Google Home Mini – Complete Command List

This blog article is updated periodically to include new Google Home Mini features and commands.

Wake up, Google Assistant

  • You can begin a conversation with the Google Home by saying:
    • “Hey Google”
    • “OK, Google.”

Conversational commands

  • The Google Home allows you to ask lines of questions that are connected.
    • For instance, you could say:
      • “Hey Google, play ‘Say Something.'”
      • Then, “Hey Google, what album is this from?”
      • Then, “Hey Google, play that album.”
  • Even though you are not re-stating the name of the album, Google Assistant understands the context and supplies the answer.

Continued Conversations

  • In June 2018, Google added a feature called Continued Conversations.
  • Once you speak a command to a Google Home speaker, it will complete the action and continue listening for another command.
    • For instance, you can say:
      • “Hey Google, what’s the weather?”
      • After it tells you the weather, say, “What about tomorrow?”
      • Then you could say, “Remind me to bring an umbrella tomorrow morning.”
    • all without ever having to repeat the wake phrase.

Chaining up to 3 commands together

  • Google also recently enabled a new feature on Google Home which allows you to speak up to 3 consecutive commands in one sentence.
    • For example, you can say:
      • “Hey Google, play Justin Timberlake on Spotify and set the volume to 10”
      • “Hey Google, what’s the weather and turn on the living room lights.”
  • Almost any of the above commands can be used together, but some commands will only work when phrased in a specific way.
  • An undeniably easier way to make Google Home perform multiple actions at once, however, is to create a Routine.

Routines

  • Google Home Mini has Routines that can be triggered with a custom phrase or on a custom schedule.
    • For example, you can create a routine that turns off the lights around the house, locks the front door, adjusts the temperature and plays soothing music when you say:
      • “Hey Google, good night.”
    • Or you can have a routine that runs every morning on a schedule as an alarm that plays the news, turns on the lights, makes your coffee and creates a timer so you know when it’s time to leave the house.

Multilingual support

  • If you live in a multilingual home, Google has also made it so Google Home speakers can understand two languages at once. You can currently choose a combination of any two of the currently supported languages: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian and Japanese.  No Cantonese yet.
  • Once set up, Google Home will then be able to respond to you in a different language on the fly, based on the language in which you originally spoke the command.

New commands in December 2018

  • Character-themed alarms:
    • “Set a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle alarm for 8:00 PM.”
  • Reply to broadcasts:
    • You can respond to any broadcast messages
  • Play music and sound effects as kids read certain books out loud:
    • “Hey Google, Read Along with [book name]”
  • Kid-friendly topics:
    • “Hey Google, I lost a tooth,”
    • “Hey Google, check for monsters.”
  • Speed up playback of audiobooks and podcasts:
    • “Hey Google, play at twice the speed.”

Basic commands

  • Ask for help:
    • “Hey Google, help.”
  • Control the volume:
    • “Hey Google, turn it up,”
    • “Hey Google, Louder”
    • “Hey Google, Turn it to 11.” (Yes, the maximum volume is 11.)
  • Halt an action:
    • “Hey Google, stop,”
    • “Pause”
    • “Be quiet.”

Your Daily Briefing

  • “Hey Google, tell me about my day”
  • “Hey Google, good morning.” (This Routine includes a personalized greeting, info on weather, traffic, reminders, calendar entries, flight status and curated news stories.)

Weather

  • Weather:
    • “Hey Google, how’s the weather today?”
    • “Hey Google, do I need an umbrella today?”
  • Show weather on Chromecast:
    • “Hey Google, show me the weather on [Chromecast name].”

Traffic

  • “Hey Google, what’s traffic like?”

News

  • “Hey Google, what’s the latest news from CNBC?”
  • “Hey Google, what’s in the news?”
  • “Hey Google, tell me something good.”

