Google Assistant, Siri, Alexa and Cortana 800 – by asking a set of questions. Out of the 4, Google Assistant topped the test by being able to answer 88% of the questions correctly. Siri scored 75%, Alexa 73% and Cortana was at 63% [2].
If you own a Google smart speaker, there are high chances you’re merely scratching the surface of its treasure of features. Whether you own a Google Home, Google Nest Hub, Google Nest Mini or a new Nest Audio, all Google Assistant-powered smart speakers can do much more than simply predicting the weather. There are so many Google Home controls that, if learnt, can make your life easier.
Here are 64 Google Home commands and controls
Google Home commands for music and podcasts
- Music: To play your preferred and favorite songs, make sure you’ve added a preferred music app. Choose between Spotify, Google Play Music, YouTube Music, Deezer and Pandora. You can ask your Google Home assistant to play a specific song by saying ‘Hey Google, play I Want It That Way by Backstreet Boys’. You can also ask Google to play music of a specific genre by saying ‘Hey Google, play romantic songs’
- Podcasts: To play your favorite podcasts, say the name of the specific podcast you want to listen to. For example: ‘Hey Google, play The Tim Ferriss Show’
Google Home controls for your smart speakers
- Turn up the volume: To increase the volume of your Google Home speaker, you can say ‘Hey Google, turn it up’, or ‘Hey Google, decrease the volume’, or ‘Hey Google, increase the volume to maximum’
- Turn the volume down: Decrease the volume of your Google Home smart speaker by saying ‘Hey Google, turn it down’, or ‘Hey Google, decrease the volume to minimum’
- Pause: ‘Hey Google, pause’
- Resume: ‘Hey Google, resume’
- Stop: ‘Hey Google, stop’ or ‘Hey Google, stop the music’
Productivity Google Home commands
- To set an alarm on Google Home: simply say ‘Hey Google, set an alarm for 6 AM’, ‘Hey Google, set an alarm for every Monday morning at 5 AM. You can also try actions like ‘Hey Google, set an alarm in 15 minutes’ and ‘Hey Google, wake me in 25 minutes’
- To check your alarms: ‘Hey Google, when is my next alarm?’
- To snooze an alarm on Google assistant: ‘Hey Google, snooze alarm’
- To cancel an alarm: ‘Hey Google, cancel alarm for Friday at 6 AM ’
- To check the time: ‘Hey Google, what’s the time?’
- To check international time: ‘Hey Google, what time is it in Australia’
- To set a timer using Google Home: ‘Hey Google, set a timer for 10 minutes’
- To check the timer: ‘Hey Google, how much time is left on my timer?’
- To convert currency: say ‘Hey Google, how much is $10 in rupees?
- To check your current location: simply say ‘Hey Google, where am I?’
- To translate something: ‘Hey Google, how do you say ‘goodbye’ in French?’
- To roll a die: ‘Hey Google, roll a die’
- If you want Google Home to flip a coin: say ‘Hey Google, flip a coin
- To add things to your shopping/grocery list: say ‘Hey Google, add [X item] to my shopping list
- In order to check your grocery/shopping list: say ‘Hey Google, what is on my shopping list?
- Math: say ‘Hey Google, what is 2 x 95’
- To ask Google assistant to count: ‘OK Google, count to 30’
- To ask for a random number: say ‘OK, Google, give me a random number between 3 and 35’
- Measurements: ‘Hey Google, how many meters are in a kilometer?’
- Remember things: say ‘OK, Google, remember that I put my keys in the right drawer’, or ‘Remember that Gmail password is ‘password’
- To recall things: simply say ‘OK, Google, where are my keys?’ or ‘What is my password?’
- To get a recipe: ‘OK, Google, how do I make Pasta Alfredo?’
SEE ALSO: Here are 5 Google Photos alternatives, as Google to end free unlimited cloud storage
Google Assistant controls for searching the web
- To get weather updates: say ‘Hey Google, what will be the weather like today?’, or ‘Hey Google, what is the weather going to be like in [location] on [day/time]?’, ‘Hey Google, will I need an umbrella today?’, or ‘Hey Google, what’s the temperature outside?’, or even ‘Hey Google, are there any chances of rain on [day]?’
- To get traffic updates: ‘Hey Google, what’s the traffic like today on my way to work?’
