Google Assistant Gets New Features for the Holidays

For those of us who celebrate Christmas, the next few weeks are set to be the busiest time of the year. We all run around buying gifts, sending greetings cards, meeting up with friends and family, and generally being rushed off our feet for no apparent reason.

However, Google thinks its Assistant can help you survive the holidays. And it has rolled out a bunch of new features designed to do just that. Some of Google Assistant’s new features are only loosely connected with the holidays, but we’ll let them off.

Google Assistant’s New Features

Google revealed Assistant’s new holiday-related features in a post on The Keyword. And they are as follows…

Google Assistant now recognizes when you say “please” and “thank you”. The feature, called Pretty Please, rewards politeness by having Assistant reply in an equally polite manner.

Google Assistant can now help you keep track of gift ideas by using notes and lists. You can create a gift list, add ideas to an existing list, and more besides, all with your voice.

Google Assistant now lets you call Santa, and he needs your help while rehearsing for a concert. If you have a Smart Display you can even see some album covers for bands from the North Pole.

Pretty Please encourages good manners for everyone. Say “please” or “thank you” when using your Google Assistant and listen for an equally pleasing response. https://t.co/7MYbFyWc1H pic.twitter.com/NQ3AZrVX9W

— Made by Google (@madebygoogle) November 29, 2018

If you have a Smart Display and a Google Play Music subscription you can now sing along to your favorite songs. Unfortunately, synchronized lyrics are only available for selected songs.

You can also have Google Assistant read along to one of your favorite Christmas stories. The titles listed here will have music and sound effects added. Alternatively, you can just say, “Hey Google, tell me a story” to have one of 50 titles read to you.

Further Reading for Google Assistant Users

If you’re new to Google Assistant, check out our guide explaining how to use Google Assistant. And if you’re unsure whether Google Assistant is really better than its competitors, we’ve pitched Google Assistant vs. Siri and Google Assistant vs. Cortana.

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