Google Maps tests using your chosen Assistant voice when navigating

For the past year, Google Assistant has had a variety of voices to personalize your experience, and while most Google Assistant related apps have respected this setting, there have been a few holdouts. One of those, Google Maps, is now testing using your chosen Google Assistant voice when navigating, including in Android Auto.

Slowly but surely, the Google Assistant has been entering more parts of our lives, even aiming to replace other Google software like Android Auto’s phone-based interface (though not as soon as we once thought). One of the most common ways to use the Google Assistant in the car is through Google Maps, which has always used its own voice settings.

Today, we’ve spotted that Google Maps now respects your Google Assistant voice setting when navigating. Instead of the default feminine Google Assistant, the voice I had chosen (Green) helped navigate me to my destination. This even applied to Google Maps navigation in Android Auto.

We immediately tested to see if this would also work with the Google Assistant’s John Legend cameo, but this unfortunately wasn’t meant to be. In our testing, we found that you need to force stop Google Maps and open it again to apply any changes to your Assistant settings.

We’re not sure what all factors are required for Maps to begin respect your Assistant voice setting, as it could be tied to yesterday’s Android 10 update or an update to Maps, or if this just a server-side change. The change does not seem to have rolled widely yet, as no one else on the 9to5Google team had it on their devices.

Does Google Maps use your chosen Google Assistant voice when you navigate? Let us know in the comments.