Reminders

  • Create a reminder:
    • “Hey Google, remind me to [title] on [day] and [time]”
    • “Hey Google, remind me to [title] every day at [time].”
  • Create a reminder based on location:
    • “Hey Google, remind me to water the plants when I get home”
    • “Hey Google, remind me to buy eggs when I’m at the grocery store.”
  • Play reminders:
    • “Hey Google, what are my reminders?”
    • “Hey Google, what are my reminders tomorrow?”
    • “OK, what is my reminder for [title}?”
  • Delete reminders:
    • “Hey Google, delete my reminders for tomorrow”
    • “Hey Google, delete my reminder to [title]”
    • “Hey Google, delete all of my reminders.”
  • Check notifications:
    • “Hey Google, what’s up?”
    • “Hey Google, what are my notifications?”

Calendar

  • Create a new calendar event:
    • “Hey Google new calendar event”
    • “Hey Google, add [event] to my calendar”
    • “Hey Google, schedule [event] for me on Saturday at 8 p.m.”
  • List next calendar event:
    • “Hey Google, what’s next on my calendar”
    • “What/where/when is my next meeting?”
  • List calendar events for a day:
    • “Hey Google, list all events for January 1,”
    • “Hey Google, what’s on my agenda for today?”
    • “Hey Google, what’s on my calendar for Friday?”

Math and Numbers

  • Math:
    • “Hey Google, what’s 354 times 11?”
    • “Hey Google, 546 plus 406?”
  • Count:
    • “Hey Google, count to 20.”
  • Measurements:
    • “Hey Google, how many liters are in 4 gallons.”
  • Roll a die:
    • “Hey Google, roll a die”
    • “Hey Google, roll a 12-sided die.”
  • Flip a coin:
    • “Hey Google, flip a coin.”
  • Random number:
    • “Hey Google, give me a random number between five and 50.”
  • Currency conversion:
    • “Hey Google, how much is 100 euros in dollars?”

Clock

  • Time:
    • “Hey Google, what time is it?”
  • Time in other locations:
    • “Hey Google, what’s the time in Tokyo?”

Alarm

  • Alarm:
    • “Hey Google, set an alarm for [time]”
    • “Hey Google, set an alarm for every day at [time].”
  • Snooze alarm:
    • “Hey Google, snooze alarm.”
  • Cancel alarm:
    • “Hey Google, cancel my alarm for [time].”

Timer

  • Timer:
    • “Hey Google, set a timer for [time].”
  • Multiple timers:
    • “Hey Google, set a second timer for [time]”
    • “Hey Google, set a pizza timer for [time].”
  • Check timer:
    • “Hey Google, how much time is left on my timer?”
  • Cancel timer:
    • “Hey Google, cancel my timer.”

Sports

  • Sports updates:
    • “Hey Google, who is [team] playing next?”
    • “Hey Google, did the [team] win last night?”
    • “Hey Google, tell me the NBA news.”
    • “Hey Google, tell me the NHL news.”
    • “Hey Google, tell me the MLB news.”
    • “Hey Google, tell me the NFL news.”
  • Sports scores:
    • “Hey Google, what was the score for the last [team] game?”
  • Team information:
    • “Hey Google, tell me about [team].”

Entertainment

  • Movies:
    • “Hey Google, what movies came out last Friday?”
  • Casting for movies:
    • “Hey Google, what actors are in [movie]?”
  • Shows by network:
    • “Hey Google, what shows are on [network]?”

Utilities

  • Recipes:
    • “Hey Google, how do I make [dish]?”
  • Location:
    • Hey Google, where am I?”
  • Uber:
    • “Hey Google, order an Uber.”

Musical Instrument Tuner

  • “Hey Google, tune my instrument”
  • “Hey Google, play a C sharp.”
  • If you don’t specify “flat” or “sharp,” you must say “note” after stating which note you want Google Home to play, such as:
    • “Hey Google, play a C note.”

Language Translation

  • “Hey Google, how do you say [word] in [language]?”

Remember Things

  • Remember things:
    • “Hey Google, remember that I put my passport in the filing cabinet”
    • “Remember that my password is ‘money’.”
  • Recall remembered things:
    • “Hey Google, where is my passport?”
    • “What is my password?”

