ENOUGH!!!!!!

[dpd]

We all know that google assistant has become unreliable, glitchy and annoying but now it’s unsafe.

We have a playlist called ‘bedtime songs’ that my seven-year-old daughter plays every night.

Tonight google assistant responded to the usual command of ‘hey google, play bedtime songs’ with ‘OK, playing Drop Bitch by DJ Sacred’.

This is not acceptable.

[MplsCustomer]

@dpd 

You could go to myactivity.google.com and see what Google Assistant thought you were saying when you said "Hey Google, play bedtime stories", just to see if Google Assistant misheard your request.

[dpd]

Hello. Thank you for taking the time to respond. According to myactivity.google.com, google assistant heard me say 'play bedtime songs' - the activity list says 'Said Play bedtime songs'. It wasn't a misheard request.

[dpd]

Posting this issue again because someone merged the original with an unrelated post on a different topic.

Why has google assistant become incapable of playing any of my YouTube private playlists? Whichever playlist is requested, the assistant says ‘Got it, check out this …’ and plays something random that has nothing to do with the requested playlist.

I’m using the same default music app, same premium subscription and same playlists as always but the assistant just doesn’t recognise the playlist command anymore. I’ve tried renaming playlists and copying content to new playlists with a different name but nothing will make the assistant play the playlist I want it to play.

Why has something that used to work without any issues suddenly stopped working?

I’m starting to really wish google assistant didn’t exist – at least CDs and MP3s were reliable.

[jenniffert]

Hi dpd,

Thanks for reaching out here in the community. I understand how frustrating it is when your Nest device isn’t playing the correct playlist. Let’s try to fix this!

I also appreciate your efforts. To gather more information, I’d like to ask the following:

• What is the specific model of your Nest device?
• Did you purchase this device in the same country where you are currently?
• Does this inconvenience only occur with a specific playlist, or does it happen with other playlists or songs as well?

For now, let’s try the following steps:

• Try using different or advanced voice commands to play your playlist on YouTube Premium. You can check out this article: Listen to music on Google Nest speakers and displays.
• Ensure that Restricted Mode is turned off in your YouTube account. You can find instructions here: Turn Restricted Mode on or off on YouTube.
• Verify that the Google account linked to your Nest device is the same one you're using on your mobile device. For reference, you can check out this article: Check which Google account is linked to a speaker or display. 

If none of the above steps resolve the inconvenience, you may need to perform a factory reset on your Nest device. Please note that this will erase all settings, so back up any important data before proceeding. You can find instructions on how to set up your Nest device again here: Set up your Google Nest or Home speaker or display.

Let me know how it goes.

Best regards,

Jenniffer

[dpd]

Thank you for taking the time to reply. I'm not sure why the model or purchase history is relevant but the device has played private playlists for several years without any issue in the same location and connected to the same network. I've tried all the usual 'switch it off and back on again' recommendations. The problem is that google assistant no longer plays private playlists in the way it did previously. Requests to play private playlists result in random responses. The one I posted is just the worst example and particularly inappropriate when the playlist is for a child. Your previous advice aside, do you know why google assistant no longer recognizes private playlists?

[dpd]

Right. I'm not sure why community specialists don't appear to know the answer but I've resolved the private playlist issue. It appears that something has changed in google assistant so that it recognizes private playlists only with a very specific command. Rather than responding to the previous command 'hey google, play bedtime songs', google assistant now appears to respond correctly only to 'hey google, play my youtube music playlist called bedtime songs on youtube music'. The addition of 'my' might help identify 'bedtime songs' as a private playlist. It might have become necessary because the proliferation of playlists in youtube music needs a more specific command to enable google assistant to find the correct playlist. It might be necessary to repeat 'youtube music' twice in the command to distinguish a youtube playlist from one in another music service and to specify the platform on which it should play. This shouldn't be necessary when youtube music is marked as the default provider in google home but it’s the only way google assistant will play my private playlists.

Anyone else having trouble playing private playlists with google assistant should try adding 'my' before the name of the playlist and specifying the relevant music service in the command.

[dpd]

Anyone having trouble playing private playlists with google assistant should try adding 'my' before the name of the playlist and specifying the relevant music service in the command.

[jenniffert]

Hi dpd,

Thanks for following up!

I understand how frustrating this situation can be. I value the information you provided and the workaround you made. This can definitely help many users in the community. To help us investigate this further, please submit feedback directly to our developer team. Your feedback is valuable and helps us improve our products and experience for everyone. 

Alternatively, you can send feedback using a voice command.

Let me know if you have more questions.

Best regards,

Jenniffer