Google Ends Informative Feature Connecting Parents and Kids

What you should know

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We’ve got some bad news. If you’re a fan of Google Assistant’s “animal of the day”, today’s pick, Crickets, is the last one. Ask Google Assistant about the “animal of the day” and you’ll see a note. It reads, “By the way, unfortunately, animal of the day is going away at the end of November. I’ll still answer other questions about your favorite animals.”

Parents have made a daily habit of sharing Google Assistant’s “animal of the day” with their kids. Some have done this for years. It’s a feature that’ll be missed. But hey, Google Assistant can still tell you a joke.

Even though “animal of the day” is gone, Google Assistant can still answer questions about specific animals. For example, “Where do Coyotes live?” Remember when Apple introduced Siri with the iPhone 4s in 2011? An ad showed a girl asking Siri, “What does a weasel look like?” Google Assistant can still do that, even without a daily animal feature.

The title says it all: Google shuts down Assistant’s Animal of the Day. This isn’t just on the smartphone app, but also on the smart display. A user named “GotSka81” from the Google Nest community complains, “My Google Nest Display told me today that the Animal of the Day is being discontinued. Why?” He adds that the feature has been a fun activity for his family.

GotSka81 also expresses disappointment in Google. He feels they’re not interested in improving existing products, but rather creating new ones. Another community member, “nstewarttx,” says, “Amazingly this educational feature fast became a daily habit that will be missed. Anyone know why?”

Why drop something educational and fun? Something that brought kids and parents together? Google hasn’t provided an answer yet. But it should be quite interesting when they do.