Google Home Automations Get New Features and Improvements

Google continues to refine its smart home experience, with a recent update on February 17, 2026, bringing several enhancements to Google Home automations. These changes aim to provide users with more control, flexibility, and feedback options for their smart home routines.

Pre-defined Voice Assistant Actions

The Google Home app’s automation editor now includes a selection of pre-defined voice assistant actions for smart speakers and displays. These actions allow users to quickly integrate common commands into their automations, including:

• Announce current time
• Announce today’s weather
• Ask what time to set an alarm
• Play chime
• Play music
• Play news
• Play podcast
• Play radio
• Play sleep sounds
• Tell a joke

Currently, these pre-defined actions are not supported when using “Ask Home” or “Help me create” features, but Google states it is “continuing to expand support for home automation capabilities.”

Deleting Pre-made Routines

Users can now delete pre-made routines such as “Good morning,” “Bedtime,” and “Workday.” This provides more space to view custom automations within the app. Deletion is accomplished by tapping the trash icon in the top-right corner or overflow menu.

Automation Feedback Menu

A new feedback mechanism has been implemented, allowing users to tap and hold a specific automation in the automation tab to access a feedback menu. This allows users to report issues encountered with their automations and provide additional details to Google.

Improved Video Clip Downloads

Google has implemented a “foundational fix” to improve support for continuous video clip downloads of up to 5 minutes on home.google.com. This ensures that longer clips remain uninterrupted and can span multiple overlapping short event clips.

These updates demonstrate Google’s ongoing commitment to enhancing the Google Home experience and providing users with more powerful and intuitive smart home automation tools.