Google Assistant

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Assistant is Google’s personal assistant that is capable of answering questions, performing automated tasks, and more.

Google Assistant

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Google Assistant adds setting to manage calendars, default accounts on Google Home

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For the past few teardowns of the Google app, we’ve spotted a Calendar setting among Google Assistant’s list of services. This control is now beginning to rollout and allows users to manage Google Calendar, but only on Google Home speakers.

This new option is available by heading to Google Assistant Settings and scrolling down to Services. It should be the last item in the menu and features the Google Calendar icon

As we’ve previously shown, the page lists “Your calendars.” A user’s primary calendar is the default and cannot be unselected, while users can now add/remove others by tapping the check mark next to it.

Below, users can select a “Default calendar to create events.” Tapping reveals a picker, but it appears that this feature is not for specific calendars, like those in the list above. Rather, it’s for selecting different Google accounts that are signed into your Home.

Google Lens in Assistant begins rolling out to Pixel and Pixel 2

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Back in October, several Googlers noted that Google Lens would be coming to Assistant “in the next few weeks.” On Friday evening, the first users have spotted the visual search feature up and running on their Pixel and Pixel 2 phones.

Back at the October 4th event, Google announced that Lens was launching as a preview to Pixel devices later this year. It first debuted in Google Photos on the Pixel 2 before expanding to the original Pixel and Pixel XL late last month.

In Photos, Lens can be triggered when viewing any image or screenshot. However, in Assistant, it is integrated right into the sheet that pops up after holding down on the home button. The interface that is now rolling out does not look all too different from the version we were able to activate in September.

Pressing this new button in the bottom right corner opens up a camera viewfinder. Tapping anywhere freezes the view and begins a search with possible results and actions appearing as a carousel of chips or cards that identify the item, with the usual links to do a web search, open other apps, and more.

There is also a rectangular overlay on the item in question with a close bottom in the top right corner. The suggestion chips also feature the ability to share and rate the result with a thumbs up/down.

Meanwhile, users can quickly start a voice search with the microphone while a new visual lookup is triggered by re-tapping the Lens icon in the bottom right.

We have yet to spot Google Lens in Assistant on our own devices, but the full rollout to Pixel owners will likely happen in the coming weeks.

Google Assistant can help troubleshoot problems with your Pixel 2

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Google Assistant can do a lot of powerful things, and thanks to new gestures, it’s easier to get to than ever on the Pixel 2. Now, Google has quietly added a way to make troubleshooting your Pixel 2 easier with the help of the Assistant.

It’s unclear when this was added, but Google Assistant on the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL has the ability to troubleshoot certain issues on your device. The process is pretty simple, as Google Assistant will help run you through specific checks and tests to solve a problem before giving you the option to connect to Google to get live help on the problem.

Examples discovered so far (via Android Police) include simple things, like troubleshooting the camera or Bluetooth connections, but this can even go so far as to perform a battery health check and ensuring that no apps are draining your battery life.

For users who are new to Android and don’t have immediate support available for their phones, this is a great addition to the Pixel’s already included 24/7 support.