Google Assistant Now Saving Shopping Lists To Google Express

The Google Assistant stopped saving shopping lists to Google Keep as of yesterday and is now storing them in a different manner, just like the Mountain View-based company said it would earlier this month. The change was prompted by the fact that Google wanted to simplify the entire shopping process for its users, from listing the items they need to ordering them. Following the latest update, the Google Assistant is now saving any items you tell it to put on a list to Google Express, e.g. telling the companion “add bottled water to my list” would add that item to your Google Express list. If one list happens to get too large, you can always create another one and set it as the default one while simultaneously sharing any of your existing lists with other users.

Once you’ve opened your list, you’ll see that certain items are marked with a colorful umbrella icon which designates those products that you can instantly find on Google Express, and tapping that icon will pull up the listing of your item of choice in Google’s mobile shopping app. Unfortunately, Google Express still doesn’t feature useful Android Wear integration, meaning that managing your list in public is only possible by using your smartphone. On the other hand, it seems that Google Now is still adding items users want listed to Google Keep which does have a convenient Android Wear app, but that integration will likely be discontinued in the coming days like the company previously announced.

 

Overall, the new way of creating and saving lists in Google Asssistant was likely aimed at people who conduct most of their shopping online, especially those who use Google Express. If you don’t have Google’s mobile shopping app installed on your device, Google Assistant will only be able to open your saved lists in Chrome, which isn’t a particularly elegant solution, though it’s still unclear whether the Alphabet-owned company will be looking to refine this functionality in the future. Regardless, more details on the matter will likely follow shortly, maybe even by next month once Google I/O 2017 kicks off.