Google has updated its voice-based assistant on Android smartphones to respond to a new catchphrase. In order to activate Google Assistant by voice, smartphone owners have until now needed to speak the “Okay Google” catchphrase.
Some feel the phrase is awkward to speak. A new update pushed to the Google Assistant app allows people to use the slightly-easier-to-say “Hey Google” phrase instead. This latter phrase has been available to the Google Home product for a while.
Google Assistant is free to download from the Google Play Store.