Users can now simply say “stop” at any point while Google Assistant is talking and the device will immediately shut up. From our testing this morning, it seems to work as promised, but only while Google Assistant itself is speaking. If a song has been accidentally triggered, or a video no one asked for starts playing, users will still need to say “hey, Google” before asking the device to stop playback.
The new feature appears to be part of the rollout of Google’s Quick Phrases, which came to light last October and allow common functions on Google devices, like answering calls or silencing alarms, to be done using short voice commands without the need for saying wake words like “hey, Google” first. More of these Quick Phrases will probably be introduced in the coming months (XDA Developers had discovered more than 15 of them for Google’s smart home devices), but we’re glad Google has prioritized this one.