Jimmy Westenberg / Android Authority
TL;DR
- You can now more easily tell Google Assistant to stop talking on smart displays and speakers.
- Unlike previously, you can just say “stop” without first saying “Hey Google” or another hotword.
- As of now, this only works on displays and speakers.
Sometimes, when you ask your smart display or speaker a question, you just want a simple answer. “How tall is the Empire State Building,” for example, should just be a brief reply of “1,250 feet.” However, sometimes Google Assistant will go hog wild and start telling you about how if you measure the building to the tip, it’s actually 1,424 feet, and the height can fluctuate slightly in certain weather conditions, and on and on.
See also: Our complete Google Assistant guide
Previously, when Assistant has gone on these diatribes, you’ve had to say “Hey Google, stop” to get it to shut up. Thanks to a new update, though, you can now tell Google Assistant to stop talking by simply saying “stop” in the middle of its chat. Saying “stop” will cause it to immediately cease speaking.
You may be thinking you already could do this. That’s because, in 2019, Google announced you could simply say “stop” to tell Assistant to stop ringing an alarm or timer. However, that trick hasn’t worked while Assistant is actually speaking, which is why this is significant news.
Unfortunately, this Google Assistant “stop” command only works on smart displays and speakers, at least for now. Hopefully, it will eventually make its way to other devices. This could be quite useful on smartphones, tablets, and media streamers — or pretty much anything with Google Assistant inside.
