Tips From The Top

Smart home products were already on the rise before the pandemic. But hunkering down at home last year shot consumer demand for the technology through the roof. A 2021 survey by consumer technology company Xiaomi reported that 51% of respondents indicated they had purchased at least one smart device during the pandemic. Experts anticipate the global smart home market will be worth over $141 billion in revenue by 2023. 

A year into the pandemic, we’ve learned a lot about what our homes can do. Now, the smart home is teaching us about Artificial Intelligence.

James Freeze, chief marketing officer at Interactions, a conversational AI company, recently wrote about what our smart homes have to tell us for Forbes. He is fascinated by the smart home, he writes, because it’s a magnifying glass on our experience with AI. The devices show on an intimate level how we interact with AI. At home, he writes, we let our guards down, have personal conversations, relax with our families.

From the past year, Freeze sees that there are four key lessons that smart home tech can show us about the future of AI.

It doesn’t have to be rocket science; it just has to be useful.

AI’s fancy stuff isn’t where it’s at, says Freeze. He cites how the average smart speaker owner has more than two speakers, and that more than 2/3 of owners say the smart speakers make their lives easier. He believes people are drawn to devices that fit seamlessly into their daily lives. Smart home tech that wakes them up, plays their music, creates shopping lists. “Not every innovation has to be groundbreaking; it just has to improve users' lives in small yet meaningful ways.”

Tesla owners aren't the (only) target audience.

For this point, Freeze refers to Alex Capecelatro, founder and CEO of Josh.ai, a smart home platform featuring natural voice control that we install for our clients. Capecelatro mentions how they found the elderly and the tech-resistant were drawn to Josh.ai because of the simplicity of natural voice control.

This is something we at Jackson Hole A/V have known for a long time: our clients don’t want tech that’s going to complicate their lives. We make sure our products and installations are intuitive, common sense to use, seamlessly integrated, and make people’s lives easier rather than harder.

Privacy matters.

Yep. We know it. That’s why we put our clients’ privacy first and make sure their smart home platforms are protected and secure.

The little things add up.

AI learns our behaviors and then anticipates, acts on its own, or offers reminders. It can help us to reduce our energy costs (your home can actually tell you a window is open and the AC is on). In these ways, Freeze writes, AI in the smart home can make our lives better. These are the kinds of features we work to provide our clients. One of the best aspects of installing smart home platforms is knowing that our clients’ have a better quality of home life because their tech is supporting their health, happiness, and well-being.

To learn more about how your home could better utilize smart home technology, call us at Jackson Hole AV. We’d love to discuss the possibilities.