The Google Home app is getting a new automation editor. As spotted by 9to5Google, Google is testing a new automation creation interface in the Home app, adding new visuals and functionality to the dated older version.
To access the new editor, just tap the Create button on Google Home’s Automations tab. This will launch the overhauled interface, where you can set Starters that initiate routines and Actions that define what actually happens when an automation kicks in.
New in this version, Google’s added an optional Conditions section to the creation flow, where you can choose various conditions that have to be met for the automation to kick in — for example, you can choose only for certain automations to happen at certain times of day, or only when Google Home detects someone is present in your home.
The updated interface also looks decidedly more modern than the outgoing version, with Material 3 Expressive-style use of color and larger touch targets for key features.
Source: 9to5Google
This updated automation editor isn’t available broadly just yet, but as 9to5 reports, is available to Google Home users on Android in the US who are enrolled in the Google Home Public Preview Program.
It’s still far from mandatory
It seems like this new editor is now the default for users who meet the criteria to test it — if you’re on Android, in the Preview Program, and live in the US, it’s what you’ll see when you create a new routine. That said, you aren’t obligated to use it yet.
To revert to the old style, you can tap the three-dot menu in the top right corner of the automation interface, then tap either Previous household editor or Previous personal editor to use those versions instead. Still, it seems like a promising start, especially with the new addition of conditions to the mix.
