If you sometimes get tired of saying “Hey Google” over and over again, it looks like Google is working on voice shortcuts so you don’t need trigger words for your Google Assistant to work for certain tasks. A new “Guacamole” menu is showing up on the latest Google app and it indicates that it will allow certain tasks like setting alarms and accepting calls without having to actually use the voice prompt every tine. This may be similar to the Nest Hub function for alarms from back in 2019.
Android Police shares that they were able to see this Guacamole menu in the latest update to the Google app for Android. While they were able to see it, they could nit enable it yet and even the URL for more information is still a dead link. So this may be something that they’re still working on and may not be ready yet for testing. But the fact that it’s already seen on the update, it’s possible that we’ll see it soon.
In any case, the Guacamole menu looks like it will be for voice shortcuts for quick tasks like answering calls or setting and stopping alarms. You’ve probably experienced waking up suddenly to an alarm you set but you’re still too groggy to remember that you have to say “Hey Google, stop alarm” and so the alarm goes on for a few seconds (or minutes). This way, you’ll be able to still give that command quickly.
When you opt-in, you’ll have to agree to some terms and conditions before you are able to toggle it on. This probably has to do with some privacy and security things, since basically, your Google Assistant-powered devices will have to be on standby to listen to when you will suddenly need its assistance with quick tasks. There have been some concerns about that so we’ll have to read the T&C before opting in. So far it looks like it will support things like voice commands for alarms, calls, and timers.
As to when we’ll see this go live, there’s still no confirmation from Google. For now, you’ll have to make do with still saying “Hey Google” every time you need your Google Assistant to do something for you.
