Xbox One Gets Google Assistant Support

Microsoft has added another option for your Xbox One digital assistant, expanding to include Google Assistant. The public beta is only available in English language, and it will expand more broadly later this fall.

Instructions for how to join the beta are available in the official announcement. It involves joining the Google Group with the account you plan to use, and then adding your Xbox One with your Google Home app for mobile devices. Once it's set up, you can use the assistant to perform actions like starting a game or app, turning on or off your Xbox, adjust the volume, or take a screenshot. The instructions also note that the default name for your console is "Xbox" but you can change the name in case you have multiple consoles in one house.

The Google Assistant support follows Xbox Skill support for Alex and Microsoft's own Cortana. Aside from being a convenience feature, Microsoft promotes voice support as an accessibility feature. The company has been promoting its accessibility recently, most notably with the creation of its adaptive controller.

Microsoft recently debuted new hardware bundles, including Forza Horizon 4 bundles and an upcoming one to accompany the Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order release.