What you can ask the Google Assistant

You can ask your Google Assistant for info and for help with everyday tasks.

Some queries won’t work in all languages.

For ideas about what your Assistant can help with, ask "What can you do?"

Use the Google Assistant

Get local info

  • Weather: What’s the weather today?
  • Food: Find pizza restaurants nearby.
  • Business hours: Is Walgreens still open?
  • Navigation: Navigate home.

Plan your day

  • Traffic: How’s the traffic to work?
  • Reminders: Remind me to do laundry when I get home. Remind me to call Mom every Sunday.
  • Flights: Is United flight 1463 on time?

Ask Google

  • Game updates: Who won the Warriors game?
  • Calculations: What’s 20% of 80?
  • Dictionary: What does "gregarious" mean?
  • Translations: How do I say "Nice to meet you" in French?
  • Finance: How’s the S&P 500 doing?
  • Unit conversions: How many kilometers in a mile?
  • Search: Search for summer vacation ideas.
  • Image search: Find pictures of kittens.
  • Web answer: How do you remove wine stains from a rug?

Play media

  • Music: "Play some Jazz music."
  • Podcasts: Play the latest episode from This American Life.
  • News: Play the news. What’s the latest news from BBC?

Have fun

  • Get to know your Assistant: Do you dream? What's your favorite color?
  • Games: Let’s play a game. Give me a trivia question.
  • Entertainment: Tell me a joke. Tell me something interesting.

On specific devices

On your phone or tablet

Communicate

  • Calls: Call Mom. Call Bob on speaker phone. Make a video call.
  • Duo: Call Mom. Call Living Room Smart Display.
  • On phones only:
    • SMS: Text Mike "See you at 5."
    • Emails: Send an email.
    • WhatsApp: Send a WhatsApp message to Sam.

Get around your phone

  • Change settings: Turn on WiFi. Increase the volume. Decrease the brightness.
  • Control your phone: Turn on the flashlight. Take a photo.
    • Note: Whether the Google Assistant can take a photo for you depends on your device manufacturer.
  • Find things in your apps: Search for tablets on Amazon. Search for Kanye West on Twitter.
  • Find photos: Show my pictures of the beach.

Plan your day

  • Alarms: Set an alarm for 7 a.m.
  • Reservations: Make a reservation for 2 at [restaurant] on Friday.

Get things done

  • Shopping: Add cereal to my shopping list.
  • Donate: Donate $5 to [organization].

Tip: To do two things at once, connect two requests with "and." For example, you could say "Hey Google, turn off the lights and turn on the TV." For now, you can only do two things at once if you use the Assistant in English.

On your speaker or Smart Display

Control your smart home

  • Lights: Dim the living room lights.
  • Thermostats: Set the heat to 70. Lower the temperature 2 degrees.

Plan your day

  • Alarms: Set an alarm for 7 a.m.
  • Reservations: Make a reservation for 2 at [restaurant] on Friday.

Communicate

  • Calls (Smart Displays only): Call Mom. Call Bob on speaker phone. Make a video call.
  • Duo (Smart Displays only): Call Mom. Call Living Room Smart Display.

Tip: To do two things at once, connect two requests with "and." For example, you could say "Hey Google, turn off the lights and turn on the TV." For now, you can only do two things at once if you use the Assistant in English.

On your TV

Watch TV

  • Movies & TV shows: Play Stranger Things on Netflix.
  • Video clips: Play cat videos.
  • Apps: Open YouTube.
  • Search: Search for sitcoms.
  • Info: Tell me about Game of Thrones.

Control

  • Playback: Pause. Stop. Resume.
  • Volume: Louder. Softer.
  • Power: Turn off.
On your watch

Communicate

The following voice actions will use your phone unless you have a watch with an LTE connection.

  • Text: Text John "I’ll see you at 5.
  • Email: Send an email to Sam.

Fitness

  • Running: Track my run.
  • Cycling: Start a bike ride.
  • Step count: How many steps have I taken?
  • Heart rate: What's my heart rate?
On your Pixel 4

Take, search & share photos

  • "Show me my photos from New York"
  • "Take a selfie." Then say "share this with Ryan"
  • "Take a picture in 10 seconds"

Manage your phone’s settings

  • "Turn on the flashlight"
  • "Take a screenshot"
  • "Turn on Do Not Disturb"
  • "Turn on Bluetooth"

Make calls or send messages

  • "Call Mom"
  • "Tell Tina I will be five minutes late"
  • "Text Adam, Don’t forget to get milk on your way home"
  • In a chat thread, say "Reply, I’m on my way"

Open apps

  • "Open Translate"
  • "Search for yoga classes on YouTube." Then say "Share this with mom"
  • "Find hotels in San Diego on Maps"
  • "[Artist name] on Google Play Music"
  • "Show me emails from Michelle on Gmail"

Open websites in Chrome

Ask your new Google Assistant to go to a site in the Chrome app.

  • Go to [site name]
  • Open [site name]

Search in your apps or websites

When you have an app or website open in Chrome, ask your new Google Assistant to help you complete tasks, like finding a video to watch or searching for a message. It works seamlessly with many apps and we’ll continue improving app integrations over time. For example:

  • With the YouTube app open, say "search for cat videos."
  • With the Google Photos app open, say "show me New York pictures." Then say "The ones at Central Park."
  • With a recipe site open on Chrome, say "Search for chocolate brownies with nuts."
  • With a travel app open, say [hotels in Paris]

Related articles

Was this helpful?
How can we improve it?