Back in 2016, Google officially announced its virtual helper called Assistant. Google Assistant was met with positive reviews from users and tech experts worldwide at launch. With Assistant, Google is showing the world that the company is not just about the search engine.
Google Assistant has a lot of exciting features that set it apart from other competitors on the market, ranging from typing to Assistant to Calendar support. Google’s personal assistant was previously debuted for Pixel and Pixel XL but now comes pre-loaded on all Android devices running Android 7.0 or newer.
In May 2017, the biggest search engine on Earth finally brought the Assistant to iOS following months of rumors. Google’s move aims to take on Apple Siri which has been an essential part of iOS for years. The Assistant is showing its upper hand over Siri, thanks to its ability to handle more complicated tasks. And we will help you discover how.
In the section below, we have created a list of the best tips and tricks to get the most out of Google Assistant on your iPhone. Before we begin, make sure you now have a modern version of iOS.
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Add a widget
Google Assistant is now available on iOS as an app, meaning that you cannot quickly trigger it using the physical button. Google is fully aware of that and the company adds a widget for its Assistant.
You can add a widget for Google Assistant to the Today View in iOS for quick access. To do this, go to the Today View on your iPhone, then hit Edit and hit the green plus button. After that hit Done and Google Assistant should be added to your Today View. From now on, just swipe down while you are on the lock screen to access the Assistant.
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Type to Assistant
One of the highlights of the Assistant lies in the ability to type in your commands. This feature was widely welcomed by users at launch, offering a new way to interact with a virtual helper. The typing functionality was initially available on Android, but iPhone now has it too.
To type to Google Assistant, open the Assistant app on your iPhone, then tap on the keyboard button to bring up the keyboard and type your commands.
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Google Assistant cannot do iPhone system tasks
Google Assistant acts as an app for iPhone and iPad. That means that you can ask it to do system tasks like turning on/off Bluetooth, setting an alarm, and send an iMessage. That makes sense as Apple wants to restrict what the Assistant can do to favor Siri.
Google has been working on improving the Assistant on iPhone, adding more features and skills to compete with Siri. The good news is that you can easily switch between Siri and Assistant for different tasks.
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Ask Assistant to do Google tasks
Assistant takes advantage of Google’s search system to offer more options. In iOS, Assistant does a better job of looking up information and answering general questions. Apple Siri, on the other hand, uses Bing search to offer search results. If you are now a big fan of Google’s services, then the Assistant makes what you do most even better.
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Ask for directions
Google Assistant works perfectly with Google’s services. One such service is Google Maps, the leading mapping service on the market. With a modern version of Google Maps, you can get directions to a place with Google Assistant.
All you need to do is to trigger the Assistant, type in your destination and it will show a preview. Tapping the Directions button will open the full map in Google Maps.
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Set up news briefing
With Google Assistant support, you can catch up with the latest happenings in the world from reliable sources. The coolest part is that you can select your news sources and add them to your briefing.
To set up news briefing, launch Google Assistant on your iPhone, then tap on the small circle at the top right corner and hit three dots. After that, tap on Settings from the popup menu and then select News under the Services section. Once you are in, select all the news sources you wish to add to your briefing.
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Explore everything
Google Assistant offers a full list of what it can do on your iPhone. To access the list, launch Google Assistant on your iPhone, then tap the floating icon at the top right corner and select Explore. Once you are in, you should see a list of things you can try asking the Assistant.
Also read: 7 Google Maps tips for better navigation on iPhone
Got any questions? Let us know in the comments below.
