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We don’t really think about it, but it’s kind of weird that Google hasn’t created a standalone version of the Assistant for PC, right? Or at least built one in Chrome. After all, Chrome OS has it now, and the Assistant is also a big part of the Android experience (Bixby damn it). We even buy smart speakers and displays for the whole house, headphones can talk to Google, and yet our desktops and laptops are being ignored. But if you want to close that gap yourself, it turns out you can. There is an unofficial Google Assistant desktop client that is difficult to set up, but path nicer than he has the right to be.
The client was created by developer Melvin L. Abraham, and you can download it from the project’s GitHub. Just keep in mind that the installation process is quite nasty. You will need to sign up for a Google Cloud account (the free trial will suffice) and follow the 30 step of the setup process here. The very short version is that you are going to register your own project with Google so that you can use the Assistant API in a way Probably was not made for. This is also likely against Google’s terms of service, so it could stop working at any time.
While you don’t need to be a developer to go through the steps (or even understand them, it’s not that hard to figure out), it certainly isn’t a straightforward process. But if you make it work, you’ll enjoy the wizard right from a window on your desktop.
The overall interface is actually pretty good. From what I can tell, it seems to be channeling a more phone-based assistant UI – although it does look like a smart display, some things look different to me. The microphone trigger is on the bottom right, but you can also enter commands through a text entry field on the left. The themed window controls are on the top right and the settings on the left. There’s also a history, accessible via the forward / back buttons at the top left next to that, and it even has light / dark theme support buried in the settings menu.
Many settings are available.
The window is adjustable and you can set it to stay on top, close when it loses focus, or even automatically activate the microphone for commands when opened. It has a keyboard shortcut (ctrl + win + a on Windows) and even a built-in updater, all with a nice Googly design, sporting big buttons, rounded corners, and Google fonts. (Much prettier than Google’s only other standalone desktop product: the CPU-destroying dumpster fire that randomly flickers on the desktop that’s Backup and Sync.)
Most of the basic Assistant commands work – or at least work as well as other supported devices. The biggest hurdle is the lack of visual controls for certain queries, like if you are asking questions about your thermostat or wanting to adjust your lighting. It can display images if you request it (including from your Google photos) and provide visual feedback, but the smart home tracking commands are either done via snippet recommendations at the bottom or nothing. at all, so it’s not as useful as an assistant. -Smart powered display which can display big buttons to change parameters. Still, it’s hard to complain too much when it’s free.
Light and dark modes.
That said, a lot of orders does not have to work. There’s no Always-Listening mode, and Continuous Chat is more inconsistent than on other devices – although the settings menu implies that the feature is supported, it only seems to work at random. and only path after you expected. I also couldn’t trigger some third-party services like Spotify or Netflix, which makes sense. But that means you can’t use it to play music or start streaming to other devices. Finally, my routines weren’t working either.
The unofficial Google Assistant client on macOS (above) and Basic OS (below).
If you want to give it a try, there are even macOS and Linux versions available, although some of the settings we have mentioned may vary from platform to platform.
While I sincerely hope our coverage doesn’t bring down Google’s banhammer, this app is too great not to be shared. Why isn’t Google creating a Desktop Assistant client?
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