Search: AI assistant replacement

I tested whether Claude's free plan could replace my Gemini subscription, and it surprised me in ways I didn't expect

… Claude's free plan isn't a perfect replacement, but it does much more than I expected Considering Gemini is a multimodal AI assistant, I was expecting Claude's free plan to fall short in more areas. …

May 3, 2026 · Megan Ellis

I replaced my Echo with a $4 ESP32-powered speaker that runs entirely on my local network

… When switching to an ESP32 paired with ESPHome and Home Assistant , you're using a local rather than the cloud to rule your home. …

Apr 12, 2026 · Jasmine Mannan

My old Google Pixel has replaced half of my smart home products without costing me a penny

… By using the Pixel's high-quality microphone array as a dedicated Wyoming satellite for Home Assistant, you can replace Google Assistant in a flash. You get a voice assistant that processes everything locally on the Tensor chip. …

May 1, 2026 · Jasmine Mannan

My old phones replaced three smart devices in my Home Assistant setup

… Related I turned my old laptop into a dedicated Home Assistant hub in under an hour Turns out, a decade old laptop has enough juice to control my smart home gadgets I use my phone-powered Home Assistant satellite all the time It’s even more effective with an AI-powered voice assistant pipeline If y… …

Apr 18, 2026 · Ayush Pande

I replaced five smart home hubs with a $30 Zigbee dongle and never looked back

… A $30 Zigbee USB adapter paired with a home assistant server is a universal key that unlocks every brand simultaneously. …

Apr 30, 2026 · Jasmine Mannan

I replaced Otter.ai with a better self-hosted voice transcription tool that's completely free

… See at Github Related I made my smart home even smarter with a couple of Home Assistant add-ons I now have a local AI chatbot that I can speak to.

Apr 24, 2026 · Anurag Singh

I replaced over $1,000 in cloud subscriptions with one small home server

… The ones I've managed to replace add up to nearly $1,100 of yearly spend, a significant chunk of anyone's income: Google AI Pro $240 yearly and iCloud $36 yearly 1Password Family $72 yearly Netflix $322 yearly Proton VPN $120 yearly ChatGPT Pro $240 yearly Backblaze S3, $0.20 per 500GB per month No… …

Apr 25, 2026 · Joe Rice-Jones

Local LLMs changed how I use Home Assistant, and now my smart devices actually listen

… My LLMs serve as the foundation of my HASS voice assistant pipeline While my old phone doubles as the voice satellite Starting with the workflow I rely on practically every day, I’ve got a local voice assistant that initiates audio processing once it hears a wake word, performs the necessary Home A… …

Apr 23, 2026 · Ayush Pande

5 boring Home Assistant automations I’d set up before trying AI control

… But AI control is actually a decision-making layer that sits on top of the automations and data they generate in Home Assistant. An improved data foundation can help AI make better decisions. So iron out the boring Home Assistant automations first. The AI control gets more exciting after that. …

Apr 16, 2026 · Samir Makwana

Microsoft finally admits the Copilot key wasn't a great idea, and it'll let you change it back soon

… That way, you always have easy access to Microsoft's AI assistant; press the Copilot key, and it'll pop up. Fast-forward to today, and Microsoft is going through a major AI hangover. …

May 19, 2026 · Simon Batt

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