We've known since June that Microsoft was working on integrating Alexa and Google Assistant with Xbox in lieu of its own voice assistant, Cortana. With Alexa support already up and running on Xbox One, it's now time for Google Assistant to get in on the action.

Harrison Hoffman, Senior Program Manager at Xbox, took to Reddit this morning to announce the public beta of Xbox Action for Google Assistant. The program would allow Xbox users to control their consoles via voice commands by invoking Google Assistant on their favorite Android (or iOS) devices or Home speakers.

All English-speaking customers can sign up to test the service today. Simply follow these steps:

  1. Join the Xbox for Google Assistant Beta Group with the Google Account you intend to use
  2. Sign into your Xbox
  3. Navigate to the “Settings” menu on your Xbox.
    • Under the "Kinect & devices" tab, enable "digital assistant" access
  4. In the Google Home app for iOS or Android:
    • Tap “+ Add”
    • Tap “Set up device”
    • Tap “Have something already set up?”
    • Search for and select “[beta] Xbox”
  5. Sign in with the Microsoft account you use on Xbox
  6. Follow the instructions to link your Xbox and give it a device name

After your Xbox One and Google Assistant have been paired, you should be able to control your Xbox One by saying, "Hey Google," followed by any of these commands:

  • "turn on Xbox”
  • "turn off Xbox”
  • "pause on Xbox"
  • "resume on Xbox"
  • "volume up on Xbox”
  • "take a screenshot on Xbox”

Xbox Action for Google Assistant beta is available to all English-speaking customers. Google and Xbox plan to expand language support before the service exits beta later this fall.

UPDATE: 2019/11/15 9:32am PST BY ZACH LAIDLAW

As part of the November 2019 Xbox One update that's rolling out today, Xbox Action for Google Assistant is graduating from beta to a full-fledged feature. You'll still need to follow the official setup instructions to get it running, but once that's all taken care of, you'll be able to invoke Assistant to do things like turn your Xbox on and off, open a specific game, adjust volume, and more. Xbox Action for Google Assistant is available in all countries where the Google Assistant is supported, but the Xbox team is quick to note that only English commands are available today with additional languages coming soon.

Source: Reddit, Xbox Wire, Google