There’s been a fair bit of confusion about what Google Now really is. It’s easy to describe it as Google’s version of Siri, but it’s actually a lot more ambitious than that. Sure, you can use it to set reminders to buy milk or have dinner with friends, and you can ask it basic questions about the weather tomorrow or who directed The Shining, but the real attraction lies in its abilities to preempt your desires and needs.

If you let it learn about you and your habits, then it can throw up information that it thinks you might be interested in. News, sports scores, weather, and traffic information is served up in real time based on your previous movements and searches. Information is served up in the form of cards, which you can tap for more detail or swipe away to ignore. When it works, Google Now can give you what you want before you even know you want it.

Updated on 7-28-2014 by Simon Hill: Changed instructions to reflect new Google Now set up and settings, removed irrelevant info, added new commands, and potential new features.

The set up

You won’t get great results unless you set Google Now up with all the information it needs. This will involve some trust on your part. For heavy users of Google services it won’t be an issue, but anyone with privacy concerns is liable to think twice. Google Now is built-in to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and above, and you can also now get it as a free iOS app (it’s part of the Google Search app).

It’s worth spending some time in the settings before you start to use Google Now. On Android you’ll probably have a Google search bar on your home screen and you can tap it to bring up Google Now, or you can select Google from the app drawer. You’ll also be able to hold down the Home button or swipe up from the Home button to quickly select Google Now. If you have a Nexus 5 or you install the Google Now Launcher then you can simply say “Ok Google" on your home screen to bring it to life, or swipe from left to right.

On iOS you’ll want to open the Google Search app. You should be asked to set it up the first time you use it, but you can return to the app and enter settings whenever you like, in order to tweak things.

Bring Google Now to life and you’ll find the menu at the bottom right. Tap the three vertical dots and choose Settings. You can turn Google Now on and off in here and you can fine tune how it behaves. The more data you allow it to access the better it will perform.

You have the option to dictate what Phone search covers. You can decide how the Voice settings should work, including the “Ok Google" hotword detection. In Accounts & privacy you can set nicknames, location settings, Web history, and more. Notifications is for deciding on updates from Google Now and how they’ll sound.

Customizing Google Now

If you tap the magic wand icon at the bottom of the screen when Google Now is open you’ll find customization settings. You can choose sports teams and stocks that you are interested in. You can also set places such as your home and workplace. If you live in the U.S. then you can choose TV & Video to set your TV and Video on demand providers and get recommendations about movies and TV shows. If you go into Everything Else you’ll find options about website updates, preferences for units of temperature, weather updates, and a few other bits and pieces.

The data contained in Google Now will be collected automatically as you use your various Google services. A quicker way to edit your Google Now preferences is to tap the menu icon (three vertical dots) at the top right of every card that appears and answer the questions.

If you want to check up on any reminders you have set then you can tap on the icon at the bottom left of Google Now, which looks like an outstretched finger. You can add details to reminders here, delete old ones, or add new ones.

Pre-emptive Google Now

If you really want to get a feel for what Google Now can do, then you have to let it run for an extended period of time. It needs at least a week to start to get a handle on your movements and the kind of information that you are interested in. Contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t turn GPS on to get your location and it shouldn’t be a major drain on your battery life. Just let it to gather intel in the background, and you’ll reap the rewards over time.

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The more it learns about you, the more useful it potentially becomes. Being able to tie together the fact that you have an appointment across town, with real-time traffic conditions, to give you a reminder about when you need to leave and what route to take to get there on time is impressive, but it obviously won’t be useful for everyone. Much depends on the way you use your phone and what your habits are.

As cards pop up you can swipe them away to the right or left to get rid of them, tap on them to get more detailed information, or tap the menu icon at the top right to tell Google Now whether you like these kinds of updates and want to continue getting them. There’s an undo option that pops up briefly after you swipe a card away and you can tap it to bring that card back. You can also scroll down to the bottom to request that it show More cards. You’ll tend to find it doesn’t show much at first, but over time it should display more and more interesting and relevant cards.

Using Google Now as an assistant

When it’s not gazing into its crystal ball to bring you nuggets of potentially useful information, you can also use Google Now as a good old-fashioned assistant. Think of it as the personal assistant you can’t afford. Since release, Google has been adding a steady stream of voice commands and new functions, so you might be surprised at what’s on offer.

You can type traditional searches into the search box as normal, but if you tap the microphone you’ll unlock truly convenient voice search and commands. Here’s a small sample list of potential questions and commands:

• Who is the CEO of Google?
• What is the meaning of smartphone?
• Show me the stocks for Sony.
• What time is it in New York?
• Will it rain tomorrow?
• Show all hotels near me.
• Go to Digital Trends.
• What is 13 stones in kilograms?
• Premier league table.
• Play Blue Monday.
• Wake me up in an hour.
• Call Jenny.
• Images of the Empire State Building.
• When will BA 2215 land?
• When is my next appointment?
• Remind me to take out the trash when I get home.
• Launch Google Plus.
• Take a picture.
• What’s this song?

A lot of questions Google Now will reply to out loud. When you order it to perform an action, such as calling someone, or launching an app, it will show a loading bar, so you have time to quit if it misinterpreted your request. When you ask “What’s this song?" it will listen for a moment and then tell you, as well as providing a link to buy it in Google Play.

The voice input is generally solid, but much depends on your accent. Background noise can also cause a problem with it interpreting your speech. However, even with a retry, it’s often faster than typing.

If you want to see a complete list of commands, then check out this thread at XDA Developers.

The future of Google Now

There are some features in there that don’t seem to work for everybody, or that seem somewhat limited, but have stunning potential. There are also some exciting additions on the way.

You can already tell Google Now to fire up the music app or play a specific track, but it looks like a full set of hands-free voice controls for music is on the way. That means you’ll be able to ask it to skip tracks, change playlists, and maybe even set the volume.

If you have a habit of falling asleep on the early morning commute then you can employ Google Now to wake you up at the right stop. Tell it where and when you want to get off and fall asleep worry-free secure in the knowledge that Google will wake you in time to get off.

There have also been rumors about a bill reminder feature in Google Now, which will use Gmail to pull in data from bills and remind you when payment is due.

Taking more advantage of the location tracking, Google may be set to add people based reminders that work when you’re in proximity and remind you where you parked the car. For example if you set a reminder to pay back Neil the money you owe him and both of you agree to share locations, then Google Now could alert you when he’s nearby. The parking reminder is a more straightforward card linking into Google Maps to show you where you left the car.

Another big development, as we see more integration across the board, relates to Google Now cards appearing in the desktop version of Chrome. You may be seeing these already; there will be a wee bell icon at the bottom right on Windows or the top right on Mac.

We’ll keep you posted on all of these developments and anything new that emerges. Remember half-hearted use of Google Now will not impress, it’s an all or nothing deal if you really want to feel the benefits. Let us know how you use Google Now, and if you have any tips or questions, then post a comment.

Article originally published 5-22-2013.