The Google Assistant Now has Kid-Friendly Voices and Parental Controls

With the introduction of four kids-friendly voices on Google Assistant, the service is set to be more kid-friendly. Additionally, the company has added new parental controls to help parents control what their children can access.

Google said in a statement that the new kid-friendly voices for the Google Assistant speak in slower and more expressive styles to help with storytelling and aid comprehension." Kids can enable these voices by asking the Assistant to "change your voice."

On Assistant devices with a display, the new kid-friendly voices are represented by colourful tiles. This should make changing the Assistant's voice a more fun interaction, according to 9to5Google

Along with the new voices, Google is also rolling out a new Kids Dictionary feature for the Assistant, which provides age-appropriate answers on all Assitant-powered devices with Voice Match enabled. The feature also provides various illustrations with the answers on Assistant devices with a display.

As for parental controls, Google is adding new options to help parents choose which music and video service their kids can access on Assistant-enabled devices. The company is also introducing the ability to select which Assistant features kids can use, like Actions for Families, making phone/video calls, and the type of responses they get.

Further, Parents will also be able to choose which Assistant devices kids can access and during which times of the day.

Users will need a Google Account managed through Family Link as well as Voice Match enabled to use these parental controls on Google Home, Family Link, and Google Assistant apps on iOS and Android.