How to Use Family Broadcast With Google Assistant
You can now use the Family Broadcast Google Assistant feature to send messages to Android and iPhone devices using the Google Assistant app. Your family members can then respond from their devices, creating a fun little conversation back and forth, which is much more convenient than calling someone (at least for small inquiries).
Previously, you could only send these broadcasts to specific speakers and Google Home smart displays on the same Wi-Fi network, but enhanced device support makes broadcasts effective for communicating with your entire family at all times. Use them to let your family know when dinner is ready, if you’re running late, or to send important messages to all devices with a single Google Assistant command.
To use Google Assistant Family Broadcast, you first need Google Family Group in Google Assistant settings. The Google support page has setup instructions depending on the device you are using. Alternatively, you can sign into the Google Family website to create a group, or in the Google app by going to More> Settings> Google Assistant> You> Your people> Your family.
Once you’ve created a family group, you can broadcast from your Google Home, Android, or iPhone by saying “Hey Google,” and then:
- “Tell my family …”
- “Announce / transfer to the family …”
- “Send a family radio show with the words …”
- “Family broadcast …”
- “Ask my family …”
Finally, write down your message.
You can cast to one device or only to devices in a specific room or location. Google Assistant also has a set of pre-made audio messages that you can send instead of recording your own, including:
- “I’m home.”
- “Time to sleep.”
- “Breakfast is ready.”
- “Dinner is served.”
- “Lunch time.”
- “Let’s go to the cinema.”
- “I’ll be back soon.”
- “It’s time to leave the house.”
- “The show is about to start.”
- “Time to wake up.”
Messages appear as notifications across all Family Group devices. Recipients can click on the notification to view messages and send replies. Users in a group can verbally respond with the following commands, starting with ” Ok Google “:
- “Answer…”
- “Send reply …”
- “Answer the family …”
Submit duplicate ads with Google Home Family Bells
Many of these automatic messages can also be used as Family Calls. Calls are essentially broadcasts that you can set up in the Google Home app to announce them at specific times of the day. Previously, calls were only sent to one device or Google Home display, but can now be sent to all supported devices connected to your Google Home account. Likewise, calls are currently available in English, but support for Dutch, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean and Spanish will appear in the coming weeks.
- Open the Google Home app, tap your profile picture, and select Assistant Settings.
- Scroll down and tap Family Call.
- Select Add Bell to create a new custom bell, or choose one of the pre-made suggestions below.
- Fill in the details of the new Family Call, then click Create New Call to summarize.
- When the time is right, all Google Home devices connected to your account will receive Bell notifications.
This article was edited at 5:33 pm on May 10 to correct the voice commands required to send Family Streams.