To ensure kids have a more friendly conversation with the Google Assistant, Google is rolling out support for four new kid-friendly voices. The company is also adding new parental controls to help parents choose which services their kids can access through the Assistant.
Google says that the new kid-friendly voices for the Google Assistant "speak in slower and more expressive styles to help with storytelling and aid comprehension." Kids can enable these voices by asking the Assistant to "change your voice." 9to5Google reports that on Assistant devices with a display, the new kid-friendly voices are represented by colorful tiles. This should make changing the Assistant's voice a more fun interaction.
Along with the new voices, Google is also rolling out a new Kids Dictionary feature for the Assistant, which provides age-appropriate answers on all Assitant-powered devices with Voice Match enabled. The feature also provides various illustrations with the answers on Assistant devices with a display.
As for parental controls, Google is adding new options to help parents choose which music and video service their kids can access on Assistant-enabled devices. The company is also introducing the ability to select which Assistant features kids can use, like Actions for Families, making phone/video calls, and the type of responses they get.
Parents will also be able to choose which Assistant devices kids can access and during which times of the day. These parental controls will roll out on the Google Home app, Family Link, and Google Assitant app on iOS and Android over the coming weeks. Users will require a Google Account managed through Family Link and Voice Match enabled to use these features.
The new Assistant features come just weeks after we heard that Google was reportedly bolstering its hardware division by moving resources away from the Assistant.
Do your kids use the Google Assistant often? What do you think of these new features? Let us know in the comments section below.
Via: 9to5Google