“Ok Google” is a phrase you may or may not have heard spoken by now, but if you haven’t, you will probably be tired of hearing it soon. People are talking to their devices like crazy people now, but it isn’t crazy at all, in fact we are entering into HAL 9000 territory with our technology (Arthur C. Clarke would be proud). Not only do we interact with our tech daily, inputting commands and giving orders via text, we now talk to tech daily ever since the days of voice to text programs, voice recognition running on 1-800 numbers, and more recently the introduction of stuff like Siri from Apple and Cortana from Microsoft.
Heck, people even fall in love with computers in movies now. Forever A-drone.
What did Google Do Now?
Google also has its hat in yet another ring and this time with Google Now, or more familiarly called “Ok Google”.
Googles fun new way to search (and do awesome things) has been picking up speed ever since the Nexus 5 was released with the shiny new Android 4.4 KitKat update that bundled this powerful feature right into the OS for you to stumble upon and grapple with and then finally accept as cool and dare I say.. Useful! Don’t worry though, if you don’t have the latest version of Android, or even an android phone for that matter, all you need is a Google Chrome browser (I know you have one! You are using it right now!). That’s right. OK Google made its way to chrome earlier this year so now all you need to enjoy these commands is the browser and a microphone, which most laptops already have, so you should be set!
Google Adds Built-In “Ok Google” Voice Search To Chrome Beta
So now that you are drooling over the pure untapped possibilities of using Googles new voice features to take over the world (or help automate things while your hands are full in the kitchen) or just impress your children, or.. let’s face it… anyone (your cat would be impressed), let’s dive into what you can do with it! Today I’ve compiled a list of most of the available commands you can say to Google Now at the moment, they are constantly adding them so it never hurts to try your luck (Feeling lucky?). Try experimenting with different commands and phrasing, you’ll be surprised how much it understands and what it can do, I know I was! Disclaimer: I am not easily impressed. The part of the phrase in [brackets] can be replaced with any similar term you choose. Of course, if you get completely lost or have no idea what to do, it can even help you out there – just say “Ok Google, Help Me” for a list of some things to try. Onward to the list!
General Commands
“Search for [diy tutorials]?”
“What is [Quantum Physics]?”
“Who invented [electricity]?”
“What is the meaning of [life]?”
“Who is married to [Mila Kunis]?”
“Stock price of [Microsoft]”
“Author of [Game of Thrones]”
“How old is [George R.R. Martin]?”
Time & Date
“What time is it in [Tokyo]?”
“When is the sunset [in New York(optional)]”
“What is the time zone of [New Delhi]”
“Time at home”
“Create a calendar event: [Dinner in New York] [Saturday at 8 PM]”
“Wake me up in [5 hours]”
“Set alarm for [8 PM]”
Communication
“Call [Terry]”
“Call [mum -or- dad -or- wife -or- uncle -or- aunt …]”
“Send [email] to James, [Subject: Meeting], [Message: Will be there in 5]”
“Send [SMS] to Louella’s mobile, don’t forget I love you”
“[Contact name]”
“Post to Google+ [this voice thing sure is cool]”
“Post to Twitter [tweet tweet tweet]”
Productivity (Notes, Tools etc.)
“Remind me to [buy milk] at [5 PM]”
“Remind me [when I get -or- next time I’m at] [home -or- work -or- other location] [to send an email to John]”
“Take a picture (“Take a photo” also works)”
“Record a video”
“Make a note: [update my router firmware] (also try “Note to self” This works with multiple apps, and you can even email yourself!)”
“Find [Florence Ion’s] [phone number] (Works with all info in your contacts – addresses, birthdays, etc.)”
“Note to self: [I parked my car in section D]”
“What is my schedule for tomorrow?” (also: What does my day look like [Friday]?)
“Where’s my package?” (tracking confirmation must be in Gmail)
Weather
“Weather”
“Is it going to rain [tomorrow -or- Monday]”
“What’s the weather in [San Francisco]?”
“How’s the weather in [Los Angeles] on [Wednesday] going to be?”
Maps, Travel, & Navigation
“Map of [Disney World]”
“Show me the nearby [hotel] on map”
“Navigate to [London] on car”
“How far is [Osaka] from [Tokyo]?”
“Directions to [address -or- business name -or- other destination]”
“Say [where is the library] in [German]?”
“Where is [the Eiffel Tower]?”
“Show me the menu for [Wild Olive Restaurant]”
“Call [The Louvre]”
“Show me my flight info”
“Where’s my hotel?”
“What are some attractions around here?”
“How do you say [good night] in [Japanese]?”
“What is [50,000 rupees] in [dollars]? or 50,000 rupees to USD”
“What’s the flight status of [United] flight [747]?”
“Show me restaurants near my hotel -or- Give me directions back to my hotel (this only works if your hotel confirmation was sent to your gmail account)”
Conversions & Calculations
“What is the tip for [125] dollars?”
“Convert [currency -or- length …] to [currency -or- length …]”
“How much is [18] times [48]?”
“What is [45] percent of [350]?”
“Square root of [81]”
“….. equals”
“How many ounces is in 5 cups”
Sports
“How are [the Dallas Cowboys] doing?”
“When is the next [Los Angeles Lakers] game?”
“Show me the [Premier League] table”
“Did [the orioles] win their last game?”
Flight Information
“Flight [ AA 145 ]?”
“Flight status of [ AA 145 ]”
“Has [ LH 230 ] landed?”
“When will [ AA 130 ] land -or- depart?”
Web Browsing
“Go to [Tech Crunch]?”
“Open [ infinigeek.com ]”
“Show me [ andysowards.com ]”
“Browse to [ imgur.com ]”
Entertainment
“Listen to -or- play [Love Song] by [The Cure]?”
“YouTube [cat videos]?”
“Who acted in [Guardians of the Galaxy]?”
“Who is the producer of [Breaking Bad]?”
“When was [Predator] released?”
“Runtime of [The Titanic]”
“Listen to TV”
“What’s this song?”
“What movies are playing [tonight]? Where is [Interstellar] playing?”
HIDDEN SUPER FUN EASTER EGGS!
“Do a barrel roll”
“What’s the loneliest number?”
“Make me a sandwich!”
“Sudo make me a sandwich!”
“When am I?”
“Okay Jarvis, …” (Instead of “Okay Google, …”)
“Who are you?”
“How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood.”
“Beam me up, Scotty!”
“Tilt” or try “Askew”
“What is your favorite color?”
“Up up down down left right left right”
“Tea, Earl Grey, hot”
“Go go gadget [app name]”
“When does the narwhal bacon?”
“What is the Bacon number of [random actor]?”
“What does the fox say?”
“What is [Brian Cranston’s] Bacon number?”
If you REALLY want to see the merit behind this stuff, and just how cool it is, check out some of these commands in action
50 Google Now Voice Commands
What was your favorite command? Is there a command that you use all the time that we missed? Could you think of some new commands that Google should implement? Let us know in the comments!
Thanks for reading!
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