Google Assistant’s routines are rolling out now. Google initially announced it was following the footsteps of Amazon and adding multistep smart home routines last October. They allow you to take several actions (toggling lights, changing the thermostat, etc.) with a single voice command. Google gave more details last month when it teased the approaching launch of routines in the US. Today, Google Assistant’s support page for the routines went live, revealing there would be six routines at first.
To access routines, go to settings in the Google Home or Google Assistant app, and you’ll find them under Home Control, Music, and Shortcuts. It looks like the Good Morning routine is only one that’s live right now, as spotted by Android Police, but others should be enabled very soon.
The first wave of routines are Good Morning, Bedtime, Leaving Home, Commuting to Work, Commuting Home, and I’m Home. The commuting routines are only accessible from your phone, as you’re likely to be on the go when using them. Routines are unique to each user’s individual voice, so multiple members of a household can set up their own routines.
The full list of available actions with routines is available on Google’s routines support page. For Good Morning, the first available routine, you can take your phone off silent (if you’re using Android), adjust the phone volume, fix the lights and thermostats, hear the weather, and check your commute, calendar, and reminders. Then you can play music, news, radio, or catch up with a podcast or audiobook. Some smart home integrations are not yet available with routines, so although you’ll be able to turn on lights and thermostats, Logitech accessories and others won’t work yet.
