Google’s going through some awkward transitions with our Android Assistant right now, and that includes removing one of the most prominent ways to access it on certain devices.

If you’ve got a Pixel or another phone that had a multicolored microphone icon in its home screen search bar, you might’ve noticed that the icon stopped opening Assistant over the past several days. This is part of a deliberate change by Google to refocus that icon on searching instead of Assistant interactions.

➜ But no matter what kind of device you’re carrying, you’ve still got plenty of convenient ways to access Assistant — most of which are completely out of sight and all too easy to overlook. And these are all in addition to the standard voice activation option — a.k.a. “Hey, Google” — which is fine in the right scenario but not always the most convenient choice. (These will all also work whether you’re using the classic Google Assistant or playing around with the new Bard/Gemini alternative.)

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Android Assistant option #1: The home screen shortcut

The easiest way to make Assistant readily available on any Android phone is by adding a simple shortcut to it on your home screen.

The catch, though, is that Assistant isn’t technically its own app — so there’s no clear way to even create a standard shortcut for it.

But it’s possible, all right: You’ve just gotta download the official Google Assistant shortcut app from the Play Store. The app really doesn’t do much; in fact, it’s little more than a shell for opening the existing Assistant function on your phone.

That’s exactly what we need now, though. And it’s the perfect way to put Assistant right in front of your face, on any kind of Android gadget imaginable.

Android Assistant option #2: The Google app access

If you don’t want Assistant on your home screen and don’t mind an extra tap to reach it, you can still call up your friendly neighborhood helper via the microphone icon at the top of the self-named Google app for Android on any device.

Just look for “Google” in your app drawer (or tap the “G” Google icon in a search box on your home screen, if you have one) and then smash your favorite fingie down to the mic icon at the top of the screen that comes up next.

Android Assistant option #3: The back tap

Some Android phones have a nifty way to let you double-tap the back of your device as a shortcut to any function you like — and Assistant is absolutely among the available options.

On a recent Pixel, head into the System section of your system settings, then tap “Gestures” followed by “Quick Tap to start actions.” Make sure the toggle next to “Use Quick Tap” is turned on, then select “Access your digital assistant” from the list of options.

On a recent Samsung device, you’ll have to install the company’s “Good Lock” app through its own Galaxy Store and then install a separate “RegiStar” app, also through the Galaxy Store, to make a similar function available.

Android Assistant option #4: The up swipe

On lots of current Android devices, you’ve got a great out-of-sight (and sometimes off-by-default) option for accessing Assistant anytime, no matter what else you’re doing on your device.

It’s a simple swipe-up gesture in which you slide your finger up at a diagonal from either lower corner of your screen to activate Assistant. Convenient, no?

This gesture is activated out of the box (and without any option to disable it!) on many recent Samsung devices. On a Pixel phone, you can head back into the System section of your system settings, search for the word swipe, and then flip the toggle next to the “Swipe to invoke assistant” option in the results to turn the feature on or off.

Android Assistant option #5: The power press

Last but not least, a Pixel-specific Assistant shortcut: If you really want to make Assistant readily available, you can repurpose your phone’s physical power button so that pressing and holding it always launches Assistant instead of pulling up the standard system power menu.

On more recent Pixels, in fact, this option is typically activated by default.

You can see how it’s set and decide for yourself by heading back into the System section of your device’s settings and then selecting “Gestures” followed by “Press & hold power button.”

So there ya have it: five easy options for activating Assistant that don’t require any spoken words. Pick whichever path you prefer, and your Android-dwelling Assistant will never be more than a swipe, tap, or touch away.

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