Google Lens shows up on Assistant for Pixel devices

Google Lens, the company’s visual search feature, has been slated to come to Assistant but a definite date wasn’t said when the news was announced. Now, it looks like it’s starting to roll out for both Pixel and Pixel 2 devices. Owners of the original Pixel and XL as well as the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL should be able to launch Lens right from Google’s artificial intelligence helper, taking away the extra step of needing to use Google Photos to have Lens work its magic. Now, the camera button within Assistant will help perform search when you take a photo.

It can do everything from identifying what you’re looking at, look thing sup online, and launch other apps. You can rate the results it finds, which should hopefully help refine its results for the future. The feature isn’t widely available yet so keep your eye out for that. We also don’t know yet if other Android devices will be getting the feature.

Source: Engadget + 9 to 5 Google

Troubleshoot your Pixel 2 with Google Assistant

There might come a day when you won’t need to talk to anyone to fix what’s wrong with your phone. Google is starting us off with Pixel 2. Android Police discovered Google Assistant on the Pixel 2 can help diagnose battery issues. Ask why the battery isn’t charging properly and it runs a diagnostic check as well as lets you know which apps are power-hungry. If you don’t get a satisfactory answer, it’ll offer to connect you to Google’s chat or phone support. They’re currently just testing this feature, though. As AP tried to test this out on the Pixel 2 XL and haven’t gotten the best results and it’s pretty limited for now, meaning Google still has some work to do. We don’t expect this to be ready anytime soon but it looks like we’re headed there. And that’s a pretty ingenious way to make use of the feature.

You can now broadcast messages to your Google Home speakers using Assistant

Find yourself at the grocery and want to ask your family what else you forgot to buy or even just want to call everyone for dinner? Google just updated its Assistant service to let you broadcast messages to Google Home speakers connected to your account. It works not just by speaking through the speaker but also through Google Assistant on your phone. You don’t even have to be on the same Wi-Fi network for this feature to work. All you need to say is “Ok Google, Broadcast (it’s) time to wake up…” or something to that effect. You can also broadcast custom messages. Here’s a list of the automated ones from Google.

Unfortunately it isn’t like Echo’s intercom-like system yet, where it lets users converse through the speaker and the Alexa app. But who knows if Google wouldn’t integrate that soon enough.

Source: The Next Web

Meditation app on Google Assistant designed to help veterans deal with stress

A new meditation app from Google and National Geographic called Bravo Tango Brain Training app is built to help veterans deal with the stress, anger, anxiety, loneliness, and other issues that crop up after serving in the military. The app was developed with the help of Dr. Michael Valdovinos, a former Air Force psychologist and combat vet who specializes in the intersection of technology and behavioral health. The app takes advantage of Google Assistant’s voice-reliant nature to have users interact with it. So, after saying “OK, Google, start Bravo Tango,” you can talk to it and say things like “I’m feeling lonely” or “I’m in pain” and the app will respond accordingly and bring up the appropriate exercise based on what you tell it.

Valdovinos thinks this will appeal to veterans as it is engaging and mimics an in-person session but is accessible in a safe space, e.g. it can be done at home. The app works with Google Home and with Android devices. Exercises on Bravo Tango combine things like breathing, grounding, visualization, muscle relaxation, focusing, grounding, and interpersonal connection. NatGeo was inspired to create the app after producing its series The Long Road Home, which followed military vets who are returning from service. Aside from Valdovinos, NatGeo and Google partnered with 360i and Xapp.

Source: Mashable