When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. I switched to Gemini for Home. Here's the Google Assistant feature I miss You'll need to pay up to get this key Google Assistant feature back. I recently made the switch to Gemini on my Google smart speakers and displays, and for the most part, I'm liking it. Gemini is chatty without being a blabbermouth, and it capably controls my smart home while also delivering detailed weather reports and answers to my other queries.

Google's smart home efforts were in a sorry state as late as May. Google touted Gemini AI assistant throughout the entire keynote of its annual I/O developers conference, demonstrating how it would come to permeate every aspect of the search giant's products--everything from phones and AR glasses to watches and TV. But Google Home wasn't mentioned at all, while Google's Nest smart speakers, displays, and cameras were all but ignored. Just as troubling, Google had been discontinuing other Nest products and even withdrawing from some smart home categories from a manufacturing standpoint, all while many Google Home owners were complaining that Google Assistant was faltering at even the most basic smart home duties. Indeed, things got so bad that Anish Kattukaran, the director of product management for Google Home and Nest, felt compelled to speak up on social media, apologizing for Google Assistant's spotty performance while promising that his team is "actively working on major improvements."

It's long been possible to say "Hey Google" to your Google smart speaker to request a playlist from, say, YouTube Music, Spotify, Pandora, and even Apple Music. But can you spot the major music service that's missing? Until now, Amazon Music had been conspicuously absent from the list of music streamers that Google Assistant could easily control on your Google Nest smart speaker or display. Recently, though, Google has begun changing its tune in regard to Amazon Music support on its Nest devices. As spotted by 9to5Google, Amazon Music can finally be set as a default music service on your Google smart speakers.

A smattering of Google Home users are reporting that their Nest speakers are--when asked the right voice command--chatting with a new voice, a sign that the promised Gemini makeover for Google Assistant is starting to roll out. In a video posted on Reddit, a Google Nest Mini user asked "Hey Google, what's up," and got an unusually loquacious reply in a new voice: "What's happening right now is that we're on a giant rock moving through space at 1,000 miles an hour and orbiting a giant star made up mostly of hydrogen. Also, we're chatting, which I enjoy." When the Nest user asked a more basic follow-up question about the weather, Google Assistant answered in its regular voice with a typical weather report. According to 9to5Google, you can tell if the Gemini-enhanced Assistant has made its way to your Nest speakers by asking, "Hey Google, what's up?"

Looking to summon the entire family even when some loved ones are out and about? Google Assistant's Broadcast feature can now do just that, thanks to a recent update. Google is also rolling out a long-awaited improvement to the Assistant's Family Bell feature. Set to go live today, Google Assistant's enhanced Broadcast feature can now reach members of your family group on their phones as well as on Google smart speakers and displays. For example, you could say "Hey Google, tell my family, dinner will be ready in an hour" from the Google Nest Hub Max in the kitchen, and Google Assistant will broadcast the message to all the other Google speakers and displays in your home, as well as on the iPhones and Android phones of any on-the-go family members.

Google is giving users a new way to take charge over their privacy when using its smart speakers and displays. The new security feature, known as Guest Mode, keeps your personal data confidential while still allowing others to get the most out of Google Assistant--and it's already available on your Google smart speaker. Guest Mode is a new privacy feature for Google smart speakers that, when enabled, doesn't store assistant activity and audio recordings, or provide personalized results. The new feature, announced on Jan. 13, is ready for use on Google speakers and displays like the Google Nest Mini and Nest Hub Max. To turn it on, say, "Hey Google, turn on Guest Mode."

Rejoice! Apple Music is finally available on Google Assistant-enabled smart speakers and displays like the Nest Audio and Nest Hub Max. Previously, only YouTube Music, Spotify, Pandora, and Deezer were able to be played natively on Google speakers. The addition of Apple Music to Google speakers is a welcome change for veteran iOS users who have previously relied on Bluetooth as a workaround to play from Apple's catalog of 70 million songs on Google Home speakers. Without further ado, here's how to start rocking out to Apple Music directly from Google speakers. Here's a look at how to link your Apple Music account in the Google Home app.

Raise your hand if this sounds familiar: It's five minutes until your third-grader's distance learning class, but just as you're about to make sure she's dialed into her Zoom call, something comes up with your own work. Thirty minutes later, you finally head over to your daughter's room, only to find her sprawled on the floor watching her iPad. Meanwhile, her Chromebook--the one she uses for Zoom calls--is securely shut. Yes, she just missed another class, and you (bad parent!) let it happen. Keeping your kids on track while juggling your own obligations has to be one of the biggest challenges of distance learning, remote learning, virtual learning or whatever you want to call it.

As summer slowly winds to a close and the first day of remote learning remains weeks away (for many of us, anyway), it's easy--way too easy--to let the kids go nuts on their iPads while the grown-ups toil at home. Luckily, Google Assistant has a new feature to help keep young ones from disappearing into their bean bags. Slated to roll out starting today in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, and India, the new Family Bell feature lets you create bells that sound on your Google smart speakers and displays, just like the bells at school. For example, you can day "Hey Google, create a Family Bell" to set reminder bells for breakfast, the start of a virtual camp day, recess in the backyard, or dinner time. You can ask Google Assistant to set a Family Bell on recurring days of the week, and in specific rooms.

These days, everything from the temperature in your house to the locks on your doors can be managed with a simple voice command to your favorite smart speaker, saving you time and stress while also allowing you to create the perfect home ambiance. But for every "Hey Google" you call out, there's a recording of your request backed up on your Google account. And while Google Assistant isn't meant to record your conversations unless you drop one of the wakeup commands ("Hey, Google," or "OK, Google"), the tech sometimes mishears what you're saying. Related: Here's how to delete your Alexa voice recordings Google Assistant can do a lot to make life a little easier, but you don't have to trade in your privacy to use it. Even worse, each and every one of those recordings has the potential to be heard by Google employees.