Google Supercharges Smart Home Experience with Gemini AI Integration in Home APIs

Google Home is getting deeper Gemini integration and a new widget

As Google moves the last remaining Nest devices into the Home app, it's also looking at ways to make this smart home hub easier to use. Naturally, Google is doing that by ramping up Gemini integration. The company has announced new automation capabilities with generative AI, as well as better support for third-party devices via the Home API. Google AI will also plug into a new Android widget that can keep you updated on what the smart parts of your home are up to. The Google Home app is where you interact with all of Google's smart home gadgets, like cameras, thermostats, and smoke detectors -- some of which have been discontinued, but that's another story. It also accommodates smart home devices from other companies, which can make managing a mixed setup feasible if not exactly intuitive. A dash of AI might actually help here. Google began testing Gemini integrations in Home last year, and now it's opening that up to third-party devices via the Home API. Google has worked with a few partners on API integrations before general availability. The previously announced First Alert smoke/carbon monoxide detector and Yale smart lock that are replacing Google's Nest devices are among the first, along with Cync lighting, Motorola Tags, and iRobot vacuums. Google has been testing Gemini integrations in the Labs program, allowing users to create automations by telling Gemini what they want to do. For example, getting reminders about package deliveries or detecting unwanted animals in a garden. Gemini can theoretically create the setup for you, so you don't have to tap through multiple menus. With Gemini support in the automation API, more smart home devices will be visible to Gemini when it makes recommendations. Google also says the Gemini expansion will add more triggers based on dates and weather conditions. The complexity of smart home setups can make it hard to parse exactly what's going on. Google Home's favorites page helps, but a new widget could make it even easier. The Home Summary Widget will provide live insights on what's happening in your home. For example, it could remind you there's a package outside or that you left the lights on. Google says it's testing the widget on a small number of Pixel phones, but we expect it to be available more widely in the Labs program later. As for a general rollout, Google isn't making any promises right now. Developers interested in trying the new APIs are advised to sign up for the smart home developer newsletter. That will keep you in the loop as the early access program begins later this year.

Google's Home APIs are gaining Gemini intelligence

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy is a smart home reporter who's been testing connected gadgets since 2013. Previously a contributor to Wirecutter, Wired, Dwell, and US News. Google is bringing Gemini intelligence to its Home APIs, allowing smart home developers and manufacturers to tap into Gemini's AI-powered features and potentially making your smart home a lot, well, smarter. The company announced the news in a blog post during the Google I/O developers conference this week. Last summer, Google added several new Gemini-powered capabilities to its own platform, and now it's extending those to others. This includes access to AI-powered camera analytics from Google Nest cameras and creating smart home routines using conversational language. The company also announced new triggers for automations, including date and weather. Developers with access to the APIs will be able to pull these features into their apps, meaning that, as a user, you might experience them without ever opening the Google Home app. For example, access to the AI-generated descriptions and search capabilities of Nest cameras could allow a company like ADT (which is already using Google Home APIs) to bring these features into its own home security app. So a user could ask questions like, "Did the kids leave their bikes in the driveway?" In addition to the AI features, developers can also pull livestreaming, event history, two-way talk, and camera settings for Google's Nest cameras into their apps. With Gemini in Home APIs, developers can allow users to set up smart home automations and routines within their apps with conversational language; they can just say what they want to do. Gemini can also proactively suggest automations by analyzing the devices in a user's home, according to Google. All of this should enable companies to offer more advanced smart home control within their own apps, potentially eliminating some of the more complicated and confusing setup processes and allowing users to get more out of their smart home devices without spending lots of time manually configuring them. Google originally launched its Home APIs at I/O last year as a way for developers to tap into Google Home-compatible devices and automations. This includes any devices connected through Matter, which boosts the number of devices Google Home can control to over 750 million, according to the blog post. Some companies, including ADT, Yale, and Eve, got early access to those APIs. Another, First Alert, recently launched a smart smoke alarm that uses Home APIs to interconnect with Google's Nest Protect smoke alarm. Google has stopped manufacturing the Protect, but as it can continue to work for at least 10 years, the First Alert device could help homeowners maintain interconnected smoke alarms as they upgrade their system. This week, Google announced that smart lighting manufacturer Cync is integrating Google Home APIs, allowing users to control any device they have synced to Google Home in the Cync app. Smart home platform Tuya Smart is also working with the APIs, and Google said iRobot is leveraging the APIs to integrate Google's Home and Away feature into its app. This would allow select Roomba vacuums to automatically start cleaning when you leave home -- an option Roombas have had with Amazon Alexa for a while. Developers who use the Home APIs will be able to control those devices and experiences through the Gemini smartphone app and Nest smart speakers, with support for smart displays, Google TV, and the Pixel Tablet coming later this year, according to Google. They also teased a new Home Summary widget for the Pixel Tablet. Most of those devices are controllable by voice, and while Google Assistant has been officially retired on smartphones in favor of Gemini, it's still around on smart speakers and displays. However, the company has begun rolling out a "new experience" powered by Gemini to its Nest Audio and Nest Mini 1st and 2nd-gen speakers for users in its Public Preview program who have a Nest Aware subscription. It sounds like the rest of the hardware lineup won't be far behind. But don't expect to see these new Gemini-powered features in loads of third-party apps soon. According to Google, the Gemini in Home APIs will be available via an early access program "to a small group of partners" later this year.

