Google’s voice assistant still has a long way to go. Although it already recognizes a lot of commands and does a considerable number of things, we are still waiting for aspects such as the famous activation command to be customizable.
I personally don’t like “OK Google” very much, although luckily for some time now the “Hey Google” trigger can also be used, both in English and Spanish. Doing a couple of quick Google searches I discovered that there were methods to change the activation voice to “Hey Jarvis” . Wouldn’t it be brutal to be able to talk to Google as if it were Tony Stark’s artificial intelligence, Iron Man himself?
Can the Google Assistant wakeup command be changed to “Hey Jarvis” or any other preset phrase?
Unfortunately that is something that could be done…until a few years ago. The trick was to install “ Open Mic+ ”, a continuous listening app that allows us to establish a personalized voice command to perform certain actions, such as opening the virtual assistant of our Android device or Google Home.
However, this app used Google’s proprietary listening engine, which they eventually had to remove at Google’s own request. Today this app is no longer even available in the Play Store. But don’t worry, there are other alternatives.
How to change the “OK Google” command with Tasker + AutoVoice
I just recently found out about a new method that is still active and works better than Open Mic. The trick is to use the Tasker app. It is a premium tool that allows you to create automations on Android.
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Tasker
Developer: joaomgcd
Price: 3,59 €
Note: Although the app is priced at just over 3 euros, if you are really interested in trying it out, you can also subscribe to the Play Pass for free for a month and download the Tasker app without spending a penny.
In addition to Tasker, we will also have to install the AutoVoice app. This app is initially free, but it has a limitation: you will only hear a maximum of 4 letters. That means that if we want to use a voice command of more than 4 letters, we will have to resort to the premium version of AutoVoice. In any case, we can try the free version, see if it works for us and from there evaluate the purchase of the app.
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AutoVoice
Developer: joaomgcd
Price: Free
Next we will follow these steps:
- Go into Android settings and navigate to “Accessibility”. Activate the « AutoVoice Google Now Integration» and « Tasker « services.
- Next, open Google Assistant and say ” Speak to Autovoice“.
- The wizard will recommend that you associate your Google account with Autovoice. Press “Yes” to link your account.
- Now open the Tasker app. Click on the « +» button and create a new « Event «.
- Among the available options choose « Plugin» and select « AutoVoice -> Recognized «.
- Then click on the edit button located next to “Settings” and select ” The Hard Way“.
- In this new menu, click on « Speak Filter«. The microphone will be activated and you will only have to say the word or phrase of activation that you want to use from now on to replace “OK Google”.
- Tap to go back on the phone and return to Tasker. Just below “Settings” you will see the command that you just recorded by voice.
- Hit it again to go back. This will take you to the main Tasker screen, where the new AutoVoice command will be listed. Click on « New task +«.
- Where it says “Optional” write a name and click on the confirmation icon.
- In this last step, what we will do is ask Tasker to open the Google Assistant automatically every time it hears the new command that we have just configured. To do this, click on the « +» button that you will see at the bottom of the screen.
- Click on the “ Input” category and choose the “ Voice Command ” option .
- In « Edit action» click on the arrow «<-» to go back.
- On the next “Edit task” screen, hit the play button at the bottom of the screen and select “Complete action with Google” and “Always”.
Objective achieved! From now on, when we launch the new Tasker voice command, it will open the Google Assistant automatically.
A couple of details to keep in mind
With this we would already have Tasker configured, and we would only have to activate the continuous listening of AutoVoice so that the microphone listens to us when we launch the new voice command. To do this you just have to open AutoVoice and go to « General Settings -> AutoVoice continuous » and activate the option « Control continuous «.
Likewise, if you have Android 10, the system will also ask you to give Tasker permissions so that it can work in the background. Grant the requested permissions.
Other valid activation commands for the Google voice assistant
That said, we must bear in mind that we can also “trick” the assistant, without having to install any application or break our heads a lot. What do we mean by this?
I mean, not everyone vocalizes or reads “OK Google” in the same way. That is something that Google programmers have taken into account, and therefore, the assistant is quite permissive when it comes to listening to the “magic words” of activation.
Therefore, we can use some phonetic variants that the voice recognition system accepts as valid. Doing a few tests I have managed to get the assistant to recognize the following activation commands:
- OK Gu Gu
- OK Bubel
- Okay Gugun
- OK Bugle
- Okey Dugel
- Okey Group
- OK Gugen
These are just 7 examples that I have been able to get out of the microphone for a while. The OK Gu Gu one seems pretty funny to me, so I’m starting to use it from now on anyway. But OK Bugel is not bad either (which reminds us of the mythical Daily Bugle from Spiderman) and OK Gugen also has its crumbs (perfect for art lovers, referring to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao).
When we use any of these activation phrases, the system recognizes them without problems.
In addition to these alternative commands, blog readers have found other compatible activation voices, which also work perfectly to wake up the Google Assistant from its slumber:
- Ok Goku
- OK, Jose (accenting the “o” instead of the “e”)
- Ok, Brother
- OK Gambol (from The Amazing World of Gumball)
- Okay, Guru
- OK Gorgonio
- Ok sir
- BERRY
- Ok Bubu (Yogi Bear’s friend)
- Ok monguer
- ok burger
Many thanks to Marcos, DAVID, John Larz, Marco1971, Emmanuel, Rafael, Fer Solano, Carlos and other friends for your contributions:) If you discover any other command with which to “hack the mind” of the assistant, do not hesitate to share it in the comments area.
How to change the voice of the Google Assistant
Finally, remember that for some time the Google Assistant allows you to choose between different types of voice. In Spanish we can choose between a female and a male voice, although depending on the language that we have selected, the options may be a little broader.
You can change the voice of the assistant by following these steps:
- Open the Google app on your Android device.
- Click on your profile icon, located in the upper right corner of the screen.
- Select « Settings«.
- Go to “ Google Assistant -> Assistant voice and audio“.
- Choose which voice you want to be answered from the available options that you will see on the screen.
We read in the comments area!
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