Google Assistant to allow reminders to be assigned to others

Google Assistant users can now set reminders assigned to a specific person thanks to an update to its voice-activated helper.

Users will be able to ask the assistant to set a reminder for anyone who is part of a connected Google family group or who have their account linked to the same Google Assistant-powered smart speaker or display.

Google confirmed the feature is launching in the UK, US and Australia over the coming weeks.

It will also work with locations, the technology giant said, meaning users will be able to send reminders to others when they arrive or leave specific locations.

“To help families and housemates better collaborate and stay organised while at home or on the go, we’re introducing Assignable reminders on the Google Assistant,” the company said in a blog post.

“This means you can now create reminders for your partner or roommate to do things like pick up the groceries, pay a recurring bill, walk the dog – or send them a note of encouragement when they need it the most (‘Hey Google, remind Mary that she’ll do great on tomorrow’s exam.’).

“The feature is rolling out over the next few weeks in English on phones, speakers and Smart Displays in the U.S., U.K. and Australia, and will work with Google Nest Hub Max when it is available later this fall.

“To assign a reminder, try asking your Assistant, ‘Hey Google, remind Sarah to pay rent on the last day of every month,’ or ‘Hey Google, remind Greg to take out the trash at 8pm.’

“Greg will get a notification on both his Assistant-enabled Smart Display and phone when the reminder is created, so that it’s on his radar. Greg will get notified again at the exact time you asked your Assistant to remind him. You can even quickly see which reminders you’ve assigned to Greg, simply by saying, ‘Hey Google, what are my reminders for Greg?’.”

The Google Assistant has come under some scrutiny in recent months, after Google, along with Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft, all confirmed they have used human reviewers to analyse some audio recordings from their voice-activated helpers, raising questions about user privacy.

Each of the firms has moved to clarify or suspend their approach to the practice, and all insist that only tiny samples have been used, all of which had been anonymised, they said.

Google is among the companies to have confirmed it has paused its use of human reviewers.