ICYMI: Broadcasting messages to Google Home speakers or Nest displays has been deprecated

It seems the news is finally catching up with some Google Home users. Reddit forums are astir with surprised folks who just discovered that broadcasting messages from their phones to Google Home speakers or Nest displays is not working anymore. This change happened back on February 26 as part of a larger feature cleanup by Google.

When Google announced the removal of broadcasting (along with at least 16 other features) back in January, they cited low usage as the reason. This made sense at the time since the wording from Google suggested this would only affect those in a Family Group. “Using your voice to call a device or broadcast a message to your Google Family Group,” part of the announcement read. However, Google also adds that “You can still broadcast to devices in your home,” but this is not working for Home users. Still, the delayed reactions from affected Home and Nest users seem to validate Google’s reasoning. If it takes over a month for some users to even notice a feature is gone, it’s likely not an integral part of their daily routine.

While it’s understandable for those who did rely on broadcasting to be frustrated, it highlights the challenge Google faces. Maintaining features used by only a small portion of users can be costly and inefficient. This cleanup seems like a move to streamline the Google Assistant experience, focusing on the core functionalities that bring the most value to the majority.

While broadcasting from your phone is no longer supported, you can still use the feature directly from a Google Home speaker or Nest display to broadcast messages to another Google Home speaker or Nest display within your home.