Google Now (alternatively known as ‘Ok Google’) has improved a lot since its launch 3 years ago. It is an intelligent personal assistant for smartphones (also works on the web and Android wear) that not only assist you to search on Google but also helps you perform certain functions on your mobile device, such as setting up an alarm, sending an email, calling someone, etc. It’s not just the wide range of commands makes it the best, but the accuracy with which it performs without any glitch makes it truly an amazing innovation.
In this article, we have come up with a list of 50 useful (and latest) Google Now commands that will help users to make the most of it.
Your questions as ‘Ok Google’ Commands
1. Okay Google, ‘What is 20% of 80?’
2. Okay Google, ‘What time is it in India?’
3. Okay Google, ‘What is the height of Mount Everest?’
4. Okay Google, ‘Define ambidextrous.’
5. Okay Google, ‘Show me pictures of India Gate’
You can ask as many questions as you want. It’s up to you what do you want to ask. Google Now will come in handy for such search queries as you don’t have to type anything.
Scheduling Commands
6. Set Alarm
Okay Google, ‘Set an alarm for 6 A.M.’
7. Set Reminder
Okay Google, ‘Remind to visit my friend Kapil in the evening.’
8. Set Timer
Okay Google, ‘Set a timer for 1 Minute.’
9. Create an Event
Okay Google, ‘Set Event.’ or alternatively you can say this: Okay Google, ‘Dinner with Kapil, Tomorrow, 9 PM’
Calculation and Conversion Commands
Conversion
10. Okay Google, ‘Convert USD to INR ‘ or ‘Convert 100 USD to INR’
11. Okay Google, ‘Convert pounds to KG’ or ‘Convert 175 pounds to KG’
You can convert almost any data from one unit to another. For instance, you can convert Centigrade to Fahrenheit, Miles to Kilometers, etc
Calculation
12. Okay Google, ‘20% of 175’
13. Okay Google, ‘Multiply 300 into 65’
Or you can also perform complicated mathematical calculations such as Okay Google, ‘Square root of 656’
Comparison
14. Okay Google, ‘Rice vs Wheat ‘
This will compare nutritional value of both the items.
Weather Commands
15. Okay Google, ‘Temperature in New Delhi’ or Okay Google, ‘Temperature in New York’
16. Check if there’s any expectation of rains in the city by asking this: Okay Google, ‘Do I need an umbrella today?’
17. Okay Google, ‘Humidity in New Delhi’
Communication Commands
18. Dial a phone number
Okay Google, ‘Call Kapil Jindal’
19. Call your relatives
Okay Google, ‘Call Brother’
Just ask Google to call your brother and he’ll ask you who’s your brother. You tell him the name by which you have saved your brother’s contact on your phone. Google will remember this information. And when next time you’d say ‘call brother’, It will call your brother without asking anything.
20. Send a text message
Okay Google, ‘Send a message to Kapil Jindal’
You can narrate the message to Google and it will type for you. Just say yes, when It asks you to send the message.
21. Send an Email
Okay Google, ‘Send an email’
Google will ask, who do you want to send the email, just speak the name of the person, dictate the content of the email and that’s it.
While dictating the message, you can add question mark, commas, full stop etc to never compromise on grammar. Here’s how to do it.
‘How are you question mark Hope we can meet today full-stop’
22. Find emails
Okay Google, ‘Show me my email from Kapil Jindal’
This will fetch all the email conversation between you and the person you named in the query.
23. Send a chat message via Hangouts
Okay Google, ‘Send chat message’
This command will send a message to your Hangout contacts.
24. Post A Tweet
Okay Google, ‘Post to Twitter Loved last episode of Silicon Valley Season 2’
This command will help you tweet your mind out without having to type anything.
You can also use the same command to post anything on your Google Plus account (if you still use it).
Control Your Device (Smartphone or Wearable device such as Smartwatch)
25. Turn on/off WiFi (or Bluetooth, GPS, Hotspot)
Okay Google, ‘Turn on WiFi’
26. Turn on/off Flash light
Okay Google, ‘Turn on Flash light’
27. Open Camera
Okay Google, ‘Take a Picture’ or Okay Google, ‘Take a Selfie’
28. Record Video
Okay Google, ‘Take a Video’
29. Launch any App
Okay Google, ‘Open Instagram’ Or Okay Google, ‘Launch Facebook’
You can open any app using this command.
30. Open any website in the browser
Okay Google, ‘open beebom.com’
If you wish to open a website in a browser, just dictate the name of the website.
31. Play Music
Okay Google, ‘Play Music.’
This will open the music player and start playing any random song.
32. Adjust Volume
Okay Google, ‘Adjust volume’ or Okay Google, ‘increase volume’
This command will open volume settings for media, ring tone, alarm, etc. In the same way, you can adjust screen brightness.
Navigation Commands
33. Finding nearest place
Okay Google, ‘What is the nearest restaurant’ or Okay Google, ‘What is the nearest post office’
34. Distance between two places
Okay Google, ‘Distance between New Delhi to Jaipur’
35. Navigation direction from Home to Office
Okay Google, ‘Home to Office’
For this command to work properly, we will have to set ‘home’ and ‘workplace’ in the Google Cards->Customize->Places.
36. Get Directions to home from anywhere
Okay Google, ‘How do I get home’
This command will give you directions to your home from wherever you are.
37. Get flight status
Okay Google, ‘What’s the status of delta flight 426’
38. Get details about movies playing in nearby theaters
Okay Google, ‘Jurassic World’
Just type the name of the movie, and Google will fetch you nearest theaters/multiplexes where the movie is playing along with show timings.
39. Find attractions near you
Okay Google, ‘What are attractions in New Delhi’
This command will fetch beautiful tourist destinations to visit in a particular city.
Entertainment
40. Capture new music
Okay Google, ‘Shazam this song’.
This command will open Shazam, the app listens to lyrics and find exact song matching the lyrics.
Note: You need to make sure that Shazam app is installed on your device.
41. Catch up on your favorite radio
Okay Google, ‘Listen to npr’
This command will open npr app and you can hear to the newscast without even having to open the app manually.
Note: npr one should be installed on your device to make it function properly.
42. Know movies’ release date
Okay Google, ‘Everest release date’
43. Know more about your favorite celebrities
Okay Google, ‘Adam Levine age’, or Okay Google, ‘Amitabh bachchan movies’, etc
Google Now Easter Eggs
44. Tilt the screen slightly towards right
Okay Google, ‘Tilt’
45. Do a barrel roll.
Okay Google, ‘Do a barrel roll’
This will rotate the page 360 degrees. It’s fun.
46. Make me a sandwich
Okay Google, ‘Make me a sandwich’
Miscellaneous Commands
47. Translate from language to another
Okay Google, ‘How to say Good night in Chinese’ or Okay Google, ‘How to say I love you in French’
These commands will return the translated version of the sentences. Very handy, right?
48. Search for documents on Google Drive
Okay Google, ‘search for document_name on Drive’
This will run a search query within the Drive and get back to you with required result.
49. Start your Lincoln car with Google Now
Okay Google, ‘start my Lincoln MKZ’
This will magically start the car’s engine without having to physically touch the car. Amazing isn’t it?
Note: MyLincoln Mobile app should be installed in the phone to make sure this command works properly.
50. Control Nest Device with Google Now
Okay Google, ‘Set the temperature to 33 degrees’
51. Your orders on Instacart
Okay Google, ‘show me my order on Instacart’
If you have ordered your food via Instacart, then this command can tell you when your food will arrive.
Note: Make sure your phone has Instacart app installed.
New (Upcoming)
Now on Tap
This feature was unveiled by Google in recent I/O 2015 keynote. It is not just a voice search command. It is something exceptionally extraordinary. It is a technology that helps you access Google Now’s voice search capability without having to leave the app that you’re currently using. Not just that, It also brings the personal assistance capability of Google Now to a whole new level.
‘Now on Tap’ will be available in Android M. To access this feature, all you have to do is ‘long press’ the home button and it’ll come in action.
For instance, you get an email from your friend about dining in a particular restaurant nearby and you are curious about how good the restaurant is. All you have to do is tap and hold the home button, and Google Now will fetch you ratings (other necessary information) about the restaurant.
SEE ALSO: Best Browser For Android Devices
I hope you have learned some really useful Google Now commands. If you think we missed out on any good command, feel free to let us know in comments.
