At it's annual I/O developer conference today, Google unveiled some new tricks for its Assistant.

How Do I…

The Google Assistant is very good at understanding people, and excels at providing fact-based answers to questions like whether it's going to rain today or how many miracles does someone need to perform in order to be made a saint (I tried it, it worked). What it can't always do is give instructions on how to do something in real life, save for the occasional recipe. That's changing.

Now when you ask a "how to" question, like how to tie a tie, the Google Assistant will display step-by-step instructions on interactive smart displays that use the Google Assistant, such as the JBL Link View. You'll also get these DIY results when you use desktop or mobile Google Search.

All this is powered by the HowTo markup from Schema.org, an aptly named project dedicated to providing schemas (read: plans) on structuring data on the internet. Schema.org was founded by a collaboration between Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Yandex. People who make how-to content can use these resources to have their information included in search. Google is also letting YouTubers upload spreadsheets with timestamps so their videos can work with this new search feature.

Working With Android

Meanwhile, back on the handset, Google is expanding the integrations between apps and the Assistant. Developers can use App Actions that cut straight to the action being requested by the user. These were announced last year at Google I/O, and have been expanded to cover Heath and Fitness, Finance and Banking, Ridesharing, and Food Ordering.

With these new App Actions, people will be able to use specific apps to send money or start a workout just through the Google Assistant. Truly, we're headed toward a golden age of yelling at our phones.

Smarter, More Connected Devices

Smart devices are cropping up everywhere, but they don't always communicate with each other directly. Google aims to solve that with the new Local Home SDK. With this, developers can run code locally on Nest or Google Home devices and then have information sent between those devices directly to other smart gadgets.

Google says this will simplify and speed up smart home interactions. It will also you set up new smart home devices faster, which is great because the worst part of smart home living is often the awkward setup process. Google has already launched this feature with some GE smart lights.

LIFX, Philips, TP-Link, and Wemo have all partnered to use this new technology, according to Google. More details should be coming when the SDK is released in June.

So What?

Google I/O is a developer conference, and that means it's sometimes hard to parse what all the announcements will mean for regular consumers like you or me. One very obvious consequence is that Google is continuing to invest heavily in its Assistant, and is providing hardware and software developers more ways to use the Assistant. That means we're all more likely to be using our voice to get things done in the near future, and more devices in our homes will be listening.