Nest’s smart home products have long been begging for full integration with Google products to bring extra features, and it was announced at today’s event that they are getting that integration, starting with Google Home. Some of the newest Nest products will be able to link up with your Google Home to save information to your Google profile, and even take advantage of AI features for extra perks. These extra features don’t just manifest as new features for the Nest products using Google’s backend, but also as new commands for the Assistant found in your Google Home.
While the list of commands and new features that Nest representatives talked about on stage was not exhaustive, the few that were mentioned showed great use of integration between Nest and Google technologies to bring value to the user. One highlight was the ability to have your doorbell camera recognize a face, using Assistant’s AI backend and a cloud link to Google, and then have your Google Home announce who is at the door. This feature uses the same AI technology that allows Google Photos to figure out who is in your pictures and let you search for photos and videos of a specific person. Another new feature that showcases potential is the “Let’s get ready for bed” command. Upon uttering this, your Google Home will enable a linked Nest security system, adjust your thermostat for comfortable bedtime temperatures, and turn off connected lights.
These new features come alongside a key new feature for Google Home and the Assistant inside it; the ability to recognize who is speaking to it. This makes seamless personalized actions and results possible, and the potential use cases for this new feature when paired up with Nest products is endless. A Nest thermostat tied to a Google Home could, for example, learn what temperature a certain person in the house is most comfortable with, and adjust thermostat to that temperature when that person is home alone. It could also put together music mixes and mood lighting based on the combined preferences of everybody present in the house at the moment. Those are just a few examples of what this new integration could do, of course.