Google Assistant Will Now Brighten Up Your Day By Reading Out Good News

To brighten up your day as you wade through a sea of bad news, Google Assistant will now deliver curated good news – stories about people who are solving real-life problems across the world. “Tell me something good” is a new experimental feature, currently available for Assistant users in the US.

Just say “Hey Google, tell me something good” to receive your daily dose of good news, Google said in a statement on Tuesday. “Real people are making progress solving real issues and hearing about those stories is a crucial part of a balanced media diet,” said Ryan Burke, Creative Producer, Creative Lab at Google.

The daily dose of good stories will be curated and summarised by the Solutions Journalism Network, a non-partisan, non-profit organization. “Solutions journalism empowers and energizes audiences, helping to combat negative news fatigue. We’re exploring how to incorporate more solutions journalism wherever you access Google News,” the tech giant said.

“That includes cameras, dishwashers, doorbells, dryers, lights, plugs, thermostats, security systems, switches, vacuums, washers, fans, locks, sensors, heaters, AC units, air purifiers, refrigerators, ovens, we can keep on going!” Michele Turner, Director, Smart Home Ecosystem at Google, recently wrote in a blog post.

The feature will work on any Google Assistant-enabled device, including phone, Smart Display or Google Home smart speaker. The Google Assistant can now connect with more than 5,000 devices at your home.

Some examples of the good news that Google Assistant’s new feature will deliver are how Iceland curbed alcohol consumption among teens by imposing night curfews and distributing coupons for enrolling them in extra-curricular activities, how the Georgia State University narrowed the achievement gap between black and white students, etc.