How to setup Google Assistant for PC?

Along with Siri and Alexa, Google Assistant is another one of the most popular digital voice assistants. Currently, users can access Google Assistant’s service on Android phones, tablets, smart TVs, Chromebooks, and other smart IoT-based devices. Similarly, Windows 10 users have Cortana to play with. Until now, there was no application to use Google Assistant on PC. But now, an unofficial Google Assistant client is available that can be used to set it up on the Windows 10 PC, macOS, and Linux.

This unofficial client is developed by an app developer Melvin Abraham and is available to download on Github. Although the app is not an official one from Google, it is still safe to download and install Google Assistant for PC.

The idea of having the Google Assistant for PC might sound exciting, but it is not straightforward to set it up. You have to set up the Google Assistant API with Google Cloud and create a custom token. The process is somewhat confusing, but you need not worry about that.

In this guide, we would walk through the detailed steps to set up Google Assistant for PC using the unofficial client.

Prerequisites for setting up Google Assistant on PC

Before you move any further to set up the Googe Assistant for PC, you need to activate the Voice and Audio activity for your Google Account. For that, follow these steps:

1. On your Android device, navigate to Settings -> Google -> Manage your Google Account.
2. Tap on Manage your data & personalization.
3. Under Activity controls, tap Web & App Activity.
4. Check the Include audio recordings box.

How to set up Google Assistant on PC?

To set up the Google Assistant for PC, you need to perform three tasks that require several steps:

• Device Registration
• Configure Consent Screen
• Setting authentication in the app

Follow each step carefully to configure the Google Assistant on PC successfully.

Device Registration

1. On your web browser, navigate to Actions Console and log in with your Google account, if not already done. Click on New Project.
2. On the New Project pop-up box, enter the project’s name and set other options as per your preference.
3. A new project would be created. On the next window, scroll down and click on the Click here hyperlink next to Are you looking for device registration?
4. On the Device Registration page, click on the REGISTER MODEL button.
5. A Register Model pop-up box would appear. Fill out the details as per your choice, and under device type, select any device like Refrigerator.
6. Next, you will be asked to download the credentials. Click on Download OAuth 2.0 credentials button.

The device is now registered. The next task is to Configure Consent Screen.

Configure Consent Screen

1. On your web browser, navigate to Cloud Console.
2. Next to the Google Cloud Platform logo, click on Select a project.
3. On the next window, switch to the All tab and select the project you created in the previous task.
4. Next from the menu, hover over API & Services and click on Dashboard.
5. On the dashboard page, click on ENABLE APIS & SERVICES.
6. You will reach to API Library page.
7. In the search bar, search for Google Assistant and select Google Assistant API from the search result.
8. Click on ENABLE button to enable the API.
9. After the API is enabled, from the menu, click on Credentials and select CONFIGURE CONSENT SCREEN.
10. Under the OAuth consent screen heading, select User Type as External and click on CREATE button.
11. On the next page, under App information, choose an email for the User Support email.
12. On the same page, scroll down, and under Developer contact information, enter the email address. Click on SAVE AND CONTINUE.
13. Don’t perform any changes under Scopes and Option info. Click SAVE AND CONTINUE on both occasions. 
14. Finally, verify the information and click on Back to Dashboard.
15. Under “Test Users,” click on the “ADD USERS” button.
16. Under Add Users, type the Gmail account’s email address that you will use to authenticate.

The Consent Screen is configured. Now you need to set authentication in the app.

Setting authentication in the app

1. Download the .exe file from Github and install the Google Assistant Unofficial Client.
2. After the installation, launch the application.
3. On the top-left corner, click on the Settings icon.
4. Under the Authentication, browser for the OAuth 2.0 Credentials file that you have downloaded in the first process, next to Key File Path. Leave Saved Tokens Path blank.
5. You will be prompted to automatically create a path for “Saved Tokens Path.” Click on “Automatically set a path.”
6. Next, you will be asked to Relaunch the Assistant.
7. When the Google Assistant is relaunched, it would ask for the token, and the authentication page would load in the default browser.
8. On the authentication page, select the Google account to authenticate.
9. Now grant permission to the project by clicking on “Allow.”
10. Google will provide you the token code. Click on the copy button.
11. Paste the token on the Google Assistant application window and click Submit.
12. The app will again ask you to relaunch.

That is it. After relaunching, the Google Assistant for PC would be ready to go. You can ask it anything you like for testing.

Bottom Line

Though the setup process of Google Assistant for PC might be a little hectic, the end result is truly rewarding. Although this client might be missing some functionality, like it does not get activated by OK Google, it is still more configurable than the smartphone or tab version. Until Google releases the official version, this unofficial client would fulfill all Google Assistant requirements on PC.

Peter Brown

Peter is an Electrical Engineer whose primary interest is tinkering with his computer. He is passionate about Windows 10 Platform and enjoys writing tips and tutorials about it.