It seems that Netflix’s integration into the Google Home platform is proceeding smoothly. A number of users are now confirming that the popular media-streaming service is already popping up on their devices alongside Google’s native Photos service.
Netflix, Photos On Google Home
The world got a first glimpse of how Netflix will get integrated into Google Home last October during the platform’s demonstration. There was no follow-up to the demo until now. With the recent development, users are about to find out for themselves how the app gets implemented.
So Netflix made an appearance on the Google Home app’s Assistant settings, under the Video and Photos menu. It included the capability for linking a Netflix subscription alongside an option to turn Photos on.
“Link your Google account to Netflix to enable your voice control and playback on compatible devices,” a window prompt informs the user once linking is triggered.
To find the Google Assistant setting, just head to the Devices icon located in the top right corner of the Google Home app’s main interface. Navigate to Settings, then tap More, and you will find yourself inside the Videos and Photos panel.
According to Android Police, the Netflix linking feature is not yet working, which could mean that Google is still trying to fine-tune the integration process. Other users who were able to successfully link their Netflix accounts were also informed that they are still barred from playing Netflix contents.
This hiccup is probably caused by problems on the server side, but overall, the service’s rollout should already be in sight.
Google Home Actions
At this point, what is particularly interesting is how Netflix and Photos are getting their Google Home treatment by way of the Actions feature that the company recently announced. Essentially, this is the mechanism that allows users to get Google Home perform tasks through voice commands.
One can even say that it is similar to Amazon’s own virtual assistant called Alexa. Through Amazon’s Echo speaker, for example, it can also respond to voice commands through its downloadable skills.
Google, however, maintains that Actions is more advances than Alexa’s skills. The Google Home smart assistant can hold its own in a conversation with its user. Once an action is triggered, it can respond to commands and also cope with related queries to clarify specific information necessary to deliver the service or feature accurately. It is this reason why Google is saying that when a user holds a conversation with Google Home, he is communicating with an AI-powered bot.
In this context, it seems that Netflix has developed its own proprietary bot that could converse with the Google Home user if the Netflix action is triggered.
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