Google is swapping Assistant for Gemini, and some users say basic home controls got worse. A free option called Home Assistant is getting fresh attention.
Some Google Home users say their smart homes work worse since Google began replacing Google Assistant with Gemini, its AI helper. A How-To Geek writer argues it is time to try Home Assistant, a free alternative that keeps running inside your own home. The piece is an opinion, but the complaints it points to are specific.
Gemini is Google's big bet on AI, and it now appears in search, on phones and in the smart home. According to the article, swapping out Assistant meant Google Home lost features overnight. Some were extras, like interactive trivia games. Others were basic smart home controls.
The r/GoogleHome subreddit, a public forum for Google Home owners, is full of frustration. One user wrote that "the things Google Home used to do well, have become a chore." Another said "easily a third of my commands have some form of unexpected response."
The article describes one common glitch. Google Home may say it cannot play a song or turn off a device, then do it after the user replies "yes, you can." The writer blames the unpredictable nature of large language models, the AI systems behind chatbots.
Home Assistant is a free, open-source smart home system. Open source means its code is public. It runs on hardware in your home, so an internet outage or a remote server problem should not bring your smart home to a halt. It also lets you mix devices from different brands.
Voice control is flexible too. You can still use Gemini, though the article warns the experience may stay problematic and could require a paid plan. You can instead pick ChatGPT or another competitor, or run an AI model on your own equipment. You can even use several assistants with different wake words.
The article says most, if not all, existing plugs, bulbs and sensors should work with Home Assistant. Many support Matter, a shared standard for smart home devices. Others, such as SwitchBot, have their own integrations.
The writer says he never went all-in on Google Home and runs Home Assistant himself, so this is one experienced tinkerer's view. Google's side is not covered in the piece. How many users are affected is also not stated.
If Gemini has made your Google Home unreliable, Home Assistant is a free option to try, and most of your current devices should work with it.
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