‘OK Google’ voice search comes to Chrome

BY Stefan Constantinescu

Published 27 Nov 2013

Some of you are lazy and don’t want to type. It’s OK to admit it, because I’m one of those people that are now hooked on dictating emails and text messages thanks to Google’s ridiculously accurate voice recognition capabilities. But what about search? If you have a Moto X, you can say “OK Google” even when your home screen is off and preform a search. If you have a Nexus 5, you can do the same, but only when your screen is on. And today, “Ok Google” search is coming to Chrome.

Now there are a few things you should know. First, you can already talk to Chrome to do searches. All you need to do is go to Google’s homepage and click on the microphone icon. What’s being introduced today is an extension that eliminates the need to click. So the scenario goes something like this: Open a new tab, visit Google’s home page, say “OK Google”, and then perform a search. I would’ve liked to see Google enable “OK Google” support regardless of which tab I’m currently viewing, but I fully understand that would kill a laptop’s battery life if the microphone was on all the time. Plus the privacy concerns would be ridiculous.

Do you use your device’s voice capabilities? If not, then why not? Is your accent thick? Do you work in a crowded office and don’t want to look like insane? I’m telling you, once you send that first text message just by talking, you’ll wonder you bothered using your thumbs for the last 10+ years.