With Google's personal assistant you can perform several quick actions on our smartphone, from sending emails to getting directions
Nowadays searching for apps within the smartphone or going on the Internet to find quick information, such as the weather, is a concept that has gone out of fashion. Thanks to personal assistants, such as Google Now, all you have to do is ask the phone something and it will give you a precise answer to your questions.
On Android, Google Now is present by default, but before you can use it to the fullest, you need to configure it.
First of all, if you've never used it before, the advice is to go to the Google Play Store and see if an update is available. To have a good experience it is always advisable to install the latest version. Once this is done we launch the personal assistant and from the menu at the top left we select the item Settings. First, make sure that the language is set to Italian. Then go to the Phone Search section and enable the personal assistant on all apps. This way it will be more efficient.
Before you start using Google Now it can be useful to set up Search from the screen as well. This way you won't have to log in to Google Now to do your searches, but just use the simple voice command "Ok Google" to activate the service. To do this we have to go inside the app, then to Settings and from there select the heading Voice. In the page that opens we have to click on Detect "Ok Google" and finally we have to set the check under the item "from any screen".
Open sites and apps with Google Now
At this point we are ready to have fun with the voice commands of Google Now. With the service we will be able to open our favorite apps and even websites. To go to the Libero Tecnologia site, for example, all we have to do is say "Ok Google, go to the Libero Tecnologia site". Same goes for opening an app. Just say "Ok Google, start Instagram". It's important to pronounce the names of the apps well, especially if they are in English, otherwise the personal assistant may have trouble understanding our requests.
Conversation Management
The service, if we have it configured and enabled on all the apps on our smartphone, also allows us to quickly interact with our address book. For example, just say "Ok Google, call" followed by the contact name or number to initiate a call. But we can also use the assistant for SMS. Just say "Ok Google, send a message to", always followed by the contact name or phone number. But the convenience of Google Now can also come in handy to send an email. Just interact with your smartphone by saying "Ok Google, send an email (followed by the contact's name), with subject (followed by the word or words we want to insert) and message (followed by the conversation we want to send to the contact)".
Post on social
Are we lovers of Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and in general of all social networks? Well, with Google Now we'll make it much faster to publish posts on our profiles. Let's take Instagram for example. After taking a picture, just tell the assistant "Ok Google, post to Instagram" and you're done.
Road directions and weather
One of the main causes of car accidents nowadays is the use of smartphones while driving. To avoid being distracted we can use Google Now while we're behind the wheel. As we mentioned we'll be able to manage calls and messages, and even work emails but the assistant can also start a navigation or inform us about traffic with a simple voice command. Just say "Ok Google, go to (followed by the address" or "Ok Google, show directions to (always followed by the address)". If we're looking for a place but we don't know where it is, we can always say "Ok Google, find (followed by the name of the place that interests us)". With Google Now we can also have real-time indications about the weather, of our city or others. Just ask "What's the weather like?" or "What's the weather like in (followed by the name of the city we're interested in)".
WhatsApp and Telegram
Among the applications that most of all are speeded up by Google Now there are certainly those for messaging. We are talking about apps like Telegram or WhatsApp. Using these services through the voice assistant is super easy. Just say "Ok Google, send a message on WhatsApp to Mario: I'm coming". To give an example. Or pronounce "Ok Google, send a message on WhatsApp (or Telegram) to Mom" and then dictate the message we want to send.