Google LLC today announced a raft of upcoming updates for its Google Assistant app, including the ability to schedule actions, a new “Read It” mode that reads website content in a natural voice and Smart Display features such as a speed dial and sticky notes.

At the same time, Google said some 500 million people now use its smart-assistant app every month. It’s available on Android smartphones as well as a range of its Home smart speakers.

The Scheduled Actions feature is aimed at those who use Google Assistant as the central hub for their smart home appliances, including lights, displays, thermostats and such.

It will be possible to issue commands for these appliances that won’t take effect until a set time. So, for example, Google Assistant will be able to set your coffee maker to start brewing in the morning, or it could be used to turn off the lights downstairs as you’re getting ready for bed.

Most people access Google Assistant on their mobile devices or through a smart speaker, but Google said it will soon be possible to do so via more devices. That’s because it’s planning to integrate Google Assistant with a lot more hardware this year, including new TVs from companies such as Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and TCL Corp.

There’s also a new “household notes” feature for touch-enabled smart displays. It’s essentially a sticky-notes feature for Assistant-powered screens that can be created using voice only and left on the display for other household members to see at their convenience, even without linking their Google account to the device. Google is also planning a new “household contacts” feature for smart displays, which is essentially just a speed dial for user’s most important contacts.

Perhaps the biggest update will be the new “Read It” mode. As the name suggests, it will enable Google Assistant to read longer pieces of content, such as this article or even a short story, in a “natural sounding voice.” Once the feature goes live, users will just be able to say “Hey Google, read it,” or “Read this page” and the Assistant will get to work. It will also be able to translate content into 42 different languages and read it aloud, Google said.

Lastly, Google announced a couple of upcoming privacy changes relating to how users can control their data. These include being able to call up your Google account privacy settings with a single command, and telling Google to forget something by saying “Hey Google, that wasn’t for you.”

It’s not clear when all those features will go live, since Google hasn’t said anything beyond “later this year.” Most are currently in the testing stage, which means they’re being tried out by small groups of users to iron out any bugs ahead of their wider public launch.

Photo: Google