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By Malcolm Owen
Wednesday, November 21, 2018, 05:56 PM (08:56 ET)
Google took advantage of Siri shortcuts in iOS to make its own Google Assistant more useful, iPhone and iPad users now being able to view the voice-activated search company's digital assistant, adding the trigger "Ok Google" to Siri.
An update of Google's iOS Assistant app Wednesday revealed the addition of support for Siri Shortcuts, users opening the app hosting an option to add "Ok Google "to Siri with the help of the iOS function. By selecting the "Add to Siri" button, users will access a screen to record the trigger phrase for displaying Google Assistant, the tool suggesting the use of "Ok Google".
Once configured, users can use the Google Assistant by manually triggering Siri and then saying "Ok Google". It is possible to do the same thing hands-free by saying "Hey Siri" before "Ok Google", although it may be a bit clogged for some users.
The nature of the operation of Siri Shortcut also makes it unable to immediately request the query after pronouncing the trigger phrases, users having to wait after saying "Ok Google" for the wizard to appear before performing their request. Any attempt to add a query immediately after "OK Google" in Siri without interruption invites Siri to attempt to resolve the query itself, which usually results in a web search of the statement.
Users can also configure more complex queries in Siri Shortcuts, which trigger events in Google Assistant. For example, in a home where all smart home devices are configured under Google Home and incompatible with HomeKit, it is possible to set a Siri Shortcut command to instruct Google Assistant to run a predefined routine.
Although potentially clumsy to say while hands-free, adding to the Google Assistant app means that users no longer need to manually open Google Assistant to be able to talk about it. The deep integration of Siri with iOS has prevented other digital assistants from constantly listening to trigger phrases for hands-free use, a problem that has been somewhat solved by Google.
Other assistants, including Alexa from Amazon and Cortana from Microsoft, are not yet able to be called by the user only by voice. However, as Google has demonstrated that it is possible to take advantage of existing features to provide similar functionality, it is likely to be soon. the remaining digital assistants copy the idea.
This is not the first time that PDAs are able to work with other people to improve the user experience. In August 2017, Microsoft and Amazon announced a system in which the other company's assistant would be available on their own hardware, which Alexa could be called via Cortana on Windows 10 desktops, and Cortana could be interviewed from Amazon Echo devices via Alexa.
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