Search

  • Stocks:
    • “Hey Google, how are Alphabet’s stocks doing?”
  • Words:
    • “Hey Google, what does [word] mean?”
  • Spelling:
    • “Hey Google, spell [word].”
  • Special events:
    • “Hey Google, when is [event]?” (Easter, for example.)
  • People:
    • “Hey Google, who is [person]?”
  • Facts:
    • “Hey Google, how tall is [person]?”
  • Things:
    • “Hey Google, what is [thing]?”
  • Places:
    • “Hey Google, what country is [location] in?”
  • Animal sounds:
    • “Hey Google, what does [animal] sound like?”
  • Distance:
    • “Hey Google, how far is [business name] from here?”
  • Restaurants:
    • “Hey Google, what are the nearest restaurants to me?”
  • Businesses:
    • “Hey Google, are there any [business type] around here?”
  • Business information:
    • “Hey Google, how late is [business] open?”
    • “Is [business] open now?”
  • Quotes:
    • “Hey Google, give me a quote”
    • “Hey Google, give me a love quote.”
  • Medical information:
    • “Hey Google, what is a torn meniscus?”
  • Calories:
    • “Hey Google, how many calories are in [food item]?”
  • Authors:
    • “Hey Google, who wrote [book title]?”
  • Inventors:
    • “Hey Google, who invented [item]?”

Shopping

  • Get voice shopping instructions:
    • “Hey Google, how do I shop?”
  • Order items from Google Express:
    • “Hey Google, buy dish soap.”
  • Reorder a previously purchased item:
    • “Hey Google, reorder Old Spice deodorant.”
  • Add to shopping list:
    • “Hey Google, add [item] to my shopping list.”
  • Check shopping list:
    • “Hey Google, what’s on my shopping list?”

Media

  • Play music:
    • “Hey Google, play some music”
    • “Play some [genre] music.”
  • Play ambient sounds:
    • “Hey Google, help me relax.”
    • “Hey Google, play white noise.”
    • “Hey Google, play forest sounds.”
    • “Hey Google, play ambient noise.”
  • Play an artist or song:
    • “Hey Google, play [artist]”
    • “Hey Google, play [song].”
  • Play a song by lyrics:
    • “Hey Google, play the song that goes, ‘Mix and a-mingle in the jingling feet'”
  • Play a Google Play playlist or album:
    • “Hey Google, play some indie music”
    • “Hey Google, play [album].”
  • Ask what’s playing:
    • “Hey Google, what song is this?”
    • “Hey Google, what album is this?”
  • Get more information:
    • “Hey Google, when did this album come out?”
  • Fast forward and rewind:
    • “Hey Google, skip forward two minutes”
    • “Hey Google, skip backward 30 seconds.”
    • “Hey Google, skip tracks.”
  • Set a sleep timer:
    • “Hey Google, stop in 15 minutes.”
  • Play music on Spotify:
    • “Hey Google, play [artist] on Spotify.”
  • Play music on Pandora:
    • “Hey Google, play [artist] on Pandora.”
  • Like or dislike a song on Pandora:
    • “Hey Google, dislike this song.”
  • Play music on YouTube Music:
    • “Hey Google, play [artist] on YouTube.”
  • Play stations on TuneIn:
    • “Hey Google, play [station] on TuneIn.”
  • Pull up lists on YouTube:
    • “Hey Google, let’s look at what’s trending on YouTube on [TV name].”
  • Play a movie or TV show on Netflix using Chromecast:
    • “Hey Google, play [show or movie title] on the [TV name].”
  • Play an audiobook:
    • “Hey Google, read my book”
    • “Hey Google, read [book title].”
  • Jump audiobook chapters:
    • “Hey Google, next/previous chapter.”
  • Check time left in audiobook:
    • “Hey Google, how much time is left?”
  • Find audiobook author:
    • “Hey Google, who wrote this?”

