Skip to main content

Google Assistant can now read out Google News stories on Smart Displays, Home speakers

Since launch, Google Assistant has answered “What’s the news” by playing what are essentially short podcasts from publications like CNN or surfacing a carousel of articles on phones. Moving forward, Assistant will now leverage the recently revamped Google News to keep you up-to-date.

Assistant’s news capabilities have always been device and form factor dependent with Smart Displays adding videos and other clips from broadcasts. However, the news stories returned have always been more general with Google Home heavily leveraging audio briefings from various publishers like the BBC or the Wall Street Journal. Users have been able to personalize what publications get included in the rundown.

Now, you can ask Assistant to find and read the news about specific topics:

When you want to go deeper or learn more about a specific topic, ask the Assistant: “What’s the news on the women’s national soccer team?” or “What’s the latest on NASA?”

On Smart Displays, the screen is used to find and play relevant YouTube videos, while smart speakers like Google Home will read excerpts from news articles.

Last month, Google introduced a schema for publishers to mark up relevant sections of a news article that should be read aloud by Assistant. It notes the name of the publication in the process, suggests other articles to listen to, and can send links to full stories to your phone.

These features also work on Android phones and tablets, Assistant-enabled headphones, and Android Auto. Google is first rolling out these features in the United States and will plan a global launch based on user feedback.


Check out 9to5Google on YouTube for more news:

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading 9to5Google — experts who break news about Google and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Google on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Comments

Author

Avatar for Abner Li Abner Li

Editor-in-chief. Interested in the minutiae of Google and Alphabet. Tips/talk: abner@9to5g.com

Manage push notifications

notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
You are subscribed to notifications
notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
You are subscribed to notifications