The 10 Most Useful 'OK Google' Voice Commands You Have to Try
You launched the Google app, said 'OK Google', and now the app is waiting for you to say something. What do you say? What do you ask it to do?
Obviously, you could search for something – speak your search query instead of typing it. But the Google app can do a lot more than that. Here are the 10 most useful things you can do just by speaking into the Google app.
1. Open any app that is installed on your phone
Say you want to launch the Google Chrome web browser. To do so, you need only say “open Chrome” or “launch Chrome”. You can open any app that is installed on your phone just by saying "open [app name]" or "launch [app name]".
2. Turn various features and settings on and off
You’re done browsing the web and you want to turn off your WiFi connection. It’s as simple as saying “turn off WiFi.” If you want to enable the WiFi, say “turn on WiFi” or “enable WiFi.”
You can turn various features and settings on and off with an OK Google voice command. Turn airplane mode on and off, turn Bluetooth on and off, turn the volume up or down, dim the screen, and more.
3. Play music and/or YouTube videos
Use the “play some music” voice command and Google will play a radio station from Google Play. Say “Play [singer name]” and Google will start playing songs by that singer. Say “Play [song name] and Google will start playing that song. If you’re feeling in the mood to party, tell Google to “play party music” and you’ll be taken to a curated playlist on Google Play Music.
If you want to play music from another music app, make sure to specify it. Include “on Spotify” in the voice command if you want to play music from Spotify, include YouTube if you want to play YouTube videos. Say you want to listen to Queen’s “We are the champions” on YouTube. All you have to do is say “play We Are the Champions on YouTube.”
4. Get things done in other apps
OK Google voice commands aren’t limited to Google apps, they work with other apps as well. If you want to identify a song, you can ask Google to “Shazam this song”. If you’re looking for a place to stay, you can ask Google to “find a hotel on Orbitz.” Voice commands work with Spotify, Airbnb, Uber, Wink, RunKeeper, Pandora, Viber, WhatsApp, and more (full list here).
5. Call, text, email someone
Say "Call mom" and Google will call your mom. Or say "Call Bob Jones" and Google will call him. Say "Call Bob Jones on speaker" if you can't put the phone to your ear.
The same goes for texting (SMS) and sending emails. Say "text Mom" and speak out the message. Google will recognize what you say and send it as a text message to your mom.
6. Listen to your text messages
As mentioned above, you can use a voice command to compose and send text messages. Did you know that you can also use an OK Google voice command to have Google read messages out loud? Say “show me my last messages” or “read my messages” and Google will display your last 5 messages and ask you if you want to “hear it or skip it.”
Choose "hear it" and Google will read the contents of the message. Once it’s done, it will give you three options: reply, repeat it, go to the next message.
7. Set timers and alarms, create events and reminders
To set a timer for 10 minutes, say “set a timer for 10 minutes". To set an alarm for 7 in the morning, say “wake me up at 7” or “set an alarm for 7AM”. To create a recurring alarm say “set an alarm for every weekday at 7AM.”
To create an event, say “create a meeting with [name] on [day] at [time]”. If you don’t want to create an event, you can easily create a reminder. Just say “remind me to [task]” or “remind me to [task] at [location]” Like this: remind me to buy milk at Walgreens.
8. Define and translate words
When you hear a word and you’re not sure what it means, get Google to define it for you. Just use the “define [word]” voice command and Google will define it for you.
Let’s say you want to translate a word from English to French. Say “translate [word] to French.” Or you could use this other command: "how do you say [word] in French?”
9. Get a fun fact
This is one of Google’s many Easter Eggs. Search for “fun fact” in your browser or say “OK Google, show me a fun fact” and Google will do just that – it will bring up an interesting fact.
10. Just say “Hello”
Use the "Hello" voice command and Google will present a list of things it can do. If you’re not sure what type of voice command you can use, just say "hello".
Experiment using natural language
Google says we should talk to the app naturally, to treat it as if it were human. You see, the Google app has been designed to understand natural language and help you get things done as fast as possible. You don’t have to remember a precise command, you just have to tell Google what you want it to do and it will understand you.
Google vs. OK Google vs. Google Now
I’ve seen that some people don’t know the difference between these three. So let me put things in perspective.
1. From the Google app – open the Google app and say OK Google (instead of touching the microphone icon). Once you say OK Google, the app will start listening.
2. From any screen – open the Google app and go to Settings -> Voice -> OK Google Detection.
Google Now answers whatever questions you ask it, performs whatever actions you tell it to perform, and brings up useful information in the form of cards. There are cards for the weather, interesting news, location reminders, nearby attractions, traffic and more.
Additional information about the Google app (and what you can do with it) is available here.
Obviously, you could search for something – speak your search query instead of typing it. But the Google app can do a lot more than that. Here are the 10 most useful things you can do just by speaking into the Google app.
1. Open any app that is installed on your phone
Say you want to launch the Google Chrome web browser. To do so, you need only say “open Chrome” or “launch Chrome”. You can open any app that is installed on your phone just by saying "open [app name]" or "launch [app name]".
2. Turn various features and settings on and off
You’re done browsing the web and you want to turn off your WiFi connection. It’s as simple as saying “turn off WiFi.” If you want to enable the WiFi, say “turn on WiFi” or “enable WiFi.”
You can turn various features and settings on and off with an OK Google voice command. Turn airplane mode on and off, turn Bluetooth on and off, turn the volume up or down, dim the screen, and more.
3. Play music and/or YouTube videos
Use the “play some music” voice command and Google will play a radio station from Google Play. Say “Play [singer name]” and Google will start playing songs by that singer. Say “Play [song name] and Google will start playing that song. If you’re feeling in the mood to party, tell Google to “play party music” and you’ll be taken to a curated playlist on Google Play Music.
If you want to play music from another music app, make sure to specify it. Include “on Spotify” in the voice command if you want to play music from Spotify, include YouTube if you want to play YouTube videos. Say you want to listen to Queen’s “We are the champions” on YouTube. All you have to do is say “play We Are the Champions on YouTube.”
4. Get things done in other apps
OK Google voice commands aren’t limited to Google apps, they work with other apps as well. If you want to identify a song, you can ask Google to “Shazam this song”. If you’re looking for a place to stay, you can ask Google to “find a hotel on Orbitz.” Voice commands work with Spotify, Airbnb, Uber, Wink, RunKeeper, Pandora, Viber, WhatsApp, and more (full list here).
5. Call, text, email someone
Say "Call mom" and Google will call your mom. Or say "Call Bob Jones" and Google will call him. Say "Call Bob Jones on speaker" if you can't put the phone to your ear.
The same goes for texting (SMS) and sending emails. Say "text Mom" and speak out the message. Google will recognize what you say and send it as a text message to your mom.
6. Listen to your text messages
As mentioned above, you can use a voice command to compose and send text messages. Did you know that you can also use an OK Google voice command to have Google read messages out loud? Say “show me my last messages” or “read my messages” and Google will display your last 5 messages and ask you if you want to “hear it or skip it.”
Choose "hear it" and Google will read the contents of the message. Once it’s done, it will give you three options: reply, repeat it, go to the next message.
7. Set timers and alarms, create events and reminders
To set a timer for 10 minutes, say “set a timer for 10 minutes". To set an alarm for 7 in the morning, say “wake me up at 7” or “set an alarm for 7AM”. To create a recurring alarm say “set an alarm for every weekday at 7AM.”
To create an event, say “create a meeting with [name] on [day] at [time]”. If you don’t want to create an event, you can easily create a reminder. Just say “remind me to [task]” or “remind me to [task] at [location]” Like this: remind me to buy milk at Walgreens.
8. Define and translate words
When you hear a word and you’re not sure what it means, get Google to define it for you. Just use the “define [word]” voice command and Google will define it for you.
Let’s say you want to translate a word from English to French. Say “translate [word] to French.” Or you could use this other command: "how do you say [word] in French?”
9. Get a fun fact
This is one of Google’s many Easter Eggs. Search for “fun fact” in your browser or say “OK Google, show me a fun fact” and Google will do just that – it will bring up an interesting fact.
10. Just say “Hello”
Use the "Hello" voice command and Google will present a list of things it can do. If you’re not sure what type of voice command you can use, just say "hello".
Experiment using natural language
Google says we should talk to the app naturally, to treat it as if it were human. You see, the Google app has been designed to understand natural language and help you get things done as fast as possible. You don’t have to remember a precise command, you just have to tell Google what you want it to do and it will understand you.
Google vs. OK Google vs. Google Now
I’ve seen that some people don’t know the difference between these three. So let me put things in perspective.
- Google – a search app for Android and iOS
- OK Google – a trigger word for voice commands
1. From the Google app – open the Google app and say OK Google (instead of touching the microphone icon). Once you say OK Google, the app will start listening.
2. From any screen – open the Google app and go to Settings -> Voice -> OK Google Detection.
- Google Now – an intelligent personal assistant (like Siri or Cortana)
Google Now answers whatever questions you ask it, performs whatever actions you tell it to perform, and brings up useful information in the form of cards. There are cards for the weather, interesting news, location reminders, nearby attractions, traffic and more.
Additional information about the Google app (and what you can do with it) is available here.
