Experiment lets you skip ‘Hey, Google’ for Assistant voice commands

An experimental Google Assistant feature, codenamed “Guacamole”, lets you issue voice commands without prefixing “Hey, Google”. That is, if the tech giant decides to give it a wide release. Android Police discovered the guacamole option in the settings of the latest beta version of the Google app, and others with devices running Android 11 discovered it in their application too. However, nobody could turn it on yet. According to 9to5Google, only employees who test the function should currently have access to it, and even the FAQ linked in the option lead to an internal page.

Tapping Guacamole in Settings takes you to a voice shortcuts page that says you can skip the “Hey Google” message for help with quick tasks when you turn it on. It also has links to an FAQ page that you must read before you can sign up. As mentioned earlier, even if you see the feature on your device, you can’t turn it on yet. However, 9to5Google says possible uses are to just stay “Stop” or “Snooze” to cancel an alarm. You can also handle incoming calls by saying “Answer / Decline”.

The company has reportedly been working on guacamole since at least early March. While it’s still unclear whether guacamole will become a full-fledged feature, it’s not unlikely as you can cancel timers and alarms on Nest or Home speakers by saying “stop”.

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