- To find out how long it will take for you to go to work: say ‘Hey Google, how long is my commute?’, or ‘Hey Google, how long will it take on foot/bike/ to reach [destination]?’, or ‘Hey Google, how long does it take to get to [destination]?’ or ‘Hey Google, how long will it take to get from work to [destination]?’
- For today’s news: say ‘Hey Google, what’s today’s news?’
- For daily briefings (includes weather, news and traffic updates): ‘Hey Google, good morning’
- For sports updates and scores: ‘Hey Google, what was the score for the last [sport/ sports team] game?’, ‘Hey Google, when are the [sports team(s)] playing next?’, ‘Hey Google, did the [sports team] win the match? or ‘Hey Google, tell me about [sports team]
- To check stocks: ‘Hey Google, what’s the Netflix stock price?’ or ‘Hey Google, what’s Alphabet trading at?
- Holidays and events: ‘Hey Google, when is Halloween this year?’
- To get a definition: ‘Hey Google, define [word]’,’Hey Google, what is the meaning of [word]?’ or ‘Hey Google, what’s the definition of [word]?’
- Spelling: ‘Hey Google, how do you spell [word]?’ or ‘Hey Google, spell [word]’
- Celebrities, people and relationships: ‘Hey Google, who is [person/celebrity name]?’, ‘Hey Google, how old is [name]?’, ‘Hey Google, who is [this person] married to?’, or ‘Hey Google, who is [person]’s mother/father/brother/sister?’
- Facts: ‘Hey Google, how tall is [name of the person]?’
- Places: ‘Hey Google, New York is which country?’
- Distance: ‘Hey Google, how far is [origin location] from [destination]?’, ‘Hey Google, how far is [location] from here?’
- Things: ‘Hey Google, what is [thing]?’
- Businesses and information: ‘Hey Google, how far is [name of the business] from here?’, or ‘Hey Google, are there any [cafes/libraries/restaurants/other businesses] around here?’, ‘Hey Google, how late is [business] open?’
- Quotes: say ‘Hey Google, give me a quote’
- Poems: say ‘Hey Google, tell me a poem’
- Medical information: ‘Hey Google, what is diabetes?’
- Animal sounds: ‘Hey Google, what sound does a [name of the animal] make?’
- Actors and titles: ‘Hey Google, what actors are in the [show/movie]?’, ‘Hey Google, what movies are releasing this weekend?’
- Calories: ‘Hey Google, how many calories are in [name of the food]?’
- Recommendations: ‘Hey Google, what are the best cafes in [target location]?’, or ‘Hey, Google what some Thai restaurants are nearby?’
Google Home commands for making travel arrangements
- To check airline/flight ticket prices: Say ‘OK, Google, what is the cost of a round-trip flight to San Francisco?
- To find flights with a specific airline: Say ‘OK, Google, find flights with American Airlines’
- To check on your booked flights: Say ‘OK, Google, when’s my next flight?’ or ‘OK, Google, tell me my flights in [month]
- To book a hotel room: ‘OK, Google, find hotels in San Francisco. After that, you need to say, ‘Book a room at Quality Inn’
- To discover places to visit in the city you’re visiting: ‘OK, Google, what’s there to see in California?’
- To find must-try restaurants in your travel city: ‘OK, Google, what are the best restaurants in Paris?’
Third-party Google Home commands
- Uber: To book a cab with Uber, say ‘OK, Google, order an Uber’
- Domino’s: To order your favorite pizza, ‘OK, Google, call Domino’s and get my Easy Order’
- Todoist: ‘OK, Google, tell me my next task with Todoist’
- Best Dad Jokes: ‘OK, Google, talk to Best Dad Jokes’
- 21 Blackjack: say ‘OK, Google, let me talk to 21 Blackjack’
- Product Hunt: say ‘OK, Google, talk to Product Hunt’
- Tender: say ‘OK, Google, talk to Tender about drinks like an Old Fashioned?’
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Image Courtesy
Featured Image: Image by antonbe from Pixabay
Image 1: Piqsels
Sources
[1] Vailshery, L. (2021) “Google Home unit shipment worldwide 2016-2025” Statista [Online] Available from: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1022722/worldwide-google-home-unit-shipment/
[Accessed April 2021]
[2] Munster, G. and Thompson, W. (2018) “Annual Smart Speaker IQ Test” Loup Ventures [Online] Available from: https://loupventures.com/annual-smart-speaker-iq-test/ [Accessed April 2021]
