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How to turn off Google Assistant with just a few taps
Google Assistant has become an integral part of our everyday lives. You can use it in almost any situation, and it continues to learn new skills. It can schedule your tasks, play your favorite music, control your smart home devices, and even answer any weird questions you might have. However, it also has the peculiar habit of popping up for no reason. To solve this, your best option is to shut it down completely. Here’s how to turn off this digital helper.
QUICK ANSWER
Turn off Google Assistant by opening the Google app and tapping on your profile icon in the top-right corner. Then, go to Settings > Google Assistant > General and toggle off Google Assistant.
JUMP TO KEY SECTIONS
Editor’s note: All instructions in this article were put together using a Google Pixel 7 running Android 13. Remember, the steps might differ slightly if you use other hardware or software.
How to turn off Google Assistant
Shutting this feature down is a breeze, but the right menu can be challenging to find since Google tucked it away somewhat deep in its settings. Below are the step-by-step instructions you’ll need to follow.
- Open the Google app.
- Tap on your profile image in the top-right corner.
- Select Settings.
- Tap Google Assistant.
- Hit General.
- Toggle off Google Assistant, and you’re done.
Of course, if you want to turn Assistant back on, you follow almost all of the same steps. However, once you reach step six, you’ll have to flip the toggle in the opposite direction.
How to turn off ‘Hey, Google’ voice commands
Maybe you still want to use Google Assistant, but you don’t want it constantly listening for you to say “Hey, Google” or “OK, Google.” There’s also a way to turn off that feature without turning off the Assistant altogether. Follow the steps below to find out how it’s done.
- Open the Google app.
- Tap on your profile image in the top-right corner.
- Select Settings.
- Tap Google Assistant.
- Select Hey Google & Voice Match.
- Toggle Hey Google off.
FAQs
Google Assistant is Google’s official digital assistant. It can be found on almost all Google intelligent gadgets, such as Android phones, tablets, smart speakers, smartwatches, smart TV devices, and more. The service focuses on voice commands, and it can pull information, as well as take actions.
Not necessarily, but Google Assistant is good to have, even if you won’t use it. You can ignore the existence of Google Assistant on your phone, and it won’t bother you unless you say OK, Google, or Hey, Google. Having Google Assistant turned on entails Google listening to you at all times, though, which we know many of you dislike the idea of.
The most popular Google Assistant competitors are Amazon Alexa and Apple’s Siri. Of course, you can only use the latter with Apple devices, so the only true direct competitor is Alexa.
Google Assistant can do a lot! You can ask for general information, request news summaries, ask it to solve mathematical problems, ask for recipes, control your smart home devices, find your phone, make calls, broadcast messages to other Google Assistant speakers, and much, much more. Learn more about what you can do here.
There are many reasons that could be causing Google Assistant to act up. We have a complete guide on what to do when Google Assistant is not working. Try those fixes before moving on to more drastic measures.