Google Assistant now seems to be live for the Google Stadia controller. The feature was announced as one of the available functions for the platform, but when it launched back on November 19 it was not yet available to use.
That has changed today according to a report from 9To5Google. Sure enough, if you look inside the app you’ll now see a Google Assistant feature that allows you to enable and disable it via a toggle within its own menu.
You can also press the Google Assistant button on the controller and it actually does more than just tell you the feature will be coming soon.
Google Assistant on Stadia works, but only via Chromecast Ultra
Before everyone gets too excited, the Google Assistant button will only work for you if you’re playing games through the Chromecast Ultra. It doesn’t matter if it’s plugged into a TV or PC monitor, but this is the only device supported so far.
If you load up a game through the app to play on your phone, you will get a message that says the feature isn’t supported in the app yet. It then says to try playing on your TV.
The good news is that the feature is coming. Google has noted that at some point in the future the app will support the button functionality and so will the Stadia website. Which means you’ll eventually be able to use Google Assistant from the controller on those two device types.
The feature is still pretty limited
Though you can now enable Google Assistant within the app and the button does work when playing on your TV, it’s still pretty limited.
All it will do at this point is let you ask a few simple questions, such as what the weather’s like. You can also use it to play and cast games. That’s about it for now though.
Much like the Stadia platform itself, the Google Assistant feature on it will be better and more functional in the future. This is because you will be able to do more with it down the line, and use it in more places.
Google plans to expand on the feature by letting you bring up tips and tricks videos from YouTube while in-game, but that’s likely to launch sometime next year. If you play on Chromecast Ultra already, give the new Google Assistant feature a try and launch a game by voice, you might like it.