Many Google Assistant hardware devices, including Nest are being witnessed randomly responding to voice commands in a new conversational tone.
Google announced back in August that it would power all the speakers and displays within its ecosystem with Gemini’s large language models. This move, aimed at improving the response quality and conversational interaction with users appears to have begun rolling out now. Some Google Assistant devices, especially the Nest devices, have been responding in a new voice to users’ voice commands.
It is likely that the feature has not been rolled out completely, or is part of an initial test as only certain commands trigger the new voice and tone. One of them is the ‘What’s Up’ command. Users who have not received the silent update will continue to get earlier defined response on this command, which typically is ‘I’m just putting the finishing touches on my New Year’s plan.’
Users who checked their Google assistant devices also realized that this feature has been rolled out only to a limited set of devices only. While most of the new voice appearances happened on the Nest devices, many Nest device users reported that they still hear the old tone and voice from the assistant.
The actual string of updates that Google planned were for Nest Hub, Nest Audio, and Pixel Tablets. The Pixel Tablet seems to be responding in the new conversational tone only when it is kept on the dock mode.
The original announcement revolved around enabling features like:
- Richer responses that summarize complex queries and topics quickly and clearly.
- Deeper understanding of the context, even when it clubs multiple questions and changing the context in the middle of a conversation.
- New voices that improve the conversational engagement with Google’s ecosystem speakers and displays.
One Redditor posted that the Nest speaker has now begun responding in two new voices, both of which are more engaging and natural in tone. Based on the recent observations, it appears that Google has finally brought a major overhaul to its legacy speakers and displays.
Users have been eagerly waiting for new firmware updates and Gemini integrations that elevate their user experience. This random appearance of new AI voice is a sure indication that Google is bringing the technology that powers its flagship AI chatbots to its deprioritized hardware devices soon.
