Google Assistant update adds Continued Conversations to listen for follow-up commands

Google has made a crucial tweak to its AI assistant to make interactions more conversational. The company has ditched the need to use the wake phrase'OK, Google' or'Hey Google' to signal the start of a follow-up voice command for the talkative personal assistant. After an initial request, Google Assistant can now use artificial intelligence to try to discern whether you are addressing the smart speaker with a fresh query, or simply talking to someone else nearby. However, to do this, the assistant has to send the audio recording to its servers for analysis, which could threaten your privacy, according to security experts. The optional feature, dubbed Continued Conversations, can now be enabled for Google Home, Home Mini, and Home Max owners in the United States.