Google is reportedly shifting its emphasis away from solely being a software provider for other companies, instead focusing on its own hardware and services to fight its competitors. As part of this strategy, the company is said to de-emphasize work on some Google Assistant projects not primarily meant for Google's own excellent smart home devices. One of these could just be Google Assistant’s capability to help you pay for your gas.

As reported by 9to5Google, Google is removing the option to pay for gas both from Google Assistant and Google Pay. The company is currently informing users that the feature is going away, forcing them to switch to other options like tap to pay at the pump. Google says that the option is going away as many petrol stations are adding tap to pay support to their pumps, eliminating the need for many people to jump through the hoop of talking to Assistant to pay.

Google Assistant’s “pay for gas” feature was only introduced in 2021, which makes the timing feel a little weird. It’s true that tap to pay is becoming more ubiquitous than ever in the US, but it’s not like this wasn’t already something that Google couldn't anticipate to happen a year ago.

To be fair, using Google Assistant or Google Pay to settle your gas bill has always been a multi-step process that’s much more convoluted than just using tap to pay. It’s possible that the feature was removed due to few people using it, given how complicated it is. That would be right in line with Google’s aforementioned move to focus on core components of Assistant only, putting less emphasis on it on devices that aren’t its own.

This isn't the first feature to be stripped from Google Assistant in recent memory, either. This month, Google removed Duplex on the web, its Assistant feature that was meant to help you fill out forms on the web. The company also started scaling back Assistant Driving Mode, which was supposed to replace Android Auto on your phone.

Google recommends that you use tap and pay at gas stations going forward, preferably opting for Google Wallet’s contactless payments.