OK Google Functionality Extended To Third-Party Apps

As it stands, using the command “OK Google” on your Android device will launch the voice assistant feature that allows users to perform searches, set reminders, alarms, find directions, and so on. All of this is based on Google Search to a certain extent. However it seems that Google will be extending the functionality to third-party apps.

As announced by Google, developers will be able to insert a short code into their apps that allows the “OK Google” function to work with their apps. According to Google, “At Google, we always look for innovative ways to help you improve mobile search and drive user engagement back to your app. For example, users can now say to the Google app: “Ok Google, search pizza on Eat24” or “Ok Google, search for hotels in Maui on TripAdvisor.”

This means is that if you’d rather not rely on Google Search for restaurant or holiday advice, you can try searching for it with your voice in third-party apps and it can be done from any screen. That way if you favor Yelp, you could search for a restaurant review on Yelp via the “OK Google” function.

Of course this will depend on developers updating their apps to support the feature so for some apps, the update might take a while to arrive. The feature will also only be available on devices running Android Jelly Bean or later, so if you have an older handset, we guess you’d be out of luck.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Cellphones
Tags: Android, Google