Search

It depends on the voice assistant. Currently, Siri and Gemini for Home can dial 911 for you -- which is helpful if you're really short on time and your hands are shaky. In fact, Gemini has been known to get overeager and call 911 when instructed not to. Alexa cannot call 911, unless you pay for the Alexa Emergency Assist feature, which lets you call emergency services. (The feature will cost you $6 per month.)

Voice assistants like Alexa are good at tapping into information about protecting your home from fires, and are particularly knowledgeable about fire extinguishers. They readily supplied me with information not only on where to put them (kitchens and garages, where many fires start), but also how high to mount them on a wall and what not to do with an extinguisher (put it over the stovetop, for example).

This one is for more advanced, conversational AI services that can review your home-security videos and even recognize faces with the right subscriptions. Google already has these capabilities with Gemini's voice assistant, and this feature is coming with Alexa Plus. Siri's expected AI update may include similar features, although it's not entirely clear what direction Apple will take. Even third-party startups are starting to offer these services. With this kind of AI, you can ask who left the house to get an idea of when loved ones may have departed, and bring up a security video to see wher

This is a useful question when you're installing or upgrading any kinds of smoke detectors in your home, whether a single device or a DIY security system. I found certain voice assistants were better than others at this question. Gemini for Home was the most useful, tapping into a government site and giving specific information on exactly where the state required homes to install smoke alarms. In fact, Gemini's summary was so long first-time users might find all the info overwhelming, which is why it may be helpful to use a web search for a question like this. Siri gave some helpful info, but