Chromecast

  • Turn on/off the TV with Chromecast:
    • “Hey Google, turn on the [Chromecast name]”
    • “Hey Google, turn off the [Chromecast name].”
  • Play music through other speakers using Chromecast:
    • “Hey Google, play [song] on [Chromecast or Google Home name].”
  • Listen to audiobook on another device:
    • “Hey Google, read my book on [Chromecast or Google Home speaker name].”
  • Play videos on YouTube using Chromecast:
    • “Hey Google, play on the [Chromecast name].”
  • Play and pause Chromecast:
    • “Hey Google, play/pause [Chromecast name].”
  • Stop Chromecast:
    • “Hey Google, stop [Chromecast name].”
  • Scrub the Chromecast:
    • “Hey Google, skip to five minutes on [Chromecast name]”
    • “Hey Google, skip forward/back two minutes on [Chromecast name].”
  • Change Chromecast volume:
    • “Hey Google, set [Chromecast name] volume to 50 percent”
    • “Hey Google, volume down on [Chromecast name].”
  • Mute Chromecast:
    • “Hey Google, mute [Chromecast]”
    • “Hey Google, unmute [Chromecast name].”

Travel

  • Get flight prices to a destination:
    • “Hey Google, how much is a round-trip flight to New York?”
  • Get flights with a specific airline:
    • “Hey Google, find me flights with Jet Blue.”
  • Check on your flights:
    • “Hey Google, when is my next flight?”
    • “Hey Google, my flights in [month].”
  • Discover places to visit:
    • “Hey Google, what is there to see in Paris?”
  • Find restaurants to try:
    • “Hey Google, what’s the best restaurant in Berlin?”

Smart home

  • Google Home now works with more than 1,000 devices and over 150 brands, including August, Lifx, TP-Link and more.
  • Turn smart lights on/off:
    • “Hey Google, turn on/off my lights.”
  • Dim smart lights:
    • “Hey Google, dim my lights to fifty percent.”
  • Change smart bulb colors:
    • “Hey Google, turn my lights [color].”
  • Control Nest thermostat:
    • “Hey Google, turn the temperature to [temp].”
  • Make incremental temperature changes:
    • “Hey Google, raise the temperature 1 degree.”
  • Control August Smart Lock:
    • “Hey Google, lock the front door.”
  • Turn on the TV with Logitech Harmony:
    • “Hey Google, turn on the TV.”
  • Change the channel with Logitech Harmony:
    • “Hey Google, turn the TV to the Travel Channel”
    • “Hey Google, play channel 12.”
  • Change the channel on a DISH Hopper:
    • “Hey Google, play CBS on the Hopper.”
  • Customize trigger phrases for IFTTT.
    • For example: “Hey Google, let’s get this party started.”
  • Show Nest Cam feed on Chromecast:
    • “Hey Google, show [camera name],”
    • “Hey Google, what’s on [camera name]?”
    • “Hey Google, play [camera name] on [Chromecast name].”
  • A recent update made it so assigning your Google Home speakers to rooms makes them smarter about how they control the smart home devices in that room.
  • For instance, if you have 3 smart lights in your living room and assign them and the Google Home speaker to the living room, telling Google Home to turn the lights on or off will only affect the lights in that room.
  • To control lights outside the living room, you will need to specify by saying:
    • “Hey Google, turn off all the lights,”
    • “Hey Google, turn on the kitchen lights.”

Phone

  • Google Home can interact with your phone in a number of ways. It can place calls to anyone in your contacts list, find your lost phone and even stream music from your phone via Bluetooth.
  • Place a call:
    • “Hey Google, call [phone number]”
    • “Hey Google, call mom”
    • “Hey Google, call [contact name]”
    • “Hey Google, call the nearest coffee shop.”
    • “Hey Google, redial.”
  • Hang up:
    • “Hey Google, hang up.”
  • Find your phone:
    • “Hey Google, find my phone”
    • “Hey Google, ring my phone.”
  • Pair with Bluetooth:
    • “Hey Google, Bluetooth pairing.”
  • Check Bluetooth status:
    • “Hey Google, is Bluetooth active?”
    • “Hey Google, is Bluetooth paired?”
    • “Hey Google, is Bluetooth connected?”
  • Cancel Bluetooth pairing:
    • “Hey Google, cancel”
    • “Hey Google, cancel pairing.”
  • Clear paired Bluetooth devices:
    • “Hey Google, clear all devices”
    • “Hey Google, clear all Bluetooth devices”
    • “Hey Google, unpair devices.”

