Verizon Fios TV customers now have another channel for controlling the way they watch their TV at home. A partnership with Google is now bring voice control through the Google Assistant to Fios TV customers.

People will be able to change channels, start a movie, search for certain kinds of shows and even fast forward, pause, play or rewind all by just speaking these commands out loud.

Voice control is one of the key ways people are operating smart devices in the home and while away. Smart voice assistants including Google Assistant, Siri, Amazon Alexa and others offer another avenue for consumers to manage tasks in their lives from making a phone call from their smartphone or smartwatch to turning on the lights.

A Google Assistant device, like the Nest Mini, above, is needed to enable voice control with the voice assistant through Fios TVGearBrain

That voice control also extends to our smart TVs and other devices, like the Apple TV, with many now offering consumers the ability to change channels and more just by asking aloud. Google Assistant is also embedded in some smart TVs, like those from Samsung, which is accessible through a single button on the remote.

The new integration between Fios TV and Google Assistant does require customer shave both a Fios TV One or VMS1100 set-top box, and also supported Google Assistant device like a Nest Mini. With the two, customers can simply start their request with a, "Hey Google," and from there ask some of the following requests:

• "Hey Google, go to channel 547
• "Hey Google, tune to Animal Planet on bedroom Fios TV"
• "Hey Google, show me action movies"
• "Hey Google, skip ahead 3 minutes"

The new integration between Fios TV and Google Assistant is designed to work without any remote, and it is coming after people run an update on the Google Home app.

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Check out The GearBrain, our smart home compatibility checker to see the other compatible products that work with Google Assistant enabled devices.

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