Google Assistant is essentially the next generation of Google Now. It performs all of the same tasks as Google Now, such as scheduling events and web searching, but has a better, more conversational interface. For a crash course in some of Google’s best AI-powered voice-commands, take a look at five of our favorites.

Before you can start playing with Google’s AI, you need to turn on the service. On your Android device, press and hold the home key at the bottom of the screen. This will open the Google Assistant interface. Tap Next on the “Meet your personal Google Assistant” screen, then tap Continue on the next screen to enable permissions.

If you’re prompted to configure voice activation, simply repeat “OK Google” three times and you’re good to go! Turn it on and try some of the examples below.

Tip #1: Reminders

Google Assistant helps with information discovery, but what about when you just need a little help managing your calendar? The phrase “Remind me to [action] + [time]” is all you need to set a quick reminder before you have a chance to manually add it to your calendar.

And if you’re not sure when you need to be reminded, ask Google to set the notification based on location. If you have location services enabled, your phone will prompt you next time you’re near the store. For instance, if you set a reminder to get eggs at the supermarket, your phone will prompt you next time you're near one.

Tip #2: Anything involving your clock app

Whether you want to “Set an alarm/time for [time]” to achieve productivity goals, or you need to know “What time is it in ” before calling a client in another time zone, Google Assistant can essentially perform any task from your native clock app with a simple request.

Tip #3: Convert/calculate anything

You can even command Google Assistant to calculate currencies, units of measurement, and simple sums. For example, “What is X dollars in euros?” could help you easily convert the price of an invoice, or “How many feet are in X yards?” could shorten the time required to calculate how much material you need to order for a new product.

Tip #4: Retrieve documents from Gmail

You may have also noticed that important documents from your email account occasionally show up at the top of a search page. That’s because Google can recognize official documents such as flight itineraries, hotel receipts, and utility bills. Just say “Show me my flight to Phoenix” and Google Assistant will pull it up immediately.

Tip #5: Basic phone commands

The majority of the applications that came with your phone can receive voice commands. “Take a photo,” “Open acme.com,” “Turn on Wi-Fi,” and “Open Salesforce1,” are just some of the ways you can minimize the time you spend tapping your phone.

Believe it or not, there are dozens more commands that can make your life easier. Spend a few moments tinkering with your Google Assistant and give us a call today to find out more.

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