Google Assistant is getting in the Halloween spirit

Google has rolled out a host of new responses for its Google Assistant virtual helper to coincide with Halloween.

The new features include Halloween sound effects including a ghost, mummy and howling wolf, as well as a range of “scary” tech stories that mostly revolve around technology failing to help out humans.

Users can now ask the Assistant to tell them a scary story, and the possible replies will include stories such as: “Have you heard the urban legend about the Assistant that wouldn’t help? The story goes that there was a couple at home. They wanted to see a movie at 9pm, so they asked their Assistant to set a reminder, and the Assistant said, ‘No.’ I’m sorry, I get chills just thinking about it.”

Ask the Assistant what it’s going to dress up as for Halloween and the responses include: “I’m dressing up as something really scary… A phone battery at 3%.”

The update also includes a lighthearted range of Halloween jokes and monster-fighting tips alongside the stories and sound effects to help users get their smart home into the Halloween spirit.

The features will be available on all versions of the smart assistant, not just Google Home smart speakers, the tech giant confirmed.

That includes both the iOS and Android versions of the app, which can be downloaded for free.