Who has the best virtual assistant? It's hard to tell, especially when Amazon's Alexa, Apple's Siri, and Google Assistant can all generally do the same tasks. You call out the AI's wake word, and it comes to life on your phone, smart home device, or smart speaker.
For the most part, shutting off that voice-activated assistant defeats the purpose of having a smart device in the first place. But there are times when you might want to silence it or limit eavesdropping, particularly on your smartphone.
Whether you want to stop tech companies from listening in on private conversations, find Google Assistant is a little too sensitive, or just find the feature annoying, there are steps you can take to secure your home and various devices. When it comes to Google's AI assistant, the process is an easy one.
What Is Google Assistant?
Google Assistant is a virtual assistant powered by artificial intelligence for phones, tablets, computers, and smart home devices. You can interact with the Assistant through voice commands or keyboard input to search the internet, send texts, play music, check the weather, schedule events, set alarms, adjust smart home settings, and much more.
Google Assistant boasts over one million actions the service can perform on its own, with more being added all the time. Further actions are made possible thanks to the AI's integration with Google's large selection of apps as well as third-party services.
Compatible Devices
Debuting in 2016, Google Assistant was released to accompany the Google Home smart speaker and Google's Allo messaging app—and compete with Amazon's Alexa and Apple's Siri. While Allo was ultimately shelved, Google Assistant lives on as an Android operating system integration and standalone app.
Google Assistant is now available on iOS and Android mobile devices, Google smart speakers and displays, Chromebooks, Google's Wear OS for smartwatches, and even the Pixel Bud wireless earbuds. It can also be used in certain cars through Android Auto and is compatible with Android TV devices. New integrations are added all the time.
Turn Off Google Assistant
On Android- and Chrome OS-powered devices that feature Google Assistant, the service is baked into the operating system. That means the AI cannot be completely removed, just muted or disabled. Since iOS devices require you to download the app from the App Store, Google Assistant can simply be uninstalled.
Android Devices
Open the Google Assistant app; if the AI is baked into the operating system on your Android phone or tablet, hold down the home button. Tap Explore, select your profile icon, and choose Settings. Under the Assistant tab, select your device and turn off the switch next to Google Assistant.
If you use the Google app, click More > Settings > Google Assistant, then select the Assistant tab and choose your device. Turn off the switch next to Google Assistant.
Chrome OS Devices
You can't completely disable Google Assistant in Chrome OS like you can in Android, but the wake word can be turned off. On your Chromebook, select the time in the bottom-right corner and select Settings.
Under Search and Assistant, select Google Assistant and click Settings. Choose the Chromebook listed under Devices, then toggle the switch next to Access with Voice Match. Now Google Assistant will no longer answer when you say "OK, Google."
While voice activation will be turned off, other methods will continue. You can still trigger the AI by pressing the Google Assistant button on the Chromebook keyboard or holding down the launcher on the Pixelbook.
Google Home Smart Devices
The most direct way to turn off Google Assistant on a Home or Nest smart device is to use the built-in mute button, which should be clearly labeled with a microphone icon.
By engaging the mute button, you're preventing the device from actively listening for the wake word, effectively disabling Google Assistant. If you want to talk to the device again, you must unmute it first.
There is also a way to temporarily turn off the voice assistant as part of Google's Downtime feature. From the Google Home app, tap Home and select the device. Tap Settings > Digital Wellbeing > New Schedule and choose the device. You can now create a schedule for when Downtime should be activated.
Further Reading
- How to Set Up an Amazon Echo
- How to Protect Your Home With Alexa Guard
- How to Listen to Podcasts on Your Amazon Echo
- How to Listen to Music on Your Amazon Echo
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