Google added a slew of third-party integrations to its voice-controlled Assistant on Tuesday to help you lock doors, turn on the heat, and perform a variety of other home automation tasks by uttering the magic "Ok, Google…" phrase to your Google Home speaker.
Among the integrations is support for August smart locks, which will allow you to lock your front door or check to make sure it's locked by saying, "Ok Google, ask August, lock my door" or "Ok Google, ask August if my door is locked." You can't ask Google Home to unlock your August-equipped door, though, likely for security and reliability reasons. August said it is working with Google to add unlocking capability later this year.
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Home automation products from TP-Link and Best Buy's Insignia brand (among others) also now work with Google Home, including smart light bulbs, electrical plugs, and Wi-Fi wall switches. Voice commands let you turn devices on or off and change the color and brightness of the bulbs, among other tasks.
On the home entertainment front, Logitech Harmony remotes are now Google Home-compatible. Logitech's own support for third-party integrations via the Harmony Hub offer some tantalizingly futuristic possibilities, like saying "Ok Google, ask Harmony to turn on sports" to power on your TV and speakers, lower the window shades, and even set lighting colors to match your team's uniform.
For a full list of connected home gear that's now compatible with Google Home, check out Google's blog post. It's worth noting that many of the companies whose products are now integrated with Google Assistant also support voice controls from Amazon's Alexa and Apple's Siri-powered HomeKit. In August's case, its smart locks are now integrated with all three rival digital assistants.