If you’ve been using Tile tracking devices for some time now or even if you’re a new user or planning to get a couple, the new integration with Google Assistant is now up and running. All you have to do is add and link it through the Google Home app and all you need to do is ask “Hey Google, where are my keys?” and you should be able to find it if whatever you’re looking for has a Tile attached to it and is still within range.
Previously, you would have to use the Tile app on your phone to look for your missing item. You could also use Google Assistant but the command goes something like, “Hey Google, ask Tile to find my car keys” which can sometimes be a mouthful. Now all you have to do is say directly, “Ok Google, ring my wallet” or “Hey Google, find my computer bag. You will, of course, need a Google Nest device to do that.
You can connect your Tile to your Google Assistant by setting it up through the Google Home app. Tap the Add button and then “Set up device”. Choose “Have something to set up already?”, assuming you have Tile already anyway. Choose Tile then follow the easy-to-follow instructions to link your tracker and you’re all set. You can now just have Google Assistant help you find things that you attacked a Tile tracker to.
The trackers use Bluetooth to see where your devices or things are so they would, of course, have to be somewhere nearby. Tile uses the direct ring technology to “ring up” your items with the trackers attached to it. There’s no GPS tracker yet so you will have to cross your fingers that the things you’re looking for are just lost somewhere within your house and not stolen and far away.
The partnership between Tile and Google comes at a time when Apple may be developing its own product that will also find things for you. There was a code referencing “Items” in the “Find My” app so either they’re coming up with their own thing or they’re partnering with one of Tile’s rivals so either way, it’s good to have this thing with Google.
