We have lived with Alexa and Google Nest devices for several years now, and we’ve got used to using voice commands. Our kids have always lived in a home that had these devices, in fact our three-year-old is almost able to say “Ok Google”. To be honest we don’t mind if it takes her a little longer yet to figure that one out.

There are a few commands we use every day that have made our lives easier.

Ok Google, play music Everywhere.

Used almost every morning while we get ready for the day. Nothing like a 6am dance party to kids action songs to get the day started. Our Google Nest devices are grouped together in a group called “Everywhere” because that’s how Alexa devices are grouped. We’d got used to using that command while our Google Nest devices were being shipped from London when we moved home to New Zealand.

Ok Google, set a time for X minutes.

Great for baking or cooking. We’ve also found timers can help our toddlers manage transitions. We’ll often set a timer for screen time, or before bed. When the timer goes off, they know what the next thing to do is and usually we can move to that next thing without a big fight.

Ok Google, turn on/off the lights.

Our lights are grouped by room, and we find voice commands are usually easier and faster than using switches. It’s also such a lazy treat to be able to say this command from the couch and have the lights go on or off without moving.

Ok Google, change the lights to blue.

We have smart LED lights that can change colour. This has been the most popular party trick with our house guests, particularly those between the ages of three and ten.

Ok Google, open the window.

Mark installed motorised window openers on our windows with smart switches which means that we can open or close them using voice commands.

Ok Google, turn off the ceiling fan.

See above point about not having to get up from the couch to find the remote.

We have both Alexa and Google devices because we didn’t want to get locked into one ecosystem. They interact with the smart switches and devices in our home in similar ways, though there are a few differences in what each can do.

If we lived in the US or a country where Amazon shopping was more prevalent than New Zealand, we may have leaned more towards Alexa devices. But as it is the scales have tipped to more to Google Assistant for two reasons.

1. I used to work for Google and had a bias towards their tech. When we lived in London I got to ‘dogfood’ one of the devices which was a catalyst for our home automation journey.

2. Google’s Nest Hub devices which offer a video screen (like the one in the photo) have become our preferred device for using on a desk or side table.

All the smart assistants we’ve used are similar in the ways they struggle to meet our growing expectations about how they can help us. They were all built before large language models and generative AI became mainstream. We find we expect the assistant to use what it knows about us to do a better job of personalising how it interacts with us. The good news is that it’s improving all the time.

P.S. Here’s a fun bonus command to use with your kids:

Ok Google, what sound does a unicorn make?