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Jason Cipriani/CNET
Controlling technology with voice commands is becoming a part of our everyday lives. When you can talk to a watch, a pair of glasses, a computer, or a smartphone, it’s surprising it’s still possible to feel alone. (I’m not serious. Or am I?)
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Even though the overall reliability of voice recognition software has come a long way over the last few years, it’s still not perfect. Between environmental conditions and speech patterns, trying to get a device to correctly recognize what you said can be an exercise in frustration.
In an effort to help cut down on your frustration level Google has created a way to correct Google Now. Naturally, it’s done with a voice command, making the process seamless and hopefully painless.
The next time you find yourself giving a voice command to Google Now and it fails to register what you said, you can say “No, I said” and then repeat only the part Google Now got wrong.
Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET
For example, when I asked Google Now, “Where is Santa Maria?” it failed to hear “Maria” and instead showed me results for “Where is Santa?”
When I then said, “OK, Google” followed by “No, I said ‘Santa Maria,'” Google Now was smart enough to relate the correction to the previous query, plug it in to the right spot, and run the revised search. The end result was exactly what I was looking for. Notice I didn’t have to say the entire command again; I simply had to correct the portion Google Now got wrong.
This feature should already be live on any device capable of running Google Now, meaning you shouldn’t need to get an update from the Play Store. Go ahead, give it a shot.
