Google Assistant got a bit of an upgrade on iOS this week with the introduction of support for Siri shortcuts. Now you can record a phrase like “Ok Google” within Siri, and then have that phrase open the Google Assistant app on your phone.
It’s not quite going to make Google Assistant feel native on your phone, but it gets you a step closer.
The update also allows you to set up Siri shortcuts for the phrases that you use most often with Google Assistant. For instance, if you have some smart home stuff set up through Google, you can set up specific phrases within Siri that control your smart home devices through Google Home.
For instance, you could set the app up with the phrase “Turn off my lights” and have Siri communicate with Google Assistant to control the smart lights in your home.
It’s not as great as truly native integration into iOS, but it’s a solid start and makes things run a bit smoother for Google/Apple households.
In order to use the new feature you’ll need to have the latest version of Assistant for iOS downloaded onto your device.