Using Google Assistant to make calls or messages can be frustrating when it continually chooses the wrong contact to reach out to. Using your Google Assistant app, you can customize how it pronounces your name as well as all your contacts.
Here is how you can use the app to teach your Google Assistant to say your name the correct way.
Why Google Assistant Needs to Identify Names Correctly
Google Assistant continues to improve its features to allow more and more people to use it without hassle. One of the larger issues is getting your assistant to understand and pronounce names correctly.
In the past, users have complained that their device made it difficult to place calls because Google Assistant couldn’t differentiate between names correctly.
Now, you can use the settings inside your Google Assistant app (iOS, Android) to teach it how to pronounce your name, and the names of your contacts, correctly. You even get different methods to use to try and teach your assistant the nuanced ways to say specific names.
Training Your Google Assistant
You want to make sure you haven’t disabled your Google Assistant from listening to your voice before attempting to fix how it pronounces your name. Some of the options below require a microphone to work.
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From here you have three different options to get your name pronounced correctly. You can either choose Use default, Spell it out, or Record your own.
The default option is how your Google Assistant is already pronouncing your name. You can give it a quick listen by selecting Play.
Spelling out your name will let you phonetically spell how your name is supposed to sound. Then you can test how your Google Assistant will sound when pronouncing your phonetically spelled name.
You may have to try different versions of spelling to get it just right. You won’t know how Google Assistant is going to pronounce different spellings until you try them, so this can take some time.
Also, try spaces between your words to see how your Google Assistant processes the information. It could be the difference between “Soosie” and “Soo sie” that gets the pronunciation perfect.
If you choose the Record your own name option, Google Assistant will first ask you to say your name out loud while it records you. Immediately after, you’ll hear Google’s version of what it thinks it heard.
Again, you might need to try various recordings to get Google to get it just right. Putting an emphasis on the different consonants or vowels will help Google to nail its enunciation.
Customizing Your Google Assistant Contact Names
The feature also allows you to customize how Google Assistant pronounces your contacts on your phone. You have to make sure your contacts are added to your app before making the changes.
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If you have a small list of contacts, you could potentially go through each one to get the right pronunciation from Google Assistant. A large list would make it improbable to go through all of them and get the correct name.
You would have to try multiple variations for each contact to get Google to say the name the correct way. The effort and time would not be worth it since only a handful of contacts would be contacted on a regular basis.
What’s more likely is that you’ll want to perform this action for the individuals who you talk to most frequently so Google can identify them.
Making Google Assistant Even Better
You can customize the way your Google Assistant pronounces your name by either spelling it out phonetically or recording a version yourself. You might have to try a few different versions before Google gets it just right.
If you’re worried there might be a bigger problem with your Google Assistant, try some easy fixes before doing anything drastic.