Chrome Stable Receives 'OK Google' Voice Recognition
May 27, 2014
By Casey Houser, Contributing Writer
Tech news organization CNET reported the latest advancement to the Google (News - Alert) Chrome browser late last week. Transferring a feature that was once only found in the beta version of the browser, the latest stable version of Chrome can now search for terms in Google search completely hands free. Users need only activate the feature and then say, “OK Google,” and the browser will search the Web for any command users speak.
A recent Google blog post on its social networking service, Google+, has more details about the service. It includes a link to a previous post (from February) that further expands on the browser's voice recognition capabilities.
“With the latest release of Chrome, all ‘#Chromies’ can now search by voice in Chrome,” the Google+ post notes. “Just open a new tab or visit Google.com, say "Ok Google” and take it for a spin.”
Google provides an example where a user is cooking and needs to find out how many ounces are in a cup. In the past, the user would have had to wash his or her hands to type out a search, but now any person in a similar situation can overcome the dirty-hands obstacle by simply speaking to his or her computer. Previous versions of the “OK Google” search allowed for voice recognition, but users were required to click a microphone icon before the service would begin recording. Now, if it is active, the browser will listen actively for an indefinite period.
The company's February post also shows that users can manipulate the service to set a timer by saying, “Ok Google, set a timer for 30 minutes,” or create a reminder in Google Now by saying, “Ok Google, remind me to pick up dessert at 6pm tonight.”
The service is reported to work in the Chrome browser in each of the big three operating systems—Windows, Mac, and Linux—and now comes with the latest version of Chrome OS.