Google has recently announced its decision to remove third-party Assistant voice apps and Nest Hub games within a year. As a result, the integration of third-party Google Assistant Notes & Lists will also be shut down.
In the Google Assistant settings, users have long had the option to choose a Notes & Lists provider for voice commands, enabling them to create or edit lists/notes on speakers and Smart Displays. The available options have been Google Keep, Any. do, AnyList, and Bring Shopping Lists.
However, this integration will no longer be available. The developers of AnyList have confirmed that Google will be shutting down the Google Assistant Notes & Lists integration for non-Google apps on June 20, 2023.
Specifically, users will no longer be able to use Google Assistant to add items to AnyList. We have reached out to Google for further information, but it appears that the Notes & Lists integration relies on the Conversational Actions/“Actions on Google” platform, which is also scheduled to be discontinued next month. This comes as quite a surprise.
Conversational Actions were initially introduced as a means for third-party developers to integrate with Google Assistant. However, Google has shifted its focus away from third-party voice experiences, including apps and games with visual interactions on Smart Displays or speakers. Instead, the company is now emphasizing the integration of voice command capabilities into existing apps developed for Android, spanning across phones, tablets, Wear OS, Google/Android TV, and Android Auto/Automotive. The developers of AnyList allude to this shift in their statement, expressing their ongoing communication with Google and their hope to support Google Assistant on Android devices in the future, although they have no announcements to make at this time.
It remains unclear whether Google Keep will be affected by the June 20 deadline or if the forthcoming Google Tasks integration, which is still being rolled out, will be the sole service available for use with Assistant going forward. We have reached out to Google for clarification on this matter.
