Google Home gets better with context, and it’s easier to complain

Google Home is huge The improvement of the twins always had a certain charm. We’ve seen enough sci-fi movies to know how a helpful all-knowing assistant running your home can maybe, but Gemini for Home hasn’t reached that futuristic stage yet. One reason is that it doesn’t always get the context right and asking the speaker about “nanny” or “my wife’s car” only works if the assistant knows who and what you mean. Still, Google is moving in the right direction, with the latest Google Home updates aimed at making these household questions less robotic.

Google has detailed its changes May 11 release notes and a Nest Community postGemini for Home updates are rolling out to voice assistant users for early access. The Google Home app is also getting a few improvements of its own as part of version 4.16, which started rolling out today.

Gemini improves in a domestic context

The most interesting functional improvement is that Gemini can now use the information you save in Ask Home when answering camera history questions on Smart speakers and displays. Google gives an example of saving a detail like “our nanny’s name is Alice” and then asking when the nanny is coming home. The twins can then use that stored context to search for a familiar face tagged as Alice.

It’s closer to the smart home assistant Google promised: an assistant that understands how you talk about your family, rather than forcing you to memorize the exact names and labels your devices expect. You can also request a Home Brief on your speaker or screen to get a quick summary of what’s going on at home while you’re at home.

Google also makes it easy to let the company know when Gemini does things right or wrong. Smart displays will now provide a faster way to send you feedback by displaying the thumbs up and down buttons after most voice interactions. Given the shaky start to the early access period, the latest updates are more responsive to user requests, and this appears to be Google’s latest effort to show that the company is listening to users.

Gemini also needs to feel faster for some basic requests. Google said it optimized back-end processing for smart home commands, making actions like turning on the lights more responsive. Alarms and timers should also be noticeably faster, Google said, having simplified how these commands are processed to reduce wait times and the need to repeat yourself.

There are several other corrections in Gemini. Google says that mature users should now get more helpful answers to benign questions that might have previously been confused by age-restriction filters, asking how to make a margarita. The twins also asked, “What can you do?” should be better at helping you get started with clearer and more relevant suggestions when asking questions like

The Google Home app is getting some practical improvements

The Google Home app side of the update is just as practical, especially for smart thermostat owners. Nest Thermostat owners can now instantly stop using outdoor temperatures to heat or cool their homes directly from the thermostat without changing long-term automatic settings. Google says thermostat chart banners should also display more timely, relevant advice.

There’s also a useful iOS upgrade for smart home users with compatible third-party thermostats and air conditioners. Google says you can now control these devices directly in the Google Home app on iOS, just like you can on Android.

Finally, it changes the device setup flow in the Google Home app. The old multi-choice setup menu has been replaced by a QR code scanner that guides you to the correct setup for your device, whether it works with a Matter-enabled product, Google Home or a Google Nest device.

Gemini for Home is still a work in progress, but to be fair, that’s why it’s in early access. Google has been rolling out updates thick and fast recently, each offering responsive iterations towards the setup we’ve always hoped for.