Back in February, Google Now was rolled out to desktop Chrome Beta users, but starting today, Google Now will be rolling out for every desktop user. As per Google, this feature will be rolling out “over the next few weeks” for all Chrome desktop users.
Google Now comes to Chrome Desktop
The new feature will allow users to receive Google Now notifications on their desktop, and syncing will be done with the Google Now notifications from your phone. To enable this feature, you don’t need to configure any extra settings, but you’ll only need to ensure that you’re logged in to Chrome using the same email address as on your iOS or Android smartphone. If you’ve already done this, and once an update arrives, you’ll be able to see notifications and cards popping up in your Chrome browser.
Google Now cards include stuff like sports scores, weather, traffic and event reminders, and notifications from these will be displayed on your Chrome browser. Some of these cards will be based on the location of your mobile device. This location setting can be edited from your Android or iOS device at any time. Chrome Now checks for your mobile location even when Chrome is not running, but you can turn Google Now off in Chrome by clicking on the Notifications icon from the taskbar in Windows or upper right corner of Mac and then click on the gear icon. You can then uncheck “Google Now” from the list provided.
This integration between Google Now and Chrome desktop yet again signals that Google is interested in bringing its mobile and desktop platform together. Showing Now notifications in Chrome is smart, but we just hope that these notifications don’t become annoying and disturb us in our work.
