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Google Home can now support and distinguish up to six separate users

The new feature, which rolls out today, enables multiple users to receive personalized results.

Greg Sterling on April 20, 2017 at 12:00 pm

Google Home will now support up to six users. In other words, it has the capacity to recognize and distinguish the voices of multiple users for personalized content and results.

This extends to news, music, scheduling, commute times and so on.

To set this up, users need the most up-to-date version of the Google Home app. Each individual will need to link a Google account and set up preferences in the app. There’s also a short “training” process that requires each person to say “Ok Google” or “Hey Google” twice.

Google then does an audio/voice analysis to determine which person is speaking:

From that point on, any time you say “Ok Google” or “Hey Google” to your Google Home, the neural network will compare the sound of your voice to its previous analysis so we can understand if it’s you speaking or not. This comparison takes place only on your device, in a matter of milliseconds.

Google said multiple-user support will roll out today in the US, and in the UK in the “coming months.” Amazon will be compelled to match the capability for its Alexa devices, though it’s not clear how quickly it can.

About The Author

Greg Sterling

Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land. He writes a personal blog, Screenwerk, about connecting the dots between digital media and real-world consumer behavior. He is also VP of Strategy and Insights for the Local Search Association. Follow him on Twitter or find him at Google+.