If you want Google Assistant to send a
text message, there are many different services you can use to do so, including
Facebook Messenger, Telegram, Viber, and obviously your SMS app of choice.
Video and audio calls have, unfortunately, been limited to only a few choices,
but today, WhatsApp joins the fold.
Starting
now, you can ask Google Assistant on your smartphone to start a video or audio
call through WhatsApp. It’s as simple as saying, “Hey Google, WhatsApp video
Andrew,” or “Hey Google, WhatsApp call Sarah.”
Previously,
audio calls through Google Assistant would only work through your traditional
network dialer and video calls through the Assistant only worked with
Google-owned Hangouts or Duo. With WhatsApp integration, video/audio calls just
got a lot easier for millions of people around the world.
Google
doesn’t clarify as much in its emailed announcement, but it’s safe to say that
this feature only works on smartphones. All Assistant is doing is opening
WhatsApp and making the appropriate call, which your smart device can’t do on
its own. Therefore, don’t bother trying to get your Google
Nest Hub to start making audio calls through WhatsApp.
If you
try out the new service on your phone and it doesn’t work, just give it time:
this is probably a patented “slow rollout” from Google, so it could be days or
even weeks before it works for everyone around the world.