Broadcast

  • If you have more than one Google Home speaker in your home, you can broadcast messages to all speakers (except the one you give the command to) using one of the built-in commands. Or you can create your own broadcast message.
  • Wake up:
    • “Hey Google, broadcast wake everyone up”
    • “Hey Google, broadcast it’s time to wake up.”
  • Breakfast:
    • “Hey Google, broadcast breakfast is ready”
    • “Hey Google, broadcast breakfast is served”
    • “Hey Google, broadcast it’s time for breakfast.”
  • Lunch:
    • “Hey Google, broadcast lunch is ready”
    • “Hey Google, broadcast it’s lunch time.”
  • Dinner:
    • “Hey Google, broadcast dinner is ready/served”
    • “Hey Google, broadcast ring the dinner bell”
    • “Hey Google, broadcast it’s dinner time.”
  • Time to leave:
    • “Hey Google, broadcast time to leave”
    • “Hey Google, broadcast time to get out.”
  • Arrived home:
    • “Hey Google, broadcast I’m home”
    • “Hey Google, broadcast I’m here.”
  • On the way:
    • “Hey Google, broadcast I’m on the way”
    • “Hey Google, broadcast I’ll be home soon.”
  • Movie time:
    • “Hey Google, broadcast it’s movie time”
    • “Hey Google, broadcast the movie is about to start”
    • “Hey Google, broadcast let’s go to the movie.”
  • TV time:
    • “Hey Google, broadcast the show is about to start”
    • “Hey Google, broadcast it’s time to watch TV”
    • “Hey Google, broadcast TV time.”
  • Bedtime:
    • “Hey Google, broadcast time for bed”
    • “Hey Google, broadcast it’s time to go to bed”
    • “Hey Google, broadcast sleep time.”
  • Custom:
    • “Hey Google, broadcast/shout/announce/tell everyone [custom message].”

Poems and songs

  • Sing a song:
    • “Hey Google, sing me a song.”
  • Sing Happy Birthday:
    • “Hey Google, sing me Happy Birthday.”
  • Read a poem:
    • “Hey Google, read a poem.”
  • Tell a story:
    • “Hey Google, tell me a story”
    • “Hey Google, tell me a scary story.”
  • Sing a lullaby:
    • “Hey Google, sing a lullaby.”
  • Sing nursery rhymes:
    • “Hey Google, sing ABC”
    • “Hey Google, sing Yankee Doodle”
    • “Hey Google, sing Old MacDonald.”
    • “Hey Google, sing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Stars.”

3rd-party actions

  • Google rolled out what it calls Actions for Google Assistant. These are 3rd-party services and integrations that work much like Alexa skills, except you don’t have to activate them one by one. Actions are enabled by default.
  • You can find the full list of Actions in the Google Home app by going to More settings > Services. You will also find sample invocations there, which will tell you how to interact with the different services available.
  • 21 Blackjack:
    • “Hey Google, let me talk to 21 Blackjack.”
  • Best Dad Jokes:
    • “Hey Google, talk to Best Dad Jokes.”
  • Domino’s:
    • “Hey Google, talk to Domino’s and get my Easy Order.”
  • Product Hunt:
    • “Hey Google, talk to Product Hunt.”
  • Tender:
    • “Hey Google, can I talk to Tender about drinks like an old fashioned?”
  • Todoist:
    • “Hey Google, tell me what my next task is with Todoist.”

Easter eggs

  • “Hey Google, tell me a joke.”
  • “Hey Google, play MatLib.”
  • “Hey Google, I am your father.”
  • “Hey Google, up up down down left right left right B A Start.”
  • “Hey Google, did you fart?”
  • “Hey Google, what is your quest?”
  • “Hey Google, set phasers to kill.”
  • “Hey Google, are you SkyNet?”
  • “Hey Google, make me a sandwich.”
  • “Hey Google, do a barrel roll.”
  • “Hey Google, it’s my birthday.”
  • “Hey Google, it’s not my birthday.”
  • “Hey Google, always be closing.”
Published in: on January 2, 2019 at 4:12 am  Leave a Comment  

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