What you need to know
- Google has started rolling out personalized profiles for Google TV.
- Profiles let you access and watch your preferences as well as get personalized recommendations in a multi-user household.
- You can also access your own watchlist and even ask Google Assistant for recommendations.
After months of waiting, one of the most anticipated Google TV features has finally arrived for consumers. Google announced today that the personalized profile feature has begun to roll out and will be available in the coming weeks on the best Android TVs.
The new profiles feature allows you to create custom profiles, access your personal watchlists, and get content recommendations from Google Assistant. This makes finding movies and TV shows to watch a lot less of a headache in a multi-user household.
Previously, there was no way to access your favorite content on your TV without interfering with the preferences of the primary account owner. While Google TV allowed you to sign in with multiple accounts, all content recommendations and watchlists were based on the primary account holder's activity.
"Google TV profiles let everyone in your home enjoy their own personalized space with their Google Account," Google said in a blog post. "With a personalized profile, you’ll get TV show and movie recommendations just for you, easy access to your personal watchlist and help from your Google Assistant."
The feature was initially slated to go live last November but it was delayed. Instead, Google TV's ambient mode cards showed up for a small number of users in the U.S. at the time before becoming widely available earlier this month. These glanceable cards are personalized screensavers that display contextual information, such as Google Photos images, weather reports, and content recommendations when your TV is in ambient mode.
The new feature works by learning your preferences and activities as you watch TV. Your profile then takes your interests into account to surface movies and shows you might like.
You can also save items to your watchlist to keep track of content that is not governed by the primary account holder in your household.
The feature integrates with Google Assistant, making it easier to ask the voice assistant for personalized recommendations. The digital assistant was previously only linked to the main account. With personalized profiles, the service should now account for a variety of voices in a multi-user household.
Google TV will also streamline your experience by allowing downloaded apps and credentials to be used across different profiles, with the exception of children's profiles.
Of course, many streaming platforms, such as Netflix, already offer personalized profiles. However, its inclusion in the Google TV interface is clearly intended to increase the amount of content available for you to discover.
If you're looking for the best smart TV experience, you should consider Chromecast with Google TV, which provides smart content recommendations as well as hands-free access to your favorite shows, movies, and apps thanks to Google Assistant and Google's AI prowess.
