Hey Google, play the news - News now available on Google Assistant

Google this month introduced news content on Google Assistant. This is a result of partnerships with news publishers, including Advance Local, American Public Media, AP, Axios, Billboard, CNBC, CNET, KQED, McClatchy, NBC, New York Times, Newsy, PRI/PRX, Radio.com, SCMP, The Hollywood Reporter, theScore, USA Today, Washington Post, and WNYC.

Google is interested in having more publishers in English. Audio News Feeds can be submitted here. The content guidelines are available here.

How news are playing on Google Assistant?

Google says that a news audio playlist is assembled for each user. It starts with a briefing of top stories and updates on topics the user cares about and extends into longer-form content that dives deeper into more stories. At any point in the day when a user wants to listen to the latest news—as a morning wake-up, during the commute, or while jogging—the Google Assistant will be ready with new stories and updates. Plus, using voice, users can ask Google Assistant to skip a story, go back or stop.

To improve and build out this audio news experience, Google built an open specification, available for news organizations that would like to participate.

According to Google, audio journalism requires new capabilities and workflows for both print publishers and broadcasters, whether it's adding a sound booth or segmenting larger broadcasts into shorter stories.