Google Home recognises who speaks to it: How to add multiple users

Google Home can now recognise each person in your household by their voice and smartly switch to their account and preferences.

Those of you with a husband or kids or a roommate will appreciate Google Home's latest update. If you've ever said to the speaker "OK Google, good morning", you know it will tell you the time, weather, schedule, and news. But if you didn't set up Google Home with your Google account (maybe it's set up under your son's account), then you won't hear results that are meant for you.

You'll get someone else's schedule, news, and music preferences.

However, starting 20 April 2017, that's no longer an issue. Google Home now lets up to six people connect their account to one Google Home speaker. So, when you ask Google Assistant for help going forward, it'll be able to distinguish your voice from your son's or husband's or daughter's or roommate's and switch to the right account. You'll get your own playlists, schedule, and more.

Here's everything you need to know.

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Google Home: How to add multiple users

First, make sure you're using the latest version of the Google Home app on your mobile device.

Getting started

1. When you open the app, look for a card that says ”multi-user is available”.
2. If you don’t see a card, click on the icon in the top right to see all of your connected devices.
3. Once you see your Google Home listed, select “Link your account.”

Voice training

1. The app will prompt you to teach Google Assistant your voice so that it can understand and recognize you when you speak.
2. It will ask you to say the phrases "Ok Google" and "Hey Google" two times each. Google said those phrases are analyzed by a neural network that can detect certain characteristics of a person's voice in a matter of milliseconds.

Preferences

1. You’ll also need to set up your preferences within the Google Home app (such as personalized music and commutes). You can learn more about how to adjust your preferences from Google's Help hub.

Google: How does multiuser support work?

Google said Google Assistant on Google Home should recognise you going forward and be personalised to you - from music to news. It'll be ready to switch accounts and answer your questions, as well as anyone else in your household who has been added as a user. You can see an example of how support for multiuser support works here:

Google Home: Where is multiuser support available?

This feature rolled out for Google Home owners in the US earlier this year. It is now available for Google Home owners in the UK, too. 

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