Google allows its Assistant voice commands to be customized.

Fans of Google’s in-home virtual assistant will be impressed with a new feature that will allow the Assistant device to interact better with smart devices. Thanks to the new functionality, users can tell their devices to follow commands that operate things like light bulbs or major appliances without having to take additional steps.

Until this new change came along, Google’s allowed options were fairly limited. Manufacturers had to adhere to a very short list of functions that were basically universal, such as on or off. If you wanted to tell your dryer to fluff the clothes for 10 more minutes, you were either going through an Action app or getting up off the couch.

LG has been one of the first tech companies to change its voice commands..

Product updates

This now leaves manufacturers to incorporate specific commands into their products, which will then let their customers use fairly specific but more tailor-made wording to operate their devices. Instead of just an on-off function, for example, user manuals can instruct customers on the various commands their Google Assistant will follow when connected to the product.

Catch-up

Google has been playing catch-up with Amazon’s Alexa, which rolls out new Skills practically every day. So far, Google’s partnerships have extended to companies like Netflix, Uber, and some pizza delivery, but less to smart devices that aren’t directly produced for Google, like the Nest thermostat.

Better integration

Additionally, Google’s Assistant is getting better connectivity to your phone. Users can set up Actions–basically, the apps that consumers can program their devices with to customize their Assistants–that will send notifications to their phones. Now, if only you can let your phone tell your Assistant to open the fridge, take out the dinner, and put it in the preheated oven while you’re stuck in traffic on the way home… don’t worry, if the previously heated competition between virtual assistants is any indication, there’s a good chance that kind of capability will be coming along soon.