Google's getting rid of Assistant's location-based and assigned reminders

You'll have to rely on Gmail or Chat sometime in the future

Back in 2019, Google rolled out assignable reminders in Assistant, offering users in supported markets a way to select specific family members to complete chores, pick up groceries, or anything else on the to-do list. In practice, it worked surprisingly well, making it easy for partners, spouses, or roommates to make sure tasks were completed on time — though it could make for some passive-aggressive comments between loved ones. Unfortunately, it seems like the feature isn't long for this world. And while Google is at it, it looks like the company is also removing location-based reminders.

Google updated its support page for Assistant reminders today, retitling it to remove "assign" from the original headline, and to add a blurb about the feature going away soon. Currently, under the subhead "Manage assigned reminder settings," a new warning shows the following information:

Important: The option to assign reminders to others will go away soon. You can still assign reminders in Google Chat or Gmail.

Combined with the change in title, it seems all but certain that Google is moving away from assignable reminders in Assistant. While the feature's still available in Chat and Gmail, it's not quite as useful as voice actions. You'll need to use an app on your phone or computer to manually add and assign tasks this way.

That said, Android Police editor-in-chief Daniel Bader — who lives in Canada — is still seeing the old title without any warning on the support page. It could come down to a geo-specific restriction, though it would be odd to see Google remove the feature from the US and not other areas in North America.

In the same support document, Google also details that location-based reminders are going away soon:

Important: The option to create reminders for a certain location is going away soon. You can still create reminders at a certain time and set routines for a location.

The option to set location-based reminders was first added in 2018, alongside Routines. It allows you to set reminders for when you reach specific places, like your home address or any other place you want to get a reminder at. Similar options have existed in apps like Keep and Inbox before. While the latter app has long been sunset, the option still exists in Keep to this day. It's unclear what Google's plans are for the note-taking app in this regard.

It looks like location-based Assistant reminders have not worked correctly for some people, as evident in this Reddit thread on the removal of the feature, which might be a reason for the removal. Meanwhile, people are already receiving notifications on their phones warning them about the removal of the feature, as one of our tipsters shared with us. This could indicate that it's going to be sunset sooner than we would hope.

We've reached out to Google for comment and to specifically narrow down when these options might be leaving Assistant.

Thanks: Armando