The problems with AI in the smart home and how Amazon and Google plan to fix them

"Last week, Amazon and Google kick-started what could be the next chapter of the smart home. Their new voice assistants, Alexa Plus and Gemini for Home, have been rebuilt from the ground up on generative AI and large language models to be more conversational, understand context, and take actions. This marks the biggest shift in home control since the companies launched their original smart speakers over a decade ago."

"While you might think of generative AI as creating text and images, it can also be used to analyze data collected from a home to identify patterns and interpret context. This can provide the intelligence layer the smart home needs to move us from the command-and-control world we've been stuck in toward the promised land of ambient computing. With this upgrade, in theory, your home can respond and react proactively to situations,"

"In the years since, smart home adoption has stalled - because it's complicated and confusing, and the value isn't always clear. Google and Amazon are betting on this new wave of AI-powered intelligence to deliver a smarter, simpler, more capable smart home. After spending the last week speaking with folks at both companies and seeing their new hardware and software strategies, I'm hopeful. But I see at least three major hurdles: reliability, speed, and proving it's worth paying for."

Amazon and Google introduced new voice assistants rebuilt on generative AI and large language models to make home control more conversational, contextual, and action-oriented. Smart home adoption has lagged due to complexity, confusing setup, and unclear user value, prompting both companies to pursue AI as the intelligence layer. Generative AI can analyze home data to identify patterns, interpret context, and enable ambient computing that responds proactively without extensive manual automations or precise phrasing. The shift promises smarter, simpler homes, but major hurdles persist: reliability of AI decisions, response speed, and convincing users to pay for enhanced capabilities.

Read at The Verge