How to enable and use Google Assistant on Chrome Android

The convenience that the Google Assistant virtual assistant brings is one of the factors that makes many people love the Android platform. Not only does it make using your smartphone simpler and more convenient, Google Assistant can also help you browse the web smarter.

By enabling Google Assistant in Chrome, you can perform voice search queries using this intelligent virtual assistant, instead of using Android's built-in voice recognition search software, which is less accurate.

Some notes

Before you enable and use Google Assistant on Chrome Android, there are a few things you need to keep in mind:

• At the time of writing, this feature is still in beta, which means there may be some glitches.
• This feature is not enabled by default and you have to enable it manually.
• This feature is currently only available on Chrome for Android. Even if you're using Google Assistant on iOS, it's still only compatible with Chrome Android.
• Finally, you will need the latest version of Chrome to use this feature. The Chrome version used in this article is 87.0.4280.141.

Enable Google Assistant in Chrome Android

Since it's not officially supported and is still in beta, this feature is currently hidden in Chrome as a flag, and you'll have to enable it manually.

To access Chrome's flag management page, open the Chrome app and type “ chrome://flags ” into the address bar, then click the corresponding result.

The window that appears will list all the flags currently available on Chrome.

In the search box at the top of the screen, type the keyword “ omnibox assistant voice search ”.

You will see a flag called “ Omnibox Assistant Voice Search ” appear. Click on the drop-down menu below the flag and select “ Enabled ” or “ Enabled (grey mic) ” or “ Enabled (colorful mic) ”.

You'll need to relaunch Chrome for the changes to take effect. Tap the blue Relaunch button at the bottom right of the screen.

When Chrome restarts, you'll see a microphone icon appear in the Google search bar — used to invoke the Google Assistant virtual assistant.

Use Google Assistant in Chrome Android

Once you’ve completed the steps above, you can start performing a voice search query by tapping the microphone button icon in the address bar or the Omnibox on the new tab page. You’ll see a full-screen Assistant voice search interface appear, instead of the small dialog box that popped up before. The virtual assistant will provide you with voice feedback, and at the same time return corresponding search results on google.com as usual.

Note that this new voice search feature is designed to only appear on the new tab page and in the address bar. When you click the microphone button on google.com, the voice recognition is still handled directly by the website.