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/
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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.

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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

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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