Amazon Enables New Smart Home Automation Features for Alexa