It’s a known fact that Google stresses more on its software than hardware and the Google Assistant is one of its handful gems. Since its inception, the voice assistant has seen faster and more complex speech recognition and language understanding as well as better responses and continued conversation.
The Assistant not only works on smartphones but Google has been keen on offering more and more smart speakers enabled with Google Assistant.
The presence of Google Assistant has helped many of us get to know things around us better as you can get immediate responses when asking about the weather, checking sports scores, catching up with the news and at the same time controlling other smart devices at home.
Despite all of that, there might have been instances when you had to scream too loud to activate the ‘Hey Google’ command. Similarly, there might also have been a situation or two when your smart speaker got activated even if you didn’t utter the command.
To solve this issue, Google is rolling out a feature that will let you adjust the “Hey Google” sensitivity on Google and Nest Home devices, as has been shared by XDA Developers.
How to adjust Hey Google sensitivity on Google Home
Step 1: Update to the latest version of the Google Home app on your device. Once updated, open the app.
Step 2: Tap on a Google Assistant-enabled device like a smart speaker or smart display and tap on the cogwheel icon on the top right to open Device settings.
Step 3: Inside Device settings, select the “Hey Google” sensitivity option. 
Step 4: On this screen, you can adjust how sensitive you want your smart device to be when listening to your voice. You can choose from three options:
- Light sensitive: This will make sure that Google Assistant doesn’t get activated on your smart speaker or display on the slightest detection of the “Hey Google” hotword.
- Default: As implied by the name, this is the default sensitivity that’s enabled for your smart device out of the box.
- Most sensitive: This option will enable high sensitivity for your Google Assistant smart speaker or display. You can enable this to avoid yelling the “Hey Google” hotword on frequent use.
How Hey Google sensitivity works
With the “Hey Google” sensitivity option, users will be able to adjust how often they want their Google Assistant commands to be picked up by their smart device. The ability to adjust “Hey Google” sensitivity for your Google Home and Nest Home devices brings more flexibility instead of relying on a single sensitivity option that’s intended to work for all.
Users who were struggling to get the “Hey Google” hotword activated can set their option to ‘Most sensitive’, while those of you who witnessed that their device returns queries without even saying the hotword can tone it down to ‘Light sensitive’.
Will this work on OK Google command too?
Google Assistant works on both “Hey Google” and “OK Google” prompts on smart speakers, displays and smartphones. This means that the new “Hey Google” sensitivity option will also work with the “OK Google” command, implying that you will be able to adjust the sensitivity of the “OK Google” command with the three present options.
When will I get the Hey Google Sensitivity feature
As confirmed by The Verge, the “Hey Google” sensitivity option is currently being rolled out gradually. The option will be available firsthand to Google and Nest-branded smart devices and we’re yet to have an official word on whether it will roll out to other Google Assistant-enabled devices.
Since this will be a server-side update, it could take days or even weeks for the “Hey Google” sensitivity option to appear on your Google Home app. To make sure you receive the feature, update the Google Home app on your Android device to the latest version available.
Are you excited about the new “Hey Google” sensitivity feature for Google Assistant? Are you one of those who have the option already working on your Google Home app? Let us know in the comments below.
