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Let's discuss: Expanding chimes for in-room smart home devices

KiiFromGoogle
Community Manager (Admin)
Community Manager (Admin)

We recently shared that we're expanding the use of chimes to acknowledge smart home commands to control devices in the same room. You can read more about this in our community blog.

If you've gotten a chance to try this, we want to know: What do you think? We’d love to hear all the details about how you’ve used chimes and pass along your feedback on the experience.

1 Recommended Answer

KiiFromGoogle
Community Manager (Admin)
Community Manager (Admin)

Thanks for the discussion here! It sounds like this is a step in the right direction, and that many of you are interested in even more use cases for chimes and more flexibility in acknowledgements. I'll be sharing this thread with the right teams so that they can continue to make improvements based on community feedback.

Don't forget, you can share feedback with us at anytime through your devices or the Google home app. Learn more here: Share feedback about Google Nest.

While this thread is now closed, we invite you to start a new post.

View Recommended Answer in original post

44 REPLIES 44

TechWithBrett
Silver Product Expert
Silver Product Expert

This is awesome! Are there any updates to when a device can't be found? Right now it says, "Sorry, (device name) can't be found right now" for every device in the room is unavailable. I the goal would be to have every device always work but that is not the case. It would be nice to even have a slightly different chime sound if that was the case.

Yes, I also agree with this idea! It's super annoying to hear a 10+ sec vocal prompt of the assistant announcing each device when it cant be reached.  A pop up notification + alert in the Google home app is all we need. No sound needed! 

I don’t even want a notification unless I ask what went wrong! Some of my plugs are on outlets with light switches. I never care that they aren’t available.

We understand that the assistant is just going to do its best. No need for long winded excuse making.

Also, let us disable chimes too. There are times I walk around and do things manually because people are sleeping and I’m afraid Assistant will start chiming or yelling at me about things it couldn’t do if I dare to ask it to turn out the lights.

Yup, we don't even need the chimes. They are better than the voice prompts, but can do without them. If there's a connection issue, just send a pop up notification to the hub and through the Google home app. Less talk, more action Google. 

This x1000%. I keep Amazon Alexa devices next to my Google Nests for this very reason. If I'm trying to turn down the lights in my daughter's bedroom, I don't need her waking up with Google Assistant having to talk back responses because I'm trying to set the lights from a different room. From trying to put music on in that room, I don't need Google Assistant repeating the music I just asked it to play. It could just play. Having chimes is a step up from full dialogue in that same room, but it'd be nice to turn off chimes too. I would prefer that you give users the option to decide dialogue everywhere, dialogue nowhere, chimes on, chimes off. Give people the power of choice.

KiiFromGoogle
Community Manager (Admin)
Community Manager (Admin)

While I don't have any news to share on that, I'll definitely share your experience and interest in that use case for chimes. 

ProductProJon
Community Member

Thank you, Google! This has been a request for quite some time! Google Assistant will now be a lot friendlier to use. Hopefully this feature will apply to requesting music actions in the future.

No speech unless asked a question should be the rule.

KiiFromGoogle
Community Manager (Admin)
Community Manager (Admin)

I'm happy to hear that! You're not alone in your request to use this with music actions-- I'll make sure to pass it on to the right teams.

mlongbsa
Community Member

This feature is very welcomed! Really hoping this becomes an option for controlling everything outside of the room of the device. "Turn off hallway lights from living room device... chime."

A chime is nice. But we don't, really need a chime. We just need it to do what we ask. And if it cant, it can tell us via notification on the hub or our phones. The in house assistant experience should be as efficient and quiet as possible.

KiiFromGoogle
Community Manager (Admin)
Community Manager (Admin)

Great to hear you're excited about it! I'll pass on your feedback about expanding the capability to devices outside of the room.

Rwingace
Community Member

Please make it so it stops replying with the whole song and what it's playing on when requesting music. Nothing is more annoying than trying to put a baby asleep with lullabys and google saying something like "playing top baby lullabys by The Baby Music Center best baby songs ever the greatest sleep songs ever on YouTube Music blah blah blah". Just play the music!!!

The less the assistant talks when we don't ask it to talk, is better. Idk how they haven't thought of this years ago. Just do the task. Simple as that. 

 

People have been screaming about this for years. It’s nice to see some action now, but as usual Google is being way, way too conservative.

The only time I want a vocal response is when I ask Assistant a direct question. Vocal responses bother everyone in the home. 

MisterJP
Community Member

Does this mean i wont get a list of all the devices that can't be reached when i say turn of "something", like i have for the past years?