Google Home is getting a major Gemini upgrade

This year's Google I/O was filled to the brim with AI-related announcements like Veo 3, Gemini Live screen sharing, Google Search AI mode, and so on. If you still have some room left after that flurry of news, Google has a few more AI-related reveals to share. These announcements deal with Gemini coming to Google Home APIs. Google has announced that it is powering up its smart home efforts with Gemini integration. One way the tech giant is using its AI to improve your smart home experience is by simplifying automations. For example, if you're having trouble thinking up automations for your home, Gemini will now analyze your devices and provide suggestions. If creating an automation sounds daunting, you can tell the AI what you want to achieve, and it will draft an automation for you. On top of that, there are new automation starters that offer more sophisticated triggers based on dates and weather conditions, allowing your automations to respond more dynamically.

Gemini is bringing a truckload of smart new features to Google Home

Now Gemini can create those Google Home automations you never felt like bothering with Summary Google is integrating Gemini AI deeply into its Google Home APIs, unlocking advanced features for both the Google Home app and third-party smart home devices. This includes bringing enhanced Nest camera capabilities (like intelligent alerts and conversational search) to third-party devices using Home API, and smarter automation tools. Gemini integration will also enhance the Google Home Automations API, offering features like suggested automations, conversational creation of routines, and intelligent triggers based on real-world conditions. Google is also working on a "Home Summary Widget" for Pixel devices, which will offer a quick, at-a-glance overview of the user's smart home status without needing to open the full Google Home app. Earlier in May, Google was spotted working on a new 'What's new' shortcut for Google Home. The new shortcut, which offers a seamless way to access detailed app update release notes, will let users visit the support page and read what's new and what has been fixed. At first glance, the shortcut didn't necessarily seem all that useful. But now, after gaining knowledge about the slew of new features Google is preparing for Google Home, the dedicated shortcut suddenly makes far more sense. Related Keeping up with Google Home app updates could soon be a lot simpler We're still waiting on search, though Posts Google is planning to deeply integrate Gemini into Google Home APIs, as highlighted by the tech giant during day 2 of I/O (via Android Authority), unlocking not just new Google Home features, but also new features for third-party apps that tap into the Google Home API. We're moving beyond simple device control to create effortless smart homes that truly understand, adapt, and respond to your users' needs. Related 5 best Google Gemini smart home tips and tricks you should try Supercharge your home with Gemini Posts 1 For starters, Google is bringing "all the Nest camera experiences" to the Home APIs, including all standard camera features like history, two-way talk, livestreams, camera settings, and all Gemini-powered Nest camera features. The latter includes options to search your camera history with conversational prompts, AI-generated event descriptions for what your home camera captures, intelligent alerts, and more. This means that your home camera (if it taps into the Google Home API) might soon be able to distinguish between a package delivery and a casual visitor, and provide relevant clips when you ask it conversational questions like, "Did the kids leave their bikes in the driveway?" New Gemini-powered features for the Automations API Related Now Gemini can create those Google Home automations you never felt like bothering with A simpler way to automate Posts 4 Google wants to make it easier for you to create powerful routines with the help of Gemini, and it is doing so with Suggested Automations, Help me create, and new Automation Starters. Suggested Automations: Gemini will analyze the smart home devices in your house and proactively suggest relevant and potentially useful automations. Help me create: Tell Gemini what you want to achieve in a conversational manner, and it will suggest relevant automations. For example, you could tell Gemini to keep critters out of your garden at night, and it would suggest you an automation that uses your smart camera to detect movement, and a spotlight to deter them. New Automation Starters: These are more sophisticated triggers that are based on evolving real-world conditions. For example, if it rained this morning, Gemini could suggest shifting sprinklers to run the next day, essentially conserving water and preventing over-watering. Lastly, Google confirmed that there is a new Google Home widget in the making -- one that will give you a thorough overview of your home's status without having to open the Google Home app. The aptly-named Home Summary Widget would be able to highlight relevant information, likely changing its focus depending on the time of day. For example, during the day, it could highlight your smart vacuum's status and the rooms it has already cleaned, paired with the status of packages at the front door. Similarly, at night the widget might display the status of your security system, and even the temperature of your bedroom. Source: Google Google said that it is testing the new widget with a select group of Pixel users, so expect more details to arrive soon. Similarly, Google is launching an early access program for Gemini-powered Home APIs later this year, so expect more updates to come on that front too.