It used to be that music was the main thing that blasted through the speakers while people are doing their chores, relaxing, taking a break, or hanging out with loved ones. But now there are several other options to choose from like audiobooks, audio shows, and podcasts. For the latter, your Google Nest speakers could play episodes through Google Assistant but the default app was Google Podcasts. But now, if Spotify is your podcast app of choice, you’ll also be able to give voice commands to play specific shows and episodes.
Google Assistant has previously only supported its own Google Podcasts when it comes to streaming on Nest speakers. Third-party podcast players like Spotify had to be content with music streaming only. But according to Engadget, Spotify has confirmed that support for podcast playing on supported speakers has finally arrived so you can already give some voice commands to be able to play podcasts there as you can choose it as your default podcast player.
To enable this feature, you need to go to the Google Assistant settings on the Google Home app. You can then tap on the Podcast section which you can find towards the end since it’s arranged alphabetically. You have the option now of choosing Google Podcasts or Spotify. We probably will get more third-party podcast apps soon so good news for those that use neither. You can also choose no default provider if that’s something you want to do.
You can then say “Hey Google, play the Michelle Obama podcast” and it should be able to do so. You can also name specific episodes if you know which ones you want to listen to. This way, you’re also able to keep track and sync what you’re listening to podcast-wise across all your devices. There are also some Spotify-exclusive podcasts like the aforementioned former first lady’s show as well as Joe Rogan.
Listening to Spotify podcasts can happen on Google Assistant-enabled smart speakers and displays including the Nest Audio, Nest Mini, Nest Hub Max, etc. The feature has already started rolling out to users but give it a few days or weeks for a complete roll out.