We can dream

cgillett
Community Member

Great news! I really think you need to extend this to doorbells too - it's more than enough for the chime to go off, you don't need the speaker to follow up with "someone's at the front door doorbell...", it just sounds strange...

greenbug
Community Member

This feature seems to have been in place for awhile on lights. I have noticed it for awhile in my home 

KiiFromGoogle
Community Manager (Admin)
Community Manager (Admin)

Yup, you're right! This update expands the use of chimes, so you may notice it used for other devices now.

BiteTiger
Community Member

Can we also discuss customizing the wake word / phrase? 

"Hey" and "Ok" followed by "Google" provides many opportunities for it to be quired when not intended. 

 

I want to give it a weird name that is often not heard unless I want to talk to it. 

Yeah, it would be so nice to give my assistant a name of my choosing. I think about moving to Alexa so that I don’t have to address my home with the name of a corporation.

Google has claimed that the majority of the users are happy with the “Ok Google” phrase and do not plan on changing it anytime soon.

 

https://techcult.com/how-to-change-google-home-wake-word/

 

🤔

 

My Minis, Maxs, and Homes are frequently triggered by "Ok" or "Hey" without a corresponding "Google"

 

Additionally they are frequently triggered by "Google" without a preceding "Ok" or "Hey"

 

These words are just way too common... Why not something I'm very unlikely to say like "Bard"

 

There is some weirdness within the Google echo system.

I just want a one syllable name. Google isn't just a double syllable word(takes longer) but it's a mouthful of a word. It doesn't flow, it's difficult to say quickly, it's impossible to say when even partially drunk or tired to very upset/crying, I want to use a name like Dave or Stan. Just something easier to say!

Jennie Wilson Bradley

I'm sorry Dave, I can't let you do that...

dtwitkowski
Community Member

This will be very helpful, thanks.  I'm curious if time-limited lighting commands will be converted to chime-only?  We often use commands like "Turn on the bedroom lights for five minutes" and our bedroom lights are a group of connected outlets.  The response is very verbose, as the names of every outlet are read back by Assistant.  

 

 

KiiFromGoogle
Community Manager (Admin)
Community Manager (Admin)

While this isn't covered by chimes right now, I'll pass on that insight to the right team. We're always looking for ways to improve, and we appreciate your feedback!

Chitra
Community Member

Could you please give us a way to turn off "Did you know/How-to's" suggestions from Google?

For example:

Me: Hey Google, add green chillies to my shopping list.

Google: Okay, Green Chillies added to your list called "shopping".

DID YOU KNOW THAT YOU CAN SET A REMINDER FOR AN EVENT BY SIMPLY SAYING "HEY GOOGLE, SET A REMINDER?"

Just no, it's extremely frustrating to deal with this. I am aware of the features my nest offers, and even if I wasn't, this would be the worst (most intrusive) way to find out.

Altoncg86
Community Member

Gosh, reading everyone's comments is making me look at the Google home experience as failing to have evolved with it's users. Sure, it was cool to hear our assistant's voice when this tech was first introduced, but clearly, we don't want it to talk as much as this point. 

Honestly they’ve failed to consider its proper place in the social hierarchy at home.

It is supposed to be a servant.

I am not rich enough to hire servants. But if I had a butler and I asked him to remember to buy something, I would be miffed if he then told me he also knows how to remind me of things.

If I asked my servant to lock up the house for the night, turn out the lights, and turn on the cameras, and he immediately began shouting about lights he couldn’t turn off, I’d be mad.

And if he woke my wife with that kind of nonsense on the regular I’d fire him.

“Hey Jeeves, play some classical music and read me the news” should not result in getting yelled at about playlists and music services.

The assistant should be there when we need it get our attention only when necessary, and do the most it can with the least noise and chatter possible.

Literally had me laughing out loud but it's so true!

Me: hey Google play release radar on Spotify

Google: Ok! Here's the playlist 'Release radar!' By the way, did you know I can tell you the news and football scores and set up reminders and alarms...."

Meanwhile I'm trying to clean my kitchen and instead of background music to make the job less painful, I'm listening to an itinerary of exactly all the things I don't need from Google right now. 😐

Jennie Wilson Bradley

JDT1
Community Member

Yes!  I can't tell you how many times I've screamed at my Home devices to "Shut up!" when they start the By the way garbage.  It wouldn't be a big deal if Home remembered it had already told me a specific "by the way", but I don't need to hear it every 5th time I set a kitchen timer

Hjuwhskel4k
Community Member

This is so long overdue and quite honestly embarrassing that it still only applies to same room devices. Are you reading all the feedback on this page that universally wants the device to stop talking so much?

ABluePelicanCat
Community Member

I don't have chimes and I want chimes! I am not a fan of the voice option. I don't like either voice and I find it takes far too long to have your question read back to you. I would also like the option- if chimes aren't rolled out to every device, every option, to change the voice from the two options we currently have (either a condescending sounding woman or a overly positive to the point of near mockery 20-something boy. I would like different voice options and ideally to have no voice at all unless you're asking for specific information on something.

I don't have the Google lights, heating thermostat, smart fridge or anything else that could be AI programmed. I use my device to play things on, but the voices, they just jar me and make a simple request can feel like a long drawn out process when it doesn't need to be. I like to channel hop a lot and listen from radio station to radio station looking (listening) for something better. And on a normal DAB radio I can flick between a station to another within 2-3 seconds- that includes waiting for the radio to change it's signal to play me my new selected station. But with Google (the Mini, Home or Nest) I have to wait for "sure, here's ......." followed by a pause of anything up to 15 seconds whilst Google finds the station. Same with requesting different tunes on Spotify. I don't need to be told what I did, I just need you do play what I asked and ideally with no wait or delay. 

I get irritated enough when instructions I ask daily are randomly refused with "I'm sorry, I don't know how to do/play/etc XXXXX" after I'd just asked that instruction a few mins ago and without an issue had it granted. I send feedback about this when it happens on a daily basis at times and every single time am asked "shall I send it?" after requesting to leave feedback. If I've asked once, why is this not permission enough? It is just automatically sent on a Home device or a Mini, but not on the Nest. Why is this?

Jennie Wilson Bradley

MasterOfObvious
Community Member

This is a good start, but doesn’t go far enough. I never want vocal responses from Assistant when I give it a command. The only time it should speak is when I’ve asked it a question.

  • Give it success, partial success and failure chimes.
  • Let us fully disable any or all of the chimes.
  • Let us ask it “what went wrong” when there’s a failure to get the long-winded summary it currently blasts out.
  • let us say “undo that” to reverse the parts of a previous command that worked.
  • Send details to our phones only when we ask for that or as part of a vocal response. Don’t spam our devices.

It would also be great if this extended beyond smart home commands. When I command some music, I absolutely hate the “OKAY CHECK OUT THIS PLAYLIST ON GOOGLE PLAY MUSIC” thing.

It’s as if a stranger with a loud voice materializes and shouts at me for a few seconds every time I ask for something. I honestly use Assistant less than I would because the high-volume chatter annoys everyone in the house.

Play an optional chime and do what I said! That’s all I want from an assistant.

This!

I am so fed up with everything taking so long to get the response I want. I get frustrated with having to say the "hey/hello Google xxxxx". Google is a mouthful, asking something with key words is a mouthful, and 70% of the time an instruction I often give several times a week is not possible. "I'm sorry, I don't know how to do that" (actually just 2 hours ago that exact instruction was possible) I'll try asking again and get the same "I'm sorry,...." Then I have to ask to send feedback and am interrupted halfway through with "Thanks, I'll send that along to my makers!"

I'd like a different voice if I do have to have a voice.

I'd like to be able to make the voice replies quieter than they are, I have the radio (played through the speaker) and have it high enough to hear. Somehow the Google voice is so loud it's at a point I worry about my neighbours complaining!

It is also very annoying when the machine gets it totally wrong and sparks into life when no one is in the room or outside and all of a sudden I'm hearing it talking to itself, relaying some sort of internet search it thinks I'd asked for despite being sat in silence a room or few rooms away. I then have to get up, run to the room (too much noise...neighbours...etc) and then say the whole phrase "hey google STOP!" Why can't I just say the word "STOP" (or how I actually feel; STFU!!) It is VERY annoying and happens too often!

I've at times yelled to "hey Google, Stop" and despite asking this have then had to ask it twice, three times over before the machine stops. Why is it that the voice automation is so bad at listening when it's on anything louder than halfway? I should only need to ask once. And I think if it was possible, Google should add a switch to turn off at speed. At the moment it's either shout and repeat yourself a few times, or pull the plug. The tap to mute option does not seem to work. The volume tap option is more work and not possible with full hands and the nest option volume is not easy enough to use in a hurry.

 

Jennie Wilson Bradley

Altoncg86
Community Member

Every comment says "the assistant talks too much", "only talk when we ask a web search question", "chimes are great", ...if Google doesn't make the change to silence the assistant more, it's clear they've gone the wrong direction with the in home assistant experience. Maybe recent AI advancements can help?

 

Hjuwhskel4k
Community Member

Does anyone else get feedback prompts from the device? Or from Google opinion rewards? I do and I respond EVERY time by telling them it takes too long, talks too much, has no option for silence, etc. They say they read the feedback but after 3-4 years of sending it in, we get.... this.