Google Home — the search giant’s Assistant-powered connected speaker — has been out for a few weeks now but that doesn’t mean it’s done learning new tricks. The Home and Home Mini is getting a little more useful today with the ability to use the devices as a sort of intercom, allowing a user to broadcast a voice message across all devices.
The idea is that if you have a Google Home (or Home Mini) in every room, you could say things like, “Ok Google, broadcast IT’S TIME FOR SCHOOL,” and your message will be broadcasted to every room where a Google Home is present. There are even special messages for things like waking up, dinnertime, or settling down for bed. For instance, speaking, “Ok Google, broadcast it’s dinner time,” will send the message along with a dinner bell. It works on your phone too, so you can say “Ok Google, broadcast I’m on my way home,” and the message will played back at home.
The new feature should hit Google Assistant enabled devices starting today, but is still in the process of rolling out (I tried getting it to work on my Google Home Mini, but to no avail). Google says you’ll need to make sure all your devices are signed into the same Google Account for the broadcast feature to work and at the moment, is only available in the English language in the US, Australia, Canada and the UK, with more languages coming soon.