20 Google Assistant Actions to Try as 2020 Ends

Google Assistant spent 2020 adding a ton of new features for both consumers and developers. Google has given brands new tools to create and improve their voice apps while expanding what the voice assistant is capable of doing on its own. As 2020 ends, we’ve made a list of 20 Google Assistant Actions and features we enjoyed this year, including newcomers and some classics.

Baby Shark

It may have played a billion times already, but if you get the urge to sing about ocean life, this the ditty you’re going to want to ask Google Assistant to play for you.

Disney+

Google Assistant scored a win over its rivals by nabbing direct streaming of Disney’s platform on Google Nest Hub smart displays. Subscribers to the service just need to connect it to their device through Google Home and the voice assistant will handle commands for searching and playing content.

Donations

The festive season may be almost over, but donating to a good cause is a year-round positive. The Google Assitant Action uses Google Pay and a connected account to donate whatever amount you choose to the charity of your choice, including most of the best-known organizations.

Dress Right

A combination of weather and fashion, Dress Right recommends outfit ideas based on local weather conditions.

Google Calendar

Google has done a good job integrating several aspects of its G Suite into Google Assistant, including Google Calendar. The voice assistant can add, remove, or change an event on the calendar, and follow up with invites very efficiently.

Google Search

The most popular search engine in the world has that position for a reason. Google Assistant can plumb the depths of the internet to answer pretty much any question.

Interpreter Mode

The voice assistant version of Google’s translation services. Turning on interpreter mode on a Nest device allows you to translate between any of almost 30 languages, whether for a conference call or to understand a confusing video.

My Career Fit

A tool for connecting job seekers with employers, My Career Fit asks questions to help narrow down a location and type of job and someone might be looking for and lets them know about who is advertising to find someone of that description and recordings about the job and the company from the people who work there.

My Story Time

My Story Time lets children play stories recorded by their parents on-demand. The story and some custom responses are recorded by the parent and when the child calls up My Story Time they hear the voice of the parent ask them what story they want to hear followed by them reading the one chosen.

Netflix

Google Assistant embraced the digital streaming service this year, allowing people to use voice commands to search for and watch videos on the Google Nest Hub Max smart display.

Nutella Creations

A delicious marketing campaign, Nutella Creations is full of recipes for incorporating the hazelnut spread into breakfast. It includes six different kinds of dinosaur pancakes and memory games for kids to learn more about Nutella.

Routines

Google this year expanded what Routines, which carry out multiple tasks with one short command, can do. The new Workday Routine, for instance, includes proactive reminders for those working from home because of COVID-19.

Smart Dog Owners

A useful reference for dog owners or just people at a house with dogs, this Action will answer questions about dog health, including whether a given food is okay for them to eat or if it will make them sick.

Spotify

Spotify podcasts became available through Google Assistant this year, giving listeners on Nest devices more options than just Google’s own platform, including access to Spotify’s library of exclusive podcasts.

Starbucks

The Google Assistant Action for Starbucks is very useful, especially if you have a ‘usual’ order at the coffee chain. The method of placing an order and a store to pick up at is very straightforward, which is good if you haven’t yet had caffeine.

Todoist

The popular productivity app revamped its Google Assistant functions with new voice commands that lets users add and edit tasks more quickly than before.

The Voice

Reality competition show “The Voice” gained its own voice through Google Assistant, including offering viewers the option to vote for their favorite singers by telling the voice assistant.

Washington Nationals

The Nationals are one of 15 Major League Baseball teams who launched a Google Assistant Action in a partnership with Satisfi Labs offering conversation and information directly from the teams.

Wonder

Wonder remembers things for you. The Action a great, fast way to store special dates, online passwords, or anything else that you want to be able to recall in the future. It’s great for when you don’t have a free hand to write something down.

YouTube Music

As part of Google’s migration from the Google Play store, YouTube Music has become the hub of streaming music from Google Assistant with voice commands for songs and personalized playlists.

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