A new Google Assistant feature tracks the location of your loved ones and sends them reminders like picking up the groceries

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A new Google Assistant feature tracks the location of your loved ones and sends them reminders like picking up the groceries

Google Pixel assistant

Hollis Johnson/Business Insider

Google's AI assistant will be able to send reminders to your loved ones.

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  • Google is rolling out a feature called "Assignable Reminders" for its AI assistant Google Assistant which allows you to send reminders to a select group of your nearest and dearest.
  • The reminders can be pegged to location rather than time, so you could remind someone to pick something up at the grocery store if they happen to be in the vicinity.
  • The feature will start rolling out in the next few weeks in the US, the UK, and Australia.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Google's AI assistant is now able to remind your loved ones to pick something up at the store if they wander into its vicinity, Wired reports.

Google is expanding its reminders feature with something called Assignable Reminders. In essence, it'll allow you to send reminders to a small group of your nearest and dearest. You'll also be able to peg reminders to locations, so if one of your chosen contacts came into the proximity of a grocery store for example, Google could remind them to pick up some sugar.

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The new feature doesn't actually show you the precise location of your loved one. But it does let you ask Google which tasks have been completed, giving you the ability to check up on whether a contact has completed the reminders set for them. The feature will roll out over the next few weeks in the US, the UK, and Australia.

Read more: Google will temporarily stop contractors from listening to Assistant recordings around the world after leaked data sparked privacy concerns

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The select pool of people you'll be able to send reminders to will be limited. They will have to be in your Google contacts and part of your designated Google "family group," which has a maximum of six, or have an account linked to a Google Assistant-enabled device (e.g. a Google Home smart speaker) in your home.

The feature throws up red flags beyond the potential for passive-aggressive reminders to pick up the milk. Mainstream location-tracking services such as Apple's Find My Friends and Google Maps can be exploited by domestic abusers to keep tabs on their victims.

Google was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Business Insider.

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