r/homeassistant • u/frenck_nl Home Assistant Lead @ OHF • 18d ago

Release 2025.8: The summer of AI ☀️

https://www.home-assistant.io/blog/2025/08/06/release-20258/
282 Upvotes

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106

u/FalconSteve89 18d ago

This is neat, I just hope it makes HA better, Google Home has gotten worse

34

u/Dr4kin 18d ago

The good thing is that Home Assistant adds these as additional options. You can use them, but you can do it manual way if you want.

Using AI to detect things in video feeds can be very useful. The current suggestions aren't that necessary. In an upcoming release there is probably going to be a way to generate automations, which could become quite useful. If that works good enough, it could be a great way for newer users to get their first more complex automations up and running.

I am quite pleased with how they integrated all of it so far. It's not like so many other products where you are forced to use it, and it's often enough even worse than it was before. Here you get options, and they use it to improve things that you couldn't do otherwise. The intent system for voice is great, but has its limits. Using a LLM can improve it immensely, and there wouldn't be another way of doing it.

10

u/salliesdad 18d ago

Glad to hear that you have the opportunity to turn this off

4

u/Paradox 18d ago

The image/video feed detection feature is immensely useful.

We've had a problem with people trying to sell things in our neighborhoods. No solicitation signs dont stop them. So having an AI describe, in text, who is coming to the door is very useful. Lets me know if I should take a closer look at the video alert, ignore it since its just a delivery person ringing the bell and running away, or a salesman

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u/[deleted] 18d ago edited 11d ago

[deleted]

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u/Paradox 18d ago

Right now I'm using Google's AI, as it has the most generous free tier. But you can use any of them that accept an image.

The doorbell is Unifi protect.

You just set up an automation that grabs a still from the doorbel and saves it to something like /tmp/doorbell.jpg. You then just use one of the AI prompt actions (like the new one they added in 25.8) to upload the image to the AI, with a prompt of something like:

This is an image from a doorbell camera, which has just been rung. Please describe any people in the picture, paying special attention to if they are delivery people, look like sales people, or are children, and note that in the output. Also note if any packages are visible within the image. Keep your response under 140 characters.

You can take the output and send that as a notification or whatever else

39

u/FalconSteve89 18d ago

I also hope they don't focus too much on AI, my Nest is controllable over matter, mostly, but I can't tell it if I want the HVAC fan on?

12

u/baron_von_noseboop 18d ago

That sounds like a Google limitation, not a HA limitation.

8

u/HTTP_404_NotFound 18d ago

I did notice- google's android auto assistant, has actually been getting noticeably worse over the last few years.

Idk what they did- but, used to work extremely well too.

1

u/beanmosheen 18d ago

It's all Gimini now.

29

u/Butthurtz23 18d ago

Google had done a great job with enshittification with their own search engine, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they did the same for Google Home just to cater to their shareholders and advertisers over end users.

7

u/the_deserted_island 18d ago

Those of us that invested early into Google were bombarded by ads on nest speakers and lights that wouldn't turn on. At one point, Google botched an update to their early Wi-Fi devices so hard that you had to have physical access to the device to reset it, which was great for those of us that administered out of state systems for family. Google is past enschittification and hasn't been prioritizing the needs of end users forever now. Don't be fooled!

2

u/zSprawl 17d ago

I really like HA's Voice Assistant PE using ChatGPT or Gemini as a backup to local intents.

The one tradeoff is the Echo and Google hardware (mics and speakers) are just better for cheaper. The HA PE is a step up over those ESP Atom things, but still, just a little background noise really throws the device off. Alexa ain't perfect, but normally you can yell loudly at her over everything to get what you want. HA doesn't work that way.

1

u/jalytha 18d ago

I have given up trying to integrate Google. What a shame. Basically went the way of the Kodak of smarthome stuff