Chromebooks may soon have Google Assistant standard

Chromebook owners might soon be saying "OK Google" to their laptops.

This is according to a snippet of Chrome OS code unearthed by XDA Developers, which indicates that native Google Assistant integration might be coming to Chrome OS devices.

This isn't entirely new; in fact, Google's own Pixelbook (arguably the best Chromebook around) natively supports Google Assistant. But if true, it would mean that other Chromebooks would get the power of the Assistant as well -- if the manufacturers enable it, that is.

From what's visible in the code, the feature will be disabled by default. OEMs that choose to enable it will also be able to turn on an extra setting that toggles whether the machine is listening for the "OK Google" phrase or not.

The fact that a version of Chrome OS has code that indicates Google Assistant support in does not necessarily mean the feature will go live soon. But with smart assistants fast becoming the norm in households, being able to invoke Google Assistant from a Chromebook will likely appeal to a lot of users, especially students, who make up a big chunk of Chromebook users, at least in the U.S. (assuming their administrators enable it, of course).

Chromebooks are affordable, internet-first laptops based on Google's Chrome OS and produced by a number of manufacturers, including Acer, Asus, and Samsung. Google's Pixelbook, which was launched in October last year, took the concept to a new level, both in terms of power it packs and the price, which starts from $999.