When Google announced their Pixel, and Pixel XL smartphones, one of the major selling points of the devices was the seamless integration of Google Assistant. While we had previously seen the Google Assistant in Allo, the Pixel devices integrated the service into the Android OS. Google Assistant comes with a lot of neat tricks built in. However, you can even use the Assistant with the automation service “IFTTT”, to unlock a lot of hidden potential. So, here are the 10 Google Assistant IFTTT Recipes that you should definitely check out:
Note: These recipes will work with Google Assistant on both your smartphone, and on Google Home. You will have to connect the services with IFTTT, though, and you can check out our article on using IFTTT to learn more about the same.
1. Use Google Assistant to Turn TV On and Off
If you use a Harmony hub with your TV at home, you can use two really great IFTTT recipes to control your TV with Google Assistant. These recipes will allow you to use Google Assistant to turn your TV on, and off, using just your voice.
To use Google Assistant to turn your TV on, you can use the Turn On TV By Voice recipe on IFTTT.
To use Google Assistant to turn your TV off, you can use the Turn Off TV By Voice recipe.
2. Create an Hour Long Event on Google Calendar
While Google Assistant can create events by default, if you want a quick way to easily book an hour on your calendar for yourself, you can use this great recipe called Block the Next Hour on Google Calendar. With this recipe, you can simply invoke Google Assistant and say “Block some time“, and it will automatically create an hour long event for you.
3. Add Tasks in Todoist
Another really handy recipe to use with Google Assistant is the “Add a Task to Todoist By Voice” recipe. With this recipe enabled, you can simply say “Ok Google, add a task create newsletter.”, and Google Assistant will automatically create a task called “Create Newsletter” in Todoist. You can simply replace “create newsletter” with whatever you want to create a task for.
4. Post to Facebook
If you are a social butterfly, and like to post a lot of updates to Facebook, the “Post to Facebook By Voice” recipe will definitely come in handy for you. With this recipe enabled, you can simply say “Ok Google, tell my friends I’m going sailing.”, and Google Assistant will post a status update on Facebook, saying “I’m going sailing”. So, you don’t need to launch the Facebook app anymore. Simply use the recipe, and get your updates pushed faster.
5. Post a Tweet
If you want to use Google Assistant to post tweets for you, you can use this neat recipe called “Post a Tweet using your Voice“. With this recipe enabled, you can simply say “Ok Google, tweet almost done with the article.”, and Google Assistant will post a tweet to your Twitter timeline, that reads “Almost done with the article”. This can come in handy when you want to tweet on the go, and don’t want to launch the Twitter app. Or, when you simply want to post a tweet without having to type anything out.
6. Use Google Assistant to Add a New Contact
Google Assistant can’t create contacts for you. Sure, it might not seem like such a big deal, but, there is something to be said about being able to create contacts simply by speaking to your phone. If you want to use Google Assistant to create a new contact, you can use a recipe called “Use Google Assistant to Add a New Google Contact“. With this recipe enabled, you can simply say “Ok Google, add John to my contacts. The number is 5544332211.”, and Google Assistant will create a new contact titled John, with the number you specified, in your Google Contacts.
7. Send a Slack Message
A lot of teams around the world use Slack for their messaging needs. If you are a part of such a team, a recipe called “Send a Note on Slack by Voice” can prove exceptionally useful for you, when you need to quickly send a message on Slack. With this recipe, you can simply say “Ok Google, tell Slack that I’m running late.”, and Google Assistant will send a message on Slack, saying “I’m running late.”
8. Email Yourself a List of Notes at the End of the Day
Another recipe that you can use with Google Assistant, is called “Keep a List of Notes to Email Yourself at the End of the Day“. Yes, it actually does have a name that long. This is one recipe that can be used for a variety of tasks. You can use this to keep a handy list of the things you need to do the next day. You can even use this recipe to keep a list of things that you have accomplished in that particular day. With this recipe, you can say “Ok Google, add completed two articles to my digest.”, and Google Assistant will make a note of all things that you have asked it to add to your digest, and email the list to you at 5 PM, everyday. You can change the time to whenever you want the email to be sent out.
9. Use Google Assistant to Ring Your Phone
If you’re like me, you tend to leave your phone lying around in some corner of your house, and then search frantically for it. For people like us, there is a great recipe called “Tell Google Assistant to Call Your Phone“. With this recipe, you can simply say “Ok Google, find my phone.”, and Google Assistant will ring your phone for you, so you can find it easily. This is also the only recipe on this list that is only useful if, you either have two Pixel phones of your own (not likely), or if you have Google Home in your house (kinda likely). Otherwise, you can also enable Google Assistant on any Android device you have, that is running Android Nougat, and use that.
10. Turn Your Hue Lights Off
Hue lights are awesome, and if you use them, you will find this recipe incredibly handy. If you want to use Google Assistant to be able to turn your Hue lights off with one simple command, you can use this recipe called “Ok Google Elvis Has Left the Building“. This creatively named recipe will allow you to simply say “Ok Google, Elvis has left the building.”, and Google Assistant will turn your Hue lights off for you.
SEE ALSO: 15 Best IFTTT Recipes for Android Wear
Get More Out of the Google Assistant with IFTTT
So, those were the 10 Google Assistant IFTTT Recipes that I think you should definitely check out. There are a lot more of these recipes that are available for the Google Assistant, and you can look through them in the IFTTT page. As always, I would love to hear your thoughts about these recipes, and if you encounter any issues with them, feel free to start a dialogue in the comments section below.
