TO get an idea of how annoying it can be to say “O.K., Google” multiple times a day, try replacing the word Google with another brand.

O.K., Pepsi. O.K., Chipotle. O.K., Skittles. You get the picture. It’s difficult to utter “O.K., Google,” the phrase used to control Google’s new Home smart speaker, without sounding like a marketing tool.

That is too bad because Google’s Home is otherwise a preternaturally smarter speaker than its closest rival, Amazon’s Echo.

Google is releasing Home on Friday in the hope of riding the coattails of Echo, the Amazon gadget that is powered by the virtual assistant called Alexa. Echo became available last year to much fanfare. By posing questions and making requests to Alexa, people have since put Echo to work as a shopping assistant, kitchen companion and home automation tool. Amazon has a bona fide hardware hit.