A Day in the Life of a Smart-Home Voice Assistant

Jason Johnson

Cofounder and CEO of August Home 
San Francisco, California

06:33 AM "Alexa, what is the weather today?" Alexa reads the weather forecast in the bedroom to inform my wardrobe decision.

08:16 AM "Alexa, turn on sun block." One shade in the living room closes so I can read my iPad. 

08:59 AM "Alexa, turn off house lights." Connected Insteon lights turn off. 

06:45 PM Approaching the front door, I double-tap on my AirPod headphones: "Siri, unlock the door." The front door unlocks.

07:57PM "Alexa, movie time." The family room lights up and the TV turns on; the front door locks.

Stacey Higginbotham 

Host of Internet of Things podcast and blogger at StaceyOnIOT.com Austin, Texas

04:01 PM "Alexa, tell Stringify to yoga." The automation app Stringify closes the blinds, dims the living room lights, switches the TV to Amazon Prime for a yoga video, and sets the Ecobee thermostat to 75 degrees.

07:23 PM "Alexa, tell Stringify to turn on dinner party lights." The living room lights turn pinkish and dim to 30 percent, the dining room lights dim to 40 percent, and the kitchen lights dim to 30 percent.

09:50 PM "OK, Google, can you keep mangoes in the refrigerator?" Google Home answers, "According to Not Enough Cinnamon, you can keep peeled and cubed mangoes in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for a few days and up to six months in the freezer." 

Michael Wolf

Founder of The Smart Kitchen Summit, host of The Smart Home Show podcast, and blogger.
Edmunds, Washington 

06:16 PM "Alexa, tell Anova to cook for 90 minutes at 130 degrees." Anova, a sous vide machine, prepares the water to cook a flank steak. 

06:44 PM "Alexa, ask Anova for status." Alexa responds, "Your Anova is currently cooking at a target 130 degrees, 62 minutes remain on timer."

06:37 PM "Alexa, play Jeopardy!" Alexa plays a game with extra clues from the evening’s episode.

06:50 PM "Alexa, ask Food Tracker how many calories are in whole wheat flour." Alexa responds, "One cup of whole wheat flour has about 408 calories."

07:34 PM "OK, Google, is ‘S-U-Q’ an acceptable word to use in Scrabble?" Google Home responds, "Suq [pronounced sook], an Arab market, marketplace, or bazaar." 

10:37 PM "Alexa, tell Vivint to lock the front door." Z-wave-enabled Kwikset locks the door.