Google Now, Google’s assistant, is an invaluable helper. Here’s how to activate it, and how to use it to send messages through messaging apps
Advertising catchphrase and very useful function, “OK Google” is the voice command with which you operate Google Assistant, the virtual assistant of Android devices. Its motto? The more you use it, the more useful it becomes, since it is able to “learn”: in fact, it memorizes the user’s tastes, his searches, his needs and provides answers that satisfy him as if he were a personal butler.
But OK Google doesn’t just work as a “search engine”: it answers our questions, sends messages, plays music, gets information about the weather, traffic or the status of a flight, sets timers and alarms, translates a sentence, finds a restaurant or any business nearby. It is a real assistant, capable of solving problems and providing answers.
But how do you use OK Google to send messages with Whatsapp or Telegram?
How to configure Google Now
To send Whatsapp messages with OK Google, you need to have the Google Assistant updated to the latest available version and have the voice commands feature enabled on your device. Once this is done, simply open the Google app, click Options (the three dots with the word More, in the bottom right corner) and then Settings. This will open the Voice menu, where you’ll need to make sure that Voice Output is enabled and then click on Voice Match.
At this point, you’ll go to activate the Sign in with Voice Match and Personal Achievements items on the lock screen, before saying “OK Google” near the microphone, so as to call in the voice assistant that – at that point – will be enabled for this function too and will allow you to unlock the phone (to send messages and access email, calendar, contacts and more) without even touching it. To avoid accidentally unlocking with other people’s voices, you can enable the Voice Model feature, so that the smartphone only recognizes your voice.
Use OK Google to send messages
To send a Whatsapp message with the Google Assistant, just say “OK Google” and then “Send Whatsapp message”; using voice commands, you can fill in the To and Message fields, selecting the recipient and writing the text; once you’re done dictating the text, the Assistant will ask you if you want to send the message, and you only have to answer Yes for it to be delivered to the selected recipient.
In the same way, if you want to use Telegram, just give the command “Send Telegram message” after activating “OK Google”. The assistant, also in this case, will ask you to select a recipient from those saved in your address book (so you’ll have to remember the exact name under which the contact is saved); you’ll just have to dictate the message and, once finished, give the command Send.
So, you can send communications via Whatsapp and Telegram (but also send text messages or make phone calls) at any time and in any situation, without having to unlock the device and without even picking it up. A very convenient option, when you are driving or when you have your hands busy, but you need to make a communication or search.