Google provides one of the best voice assistants that we can use on smartphones and dedicated speakers, namely Google Assistant (or Google Assistant, in its Italian version), an alternative to Amazon Alexa. This assistant responds to a series of predefined voice commands suitable to provide us with the information we want or to control the functionality of the phone, but few know that, thanks to some simple commands or through a third-party service, it is possible to add your own voice commands to the assistant, complete with personalized answers! After seeing how to create voice commands with Alexa, in this guide we will show you how to create new voice commands for Google Assistant, using both the Google Home app and the functions integrated within the IFTTT service. These commands are perfect for controlling home automation devices or for starting certain functions not present with standard voice commands.
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How to add new commands with Google Home
The first method to add new voice commands to the Google Assistant is to use the Google Home app, available for Android and iOS devices.Make sure that this app is installed or updated on our device, then open it and select the icon with written Routine, present at the top; alternatively we can open the same menu by selecting the account icon (bottom right), going to the Settings menu, then in the Assistant tab and finally selecting the Routine item.
From this menu you can customize some of the most common routines, for example when we say Good morning or Good night immediately after the "OK, Google" command. By opening one of the routines we can choose some voice command will have to respond, what should be done after the voice command (acting on the various options present) and, if necessary, set a second action that the Google Assistant must perform.
We want to create a new routine from scratch "> To learn more about the devices that can be connected to the Google account, I refer you to reading our guides -> 8 Easy to install home automation products (Smart Home) and the best connected Smart Home devices in WiFi at home .
How to add new commands with IFTTT
In addition to the Google Home app, we can use the service offered by IFTTT to add voice commands to the Google assistant, so you can control the devices and customize the responses of the virtual voice emitted by the assistant.To do this we install the IFTTT app on our Android or iOS smartphone, log in quickly with a Google account and, in the initial screen, click on the bottom right icon on the My Applets icon and finally on the icon in the shape of + at the top. In this way we will open the way to create a new Applet, that is, small fragments of code able to interact with devices or with online home automation services.
To start, click on the word this and search, among the various services available, Google Assistant ; for the purpose we can also get help from the top search bar. Once the right service has been opened, we will be asked to associate the Google account with IFTTT, so that we can correctly add the voice commands. As soon as the association is concluded, we will see some of the voice commands that we can customize appear.
To start we can use Say a simple phrase, that is "say a simple phrase" in which we can choose what to say (with 3 different variants) to Google Assistant and how it must respond to us when the command is executed. In addition to the simple sentence we can also add a sentence with a number, a sentence with an interactive part of the text (text ingredient) or a sentence with a number and interactive part.
In the screen that appears, we insert in the first three fields the part of the personalized voice command (in three different versions, so as to use more than one voice command to activate the action), while in What do you want the Assistant to say in response ">
During the creation of the commands, make sure that you select the Italian language below, so that the assistant answers us in our language.
Once the creation of the voice command has been completed, select the Create trigger button and, returned to the IFTTT screen, this time select the word that .
A new screen will open in which to select the service to be activated when executing personalized voice commands.
We can configure a large amount of services, including: phone notifications, sending an email, entering a date in Google Calendar, sending a file to Google Drive and other services more related to home automation (to search for a particular service, we always use the search bar available at the top). Once the service configuration is complete, we confirm the preview of the applet to start adding the voice command. From now on, just say "OK, Google" followed by the personalized voice command to immediately start the desired action, which will be available thanks to IFTTT.
To deepen the discussion on IFTTT, we recommend you read our dedicated guide on the subject, available below.
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