- Google announced a new feature called “Your News Update,” which is an audio service featuring a personalized news feed of content
Google has announced a new feature called “Your News Update,” which is an audio service featuring a personalized news feed of content for users from sources like CNN, CBS, Fox News, Reuters, Washington Post, Axios, Cheddar, and several other media companies. This news service is available on smart speakers that have the Google Assistant app integrated.
The Your News Update feature will play one- to two-minute news clips based on the interests of users whether it involves local news, sports, and the stock market. Once the shorter clips are done playing, longer personalized news clips will be played.
“If you’re a Steelers fan who follows the stock market and lives in Chicago, for example, you might hear a story about the latest ‘L’ construction, an analysis of last Thursday’s Steelers game and a market update, in addition to the latest national headlines. Keep listening and the experience will extend into longer-form content that dives deeper on your interests. In between stories, the Google Assistant serves as your smart news host that introduces which publishers and updates are next,” said Google News product manager Liz Gannes in a blog post.
Here is how it works:
Google plans to add support for foreign languages in the future. As of right now, the feature is available in the U.S. only.
The media companies are being compensated for participating in the audio news service. And the content is not exclusive to Google.
You can configure the sources that you want to hear the audio news from using the Google Home app. And you can activate the feature by saying “Hey Google, tell me the news” after you configure the app. To activate the feature, open the Assistant tab in Google Home. And then click the You tab (which has your picture on it) and then tab on the News tab. Then configure your News playlist format based on the providers you want to hear from.
