Google Assistant has now become a lot more festive thanks to the inclusion of various Santa and Christmas-related tweaks. The newly-added Santa content seems to be available on all versions of the Google Assistant, including the integrated version on the Pixel and the Pixel XL, as well as the app-based version found in the likes of Google’s Allo messaging service.
At the moment the bulk of the Santa-related content is joke-based. So you can now fire up any version of Google Assistant and ask the Assistant to tell you a Santa joke and the Google Assistant will comply. In fact, not only will the jokes be Santa-related, but they will also be told to you by Santa, complete with Santa voice and everything. Likewise, if you want to keep better tabs on Santa during Christmas 2016, then it looks like the Google Assistant will be able to help with that as well. In addition to the jokes, Google Assistant is also able to provide details on where Santa is and what Santa is currently doing to prepare for the big day.
Generally speaking, the tracking feature seems to work better through the integrated version of the Google Assistant (a la Pixel) as when asked ‘where’s Santa’, you are given an audio and written response on what Santa is currently doing. For instance, “Santa is packing gifts into his sleigh” or “Santa is deicing his reindeer”. This version of Google Assistant also highlights its contextual ability as when you ask the same question again, the answer will come back with the same response but with the inclusion of “he’s is still” – denoting Google Assistant’s understanding that this question was just asked a short time ago. In contrast, when the app-based version (a la Allo) is asked the same question, it seems the app will direct the user to the web-based Santa Tracker feature. So while not as responsive as the integrated version, it is still able to answer the question and comply with the request. Although, telling the Google Assistant to ‘track Santa’ does seem to bring back quite varied results between the Pixel’s Google Assistant and Allo’s version. Allo aside, if you are looking for some more Santa content, then Google has released a new Duo promotional advert which includes a touch of Santa and Christmas cheer.
