Google Home update brings more automation controls to help you build smarter routines

Google Home automations can quietly take a lot of friction out of your day. From turning lights on at the right time to adjusting the temperature when you’re about to reach home, automations are one of the most useful parts of Google’s smart home platform.

Last month, Google expanded what those automations can do by rolling out a new set of starters that gave users more ways to trigger routines. Now, a fresh update for the Google Home app builds on that momentum, adding support for even more automation starters, conditions, and actions that make it easier to create more helpful routines.

According to the changelog published on the Google’s support page, Google Home now supports humidity-based starters, letting users run routines when indoor humidity crosses a set threshold. For example, users can automatically turn on a dehumidifier or exhaust fan when humidity rises above a predefined level, or turn those appliances off when levels return to normal.

Google has also added new device and status-based conditions, allowing users to trigger automations when their robot vaccum docks or undocks, when a device’s battery is charging or low, or when a switch or button is pressed. The latter supports single button presses, multiple presses, long presses, and long-press releases.

Automations can now also be triggered by the binary state of supported devices, with Google Home gaining the ability to detect when something is open or closed, whether a contact is detected, or whether sensors report conditions like leaks or freezing. This enables more safety-focused automations, such as triggering alerts if there’s a leak or if a window is left open.

New smart lighting actions and bug fixes

Google Home has also gained support for a new action that allows users to set smart lights to a specific color or temparture. This makes it possible to automatically adjust lighting based on context, such as switching to a cool white during the day or a warm tone in the evening.

Alongside the new automation starters, conditions, and actions, the update also fixes an issue that prevented users from playing back recently recorded security camera footage. Google says this fix will reduce “Video not available” errors when launching the Google Home app from a notification or when tapping a recent event.