Commands

• • • • • • • Ask for help: "OK, Google, Help." or OK, Google, What can you do ?"

            • Control the volume: "OK, Google, turn it up," "OK, Google, Louder" or "OK, Google, Turn it to 11." (Yes, the max is 11.)

or Click here for more Volume related commands

• • • • • • • Halt an action: "OK Google, Stop," or "Pause" or "Be quiet."

Click here for a video that demonstrates 5 useful Google Assistant commands that you might not have heard of.

Once your device is set up you can get it working by saying either of it's two usual trigger commands that are "OK Google" or "Hey Google". 

The above are the two official recommendations but that there are other triggers also work - "Hi Google" "Hey boo boo" "Okie dokie Google."

When a trigger command is recognised the lights on top of the unit will flash, indicating that it is ready, and then you can continue with a question, or a specific command.

Some reports on the internet reckon Google is working on providing users with the option of setting up their own custom trigger commands but this has not been confirmed or announced yet.

Touch Controls

Click here to learn where the touch controls are located and how you can make best use of them

Voice Commands : Scheduling

Click here to see a Google Developers’ page “Scheduling smart home Actions”

Click here to see the full CNET article for more tips and tricks. Here's are a couple of clips ...

"Google Home can now hold off on certain tasks for up to a week, or you can start something now, but put an expiration date or time on it so that it stops later. What's better, you can also schedule tasks around sunrise or sunset and Google Home will calculate what time that is for you based on your location." 

"At its simplest level, all you need to do to have Google Home perform an action later is to add a length of time to your command." 

After you say, "Hey, Google, turn my bedroom lights off," just add "in 15 minutes." Google Home will acknowledge with a precise time, so if you gave that command at 9:02 p.m. it would respond "Sure, I'll turn off the lights at 9:17 p.m."

Voice Commands : Personalised Responses

Operating your device is very easy - try using some of the examples of popular commands listed below, 

Where Google can identify who is making the command [after setting up voice match] it will, where possible, personalise responses using all kinds of facts and relationships stored in your account.

N.B.  If you don't hear any of the spoken replies clearly simply say "OK Google, repeat that".

 Also there is a rumour that users will soon be able to set their own custom trigger command. This may happen after a software update is applied, perhaps sometime in 2019 - but there is no guarantee this feature will actually appear.

Broadcast Replies for an Always-On Intercom that works from anywhere

Assistant’s “Broadcast” feature is neat—just say “Hey Google, Broadcast <some words>” and it will send a recording of your voice saying <some words> to all the Google Homes in your house. The issue is that this is one-way communication, at least it is for now. 

With Broadcast Replies, users will be able to respond to these broadcasts from smart displays, Android phones, and even other Google Home speakers. It’s like an intercom that works anywhere.

Click here to read a CNET article from Oct 2020 covers broadcasting to every device on your network and to targeted devices at a given location [e.g. Lounge] or by device name. 

The extracts below cover the major points from the article.

Send your message to ALL speakers available on your network

Start with "Hey, Google" or "OK, Google," then say, "Broadcast," then speak the message you want to go out ("Time for dinner!") You can replace "Broadcast" with "Announce," "Tell everyone" or, if you're feeling frisky, "Shout" (unfortunately, however, it won't play any louder than normal).

Some examples:

• Hey, Google, broadcast, "Pizza time!"

• OK, Google, tell everyone, "Nana and Pops are here!"

• Hey, Google, announce, "Time to do homework!"

You can specify a room to prevent eavesdropping

Broadcast is great if you want everyone in the house to hear your message or you don't care if a message for one person is overheard by all. But if you want to limit your audience and you know which room the intended recipient is in, you can say where exactly you want the message to go.

Just add the name of the speaker or the room that it's in (details you should've chosen when setting it up in the Google Home app) when you speak the "Broadcast" command and Google Assistant will route the memo where you want it to go.

For example, these commands are designed to only play on one specific speaker:

• OK, Google, shout to the kitchen, "Is dinner ready yet?"

• Hey, Google, broadcast to the living room, "Is the scary part of the movie over?"

• OK, Google, announce to the bedroom, "Are you going to sleep all day, sweet pea?"

Here's how to reply to a Broadcast message

Broadcast isn't a one-way street. Anyone who receives a message can reply from whichever speaker they hear it from. And unlike the original memo, replies only go back to the speaker that started the exchange, without having to specify which one that may be.

Even if you have Continued Conversations enabled (so your microphone reopens after each Google Home response to listen for follow-up questions), you still have to say, "Hey" or ,"OK, Google, reply" or, "Send a reply" to respond to a Broadcast message. Here are some examples:

• Hey, Google, reply, "I'll be down in a minute."

• OK, Google, send a reply: "Did you get pineapple on the pizza?"

• Hey, Google, reply, "Five more minutes!"

Google Assistant might switch it up a little

Occasionally, Google Assistant might replace what you say with music, sound effects and its own phrasing. "OK, Google, tell everyone bedtime" could become, in Google Assistant's voice, "It's time for bed. Sleep well," complete with music box music. "Hey, Google, broadcast 'Time to wake up'" might trigger a rooster crowing and, "Morning! Time to rise and shine!"

Depending on which Google Home speaker or display you have and exactly how you phrase the message, you might get similar results, but it seems the more you personalize the memo ("taco time" versus "time for dinner,") the less likely it is to change.

Make calls to your contacts or between devices

Click here for a CNET article that tells you how to use Duo to make audio calls on smart speakers or make video chats between devices with screens to your contacts. Also speak device to device [like an intercom] just using the other device name instead of a contact. For the latter consider naming devices with a meaningful ‘location’  e.g. Lounge, Kitchen etc.

Click here for an article from HowToGeek that describes using an early version of a facility in the Google Chrome web browser that can be used for controlling other "Smart Devices" on the same WiFi network.

Cheat Sheet from MakeUseOf

Click here for an article that contains the "Google Home Commands Cheat Sheet".

Tech Adviser

The possibilities with Google Assistant are endless - as explained in the following Tech Advisor links. Explore features of your Google Home in the tips and tricks article, and have tutorials on everything to setting up multiroom audio to sending text messages and email, adding multiple user accounts and connecting Chromecast. You may also like their list of funny things you can ask Google Assistant.

There are also a range of special commands that call upon external services to respond to you - see the "Services" tab for more details.

Summoning the Google Assistant

You can begin a conversation with the Google Assistant by simply saying one of the trigger words, "OK Google," or "Hey Google." Summoning the Google Assistant on a smart speaker or your phone works the same way but if two or more devices are in close proximity the Assistant will know to only respond on one of them.

Conversational Commands : Continued Conversation

The Assistant allows you to ask lines of questions that are connected. For instance you could say, "Hey Google, play 'Lose Yourself to Dance.'" Then, "OK Google, what album is this from?" Then, "Hey Google, play that album."

Even though you aren't using the name of the album, Google Assistant understands the context and supplies the answer.

Basic commands

• Ask for help: "OK Google, help."

• Control the volume: "OK Google, turn it up" or, "Louder" or, "Turn it to 11." (Yes, the max is 11.)

• Halt an action: "OK Google, stop" or, "Pause" or, "Be quiet."

Tools

• Roll a die: "OK Google, roll a die" or, "OK Google, roll a 12-sided die."

• Flip a coin: "OK Google, flip a coin."

• Math: "OK Google, what's 354 times 11?"

• Measurements: "OK Google, how many liters are in 4 gallons."

• Time: "OK Google, what time is it?"

• Location: "OK Google, where am I?"

• Translations: "OK Google, how do you say [word] in [language]?"

• International time: "OK Google, what time is it in [city]?"

• Currency conversion: "OK Google, how much is 100 Euros in dollars?"

• Alarm: "OK Google, set an alarm for [time]."

• Snooze alarm: "OK Google, snooze alarm."

• Cancel alarm: "OK Google, cancel my alarm for [time]."

• Timer: "OK Google, set a timer for [time]."

• Check timer: "OK Google, how much time is left on my timer?"

• Recipes: "OK Google, how do I make [dish]"

• Add to shopping list: "OK Google, add [item] to my shopping list."

• Check shopping list: "OK Google, what's on my shopping list?"

• Daily briefing: "OK Google, good morning." (includes personalized greeting, info on weather, traffic, and curated news stories)

• Uber: "OK Google, order an Uber."

• Tune an instrument: "OK Google, tune my instrument" or "OK Google, play an F sharp." (If you don't specify "flat" or "sharp," you must say "note" after stating which note you want Google Home to play, such as "play an A note.")

Search

• Stocks: "OK Google, how are Alphabet's stocks doing?"

• Weather: "OK Google, how's the weather today?" or, "Do I need an umbrella today?"

• Traffic: "OK Google, what's the traffic like on the way to work?"

• Words: "OK Google, what does [word] mean?"

• Spelling: "OK Google, spell [word]."

• Special events: "OK Google, when is [event]?" (Easter, for example)

• People: "OK Google, who is [person]?"

• Facts: "OK Google, how tall is [person]?"

• Things: "OK Google, what is [thing]?"

• Places: "OK Google, what country is [location] in?"

• Animal sounds: "OK Google, what does [animal] sound like?"

• Distance: "OK Google, how far is [business name] from here?"

• Restaurants: "OK Google, what are the nearest restaurants to me?"

• Businesses: "OK Google, are there any [business type] around here?"

• Business information: "OK Google, how late is [business] open?" or "Is [business] open now?"

• Quotes: "OK Google, give me a quote" or, "Give me a love quote."

• Medical information: "OK Google, what is a torn meniscus?"

• Calories: "OK Google, how many calories are in [food item]?"

• Authors: "OK Google, who wrote [book title]?"

• Inventors: "OK Google, who invented [item]?"

Media

• Play music: "OK Google, play some music" or, "Play some [genre] music."

• Play an artist or song: "OK Google, play [artist]" or, "Play [song]."

• Play a song by lyrics: "OK Google, play the song that goes, 'Is this the real life?'"

• Play a Google Play playlist or album: "OK Google, play some indie music" or, "OK Google, play [album]."

• Ask what's playing: "OK Google, what song is this?" or, "OK Google, what album is this?"

• Get more information: "OK Google, when did this album come out?"

• Fast forward and rewind: "OK Google, skip forward 2 minutes" or, "Skip backward 30 seconds."

• Play music through other speakers using Chromecast: "OK Google, cast [song] onto [speaker name]."

• Play music on Spotify: "OK Google, play [artist] on Spotify."

• Play music on Pandora: "OK Google, play [artist] on Pandora."

• Like or dislike a song on Pandora: "OK Google, dislike this song."

• Play music on YouTube Music: "OK Google, play [artist] on YouTube."

• Play stations on TuneIn: "OK Google, play [station] on TuneIn."

• Play videos on YouTube using Chromecast: "OK Google, play [video] on the [TV name]."

• Pull up lists on YouTube: "OK Google, let's look at what's trending on YouTube on [TV name]."

• Play a movie or TV show on Netflix using Chromecast: "OK Google, play [show or movie title] on the [TV name]."

Entertainment

• Sports updates: "OK Google, who is [team] playing next?" or "Did the [team] win last night?"

• Sports scores: "OK Google, what was the score for the last [team] game?"

• Team information: "OK Google, tell me about [team]."

• Movies: "OK Google, what movies came out last Friday?"

• Casting for movies: "OK Google, what actors are in [movie]?"

• Shows by network: "Hey Google, what shows are on [network]?"

• News: "OK Google, what's today's news?"

Smart home

Google works with only a few smart home devices/platforms at present: Philips Hue, Nest, SmartThings, Chromecast and IFTTT. The roster of integrations will likely expand as time goes on. Even with these limited integrations, though, the flexibility of SmartThings and especially IFTTT allow the Google Home to control a wide variety of gadgets using 3rd-party triggers. For now, here are the built-in Google Home commands for smart home gadgets.

• Turn Philips Hue lights on/off: "OK Google, turn on/off my lights."

• Dim Hue lights: "OK Google, dim my lights to fifty percent."

• Change Hue colors: "OK Google, turn my lights [color]."

• Control Nest thermostat: "OK Google, turn the temperature to [temp]."

• Make incremental changes: "OK Google, raise the temperature 1 degree."

• Customize trigger phrases for IFTTT. For example: "OK Google, let's get this party started."

Third-party Actions

In April 2017 Google rolled out what it calls Actions for Google Assistant. These are third-party services and integrations that work much like Alexa skills, except you don't have to activate them one by one. Actions are enabled by default.

You can find the full list of Actions in the Google Home app by going to More settings > Services. You will also find sample invocations there, which will tell you how to interact with the different services available.

• 21 Blackjack: "OK Google, let me talk to 21 Blackjack."

• Best Dad Jokes: "OK Google, talk to Best Dad Jokes."

• Domino's: "OK Google, talk to Domino's and get my Easy Order."

• Product Hunt: "OK Google, talk to Product Hunt."

• Tender: "OK Google, can I talk to Tender about drinks like an old fashioned?"

• Todoist: "OK Google, tell me what my next task is with Todoist."

Easter eggs

• "Hey Google, always be closing."

• "Hey Google, what is your quest?"

• "Hey Google, I am your father."

• "Hey Google, set phasers to kill."

• "Hey Google, are you SkyNet?"

• "Hey Google, make me a sandwich."

• "Hey Google, up up down down left right left right B A Start."

• "Hey Google, do a barrel roll."

• "Hey Google, it's my birthday."

• "Hey Google, it's not my birthday."

• "Hey Google, did you fart?"