Google Assistant now lets you use your voice to interact with your text messages

By Lulu Chang March 7, 2017

OK, Google commands — dennizn/123RF

You can finally talk to your friends by talking to your phone.

Wait, what?

Yes, you read that correctly. If you have a phone that is compatible with Google Assistant, we have good news for you: The AI assistant can now help you read and interact with your SMS text messages, a feature that users have been requesting since … well, since Google Assistant first made its debut.

You can now employ one of many prompts in order to access your text messages. For example, if you tell Google Assistant to “Show me my messages,” you’ll be greeted by the message interface found in Google Now. If you ask, “Do I have any messages?” you’ll see any new messages you may have received. If you say, “Show me my last message,” you’ll be able to access your most recent conversation.

When you access a message through Assistant, you’ll also have access to a reply button, which will open up a conversation field if tapped. And because Google Assistant uses the SMS client, you can also use your voice to interact with Google Hangouts and Facebook Messenger’s SMS feature. You can have your messages read aloud to you, reply to them, or move on to the next message on the list.

Google is currently in the process of rolling out Assistant to non-Pixel phones, so if you don’t have it yet, you ought to in the near future. 9to5Google reports that the feature works on the latest beta version of the Google app (6.14) but should also work on the latest 6.13 stable.

So if you find your hands tied but needing to keep up on your correspondences, Google Assistant can help you out in a pinch.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…

Mobile

Google is launching a powerful new AI app for your Android phone

Google Gemini app on Android.

Remember Bard, Google’s answer to ChatGPT? Well, it is now officially called Gemini. Also, all those fancy AI features that previously went by the name Duet AI have been folded under the Gemini branding. In case you haven’t been following up all the AI development flood, the name is derived from the multi-modal large language model of the same name.

To go with the renaming efforts, Google has launched a standalone Gemini app on Android. Moreover, the Gemini experience is also being made available to iPhone users within the Google app on iOS. But wait, there’s more.

Mobile

Don’t update your Google Pixel phone — you might break it

A person holding the Google Pixel 8, showing the screen.

One of the reasons to buy a Google Pixel phone is to be first in line to receive software updates — from new Android versions to important security patches. Unfortunately, one of the latest updates from Google is breaking some Pixel phones.

Over the weekend, a Reddit user on the r/GooglePixel subreddit compiled a list of threads from nearly a dozen Pixel owners reporting issues with their phones after downloading the most recent January 2024 Google Play system update.

Mobile

Check your Google Pixel Watch now for a big software update

Someone wearing the Google Pixel Watch 2 with a yellow/green fabric band.

The Google Pixel Watch 2 (and its less successful predecessor) are both getting a significant software update, which has begun rolling out today. It doesn't overhaul the Pixel Watch experience, but it adds some very welcome new features.

One of the most interesting features included in this update is Call Screen. If you're using your Pixel Watch with a Pixel smartphone that has a Tensor processor — like the Google Pixel 8 or Pixel 8 Pro — you'll now see a transcript of the person who's calling you so you can decide if you want to pick up the call or ignore it. Pixel phones have had Call Screen for years now, but with this update, it's finally coming to your wrist. It works for both the first Pixel Watch and the Pixel Watch 2.