Can openhab operate on google assistant (rather than the other way around)

I’ve got a couple of items exposed to google assistant, but not intending to use it much as I already have homekit.

But I’ve just got a Lenovo Smart Clock with google assistant. Not a bad device, but I leave the microphone off, as I don’t want devices listening in. But for a device like that I have very few control options, esecially if the phone is not around.

Not I can, and do use the good morning routine, and that can play a radio station for me off iheart Radio.

And I can with the chrome cast binding, find that stream and get it on to a button, but the difference in UI between the station being through iheart, and via the stream and chromecast is that the latter shows up as the deffault media renderer, and doesn’t list what current program/song. Whereas when using the iheart “Play ZM” command it gives me all the titles etc.

So fundamentially, is there a way I can put a openhab button, switch to replicate the “Play ZM” google assistant command (or any other command I can ask of google assistant).

Unless something has changed recently, the answer is no.

As far as I’m aware, Google Assistant can only be commanded by voice or the Home app. You can set up routines that are triggered by voice or time, but not by switches changing state (which would make this really easy).

My pre-openHAB workaround was to have my phone play a recording of an “Okay Google” command so that my Google Home Mini would hear it and start my morning routine, which would cast iHeartRadio to my TV. Of course, this doesn’t help you at all, since you want to keep the mic off on your Lenovo Smart Clock.

You could use Tasker and AutoInput on an Android phone to issue commands to the Home app, but that introduces a lot of complexity and I’d be dubious about its reliability. Probably not worth the effort.

After looking into it a lot, I settled on the same thing as you: using openHAB to cast a stream URL. I can see why that would annoy you though, since the “Default Media Receiver” screen will take over your clock. It doesn’t matter as much for me since it’s on a TV.

Yeah it’s surprising how closed off the google assistant echo systems it, and that it’s primarily voice focused.

And even though I could set a switch exposed from openhab, I’ve got no remote way of triggering it be thrown.

Hmm I might have to look at that…I might see if I can dockerise it rather than venv…but as a concept it sounds like I can send a command to it.

Ah, sorry. I completely forgot about OrangeAssist. It was beyond my skill level to go down that path.

To be fair, the main purpose of Google Assistant is to receive voice and touchscreen commands through GA devices, not to be an intermediary for various services to connect to each other. Not to say that I wouldn’t appreciate the routines being a bit more comprehensive, but I think it’s reasonable for Google to have drawn the line where they did.

Yeah but that’s Google assistant, You you arrive at through Google home. So when it’s stacked up against that it’s very closed.

I hadn’t seen Google assistant until very recently and my home usage had been chromecast based only.

Not really. They are greedy and want to lock you in to only using their products.