You can now search Google Assistant settings on Android as Routines UI tests tweaks

Abner Li | Dec 11 2020 - 8:42 am PT

Back in August, Google redesigned preferences for Assistant to just be one long alphabetical list. The Google Assistant settings page on Android now features a very convenient search field as tweaks to the Routines interface are being tested.

When we first spotted the new Google Assistant settings UI, which dropped the four-tab layout, in development earlier this year, it already featured a search capability. However, at launch, the space above your profile image and name was empty.

It started appearing last night for Google app beta users with a “Search settings” prompt. Results are accompanied by icons with the provided description included. There’s not too much else to this feature, but it’s very useful given how many different menus there are today. The alphabetical ordering helped, but it was not feasible as Assistant keeps picking up new capabilities.

Elsewhere in Assistant, Google is testing a tweak to the Routines page that’s much cleaner with bolder headers and takes after the recently introduced Home/Away interface. Spacing has been improved with Actions featuring icons as they’re now placed in cards, and Google numbers their order.

The capability to adjust command ordering exists today, but the numbering help emphasize that. The very bottom of the page also features a carousel of Assistant actions that you might want to add. A redesign of this experience is much needed given how it’s a powerful capability, but might be imposing to first-time users.

This redesign of the Routines page, available through the Home app or Assistant settings, is not yet widely rolled out today.