You can now set Google Assistant actions with minimal delay

Many people now have some form of speech assistant at home. Be it Google Home Mini (or Nest Home Mini), or just the Google Assistant in your Android smartphone. However, if you use the Home app, you can set up routines, for example, that automatically close the blinds and dim the lights when you say “romantic evening.” These routines are getting better now, because there will be fewer delays in the future.

No need for IFTTT anymore

Where in the past you needed If This Then That to create some kind of chain reaction with your home’s smarthome gadgets, you need it less since Google gave Assistant along with Home the ability to enable routines.

Last year, Google actually made it possible to enable a slight delay, so that you can, for example, allow a certain device to do its work one minute after the rest. Google then allowed a delay of up to 1 minute, but that has now been delayed. You can now use delays of up to one second, so that your routine can be applied more specifically to your desires. This does not apply to standard Google actions, but applies to actions that you create from scratch.

More delays in the routine

This delay is especially useful if, for example, you turn off the lights when you leave the house, or if you turn on the alarm. It doesn’t mean you’re just inside and all the alarms start beeping, or that you have to find the doorknob in the dark. If you thought 1 minute was a bit long, now you can make it half a minute or even shorter if you want.

You can do this by doing a “delay start” when setting up the routine. You can then specify not only hours and minutes, but also seconds. You can set several of these delays, which is definitely a welcome addition to your smart home now that it can also be shorter than a minute.

Still shy about helpful routines? We recommend it in our article Helpful google actions Number of.