Google Launches ‘Continued Conversation’ Feature for Google Home Devices

There’s something very empowering about being able to bark out commands and have devices in your home respond. There are no arguments, whining, or complaints. Your voice-enabled smart speaker is there to please. Google is taking voice a step further, however, by enabling its Google Home devices to not only obey commands, but carry on a conversation.

Google has officially launched its “continued conversation” feature for Google Home, Home Mini, and Home Max, allowing users to ask a question, get an answer, and then ask a related question in a natural way.

For example, users can now ask Google Assistant, “How old is Barack Obama?” Google Assistant will reply with something like, “Barack Obama is 56 years old.” Users can then immediately ask another question, such as, “How tall is he?” and receive an answer without having to wait much longer.

The latest update also allows users to ask a question, and then quickly shift to another task, like asking Google Assistant to remind them to take out the trash in 10 minutes right after asking about the weather.

This new functionality may be an opening for Google to gain some ground on Amazon and its Alexa voice assistant, which currently offers a similar function called “follow-up mode.”

Continued Conversations are U.S. Only

Google has limited the “continued conversation” feature to the U.S. for now, and the tech giant has not provided an official timetable for when it will be available in more countries. Additionally, the feature is designed to be opt-in only, meaning integrators will need to step their interested clients through Google Home’s settings menu in order to enable it via:

Settings > Preferences > Continued conversations> Toggle On

One potential drawback to the system is how long its mic waits for additional commands. If a Google Home hears a request to start up Google Assistant and fulfills a request, it will then wait an additional 8 seconds for another request.

That 8-second “open mic” functionality could lead to false positives, where a dealer’s client asks a question and has no follow up question, but the mic still hears everything in the room for another 8 seconds. Fortunately, any Google Home device will keep its “I’m listening” LEDs lit for the duration.

Still, the benefits should outweigh the negatives. After all, it’s a lot easier and more natural to say, “OK, Google. Turn off the living room and kitchen lights,” than it is to say, “OK, Google. Turn off the living room lights and turn off the kitchen lights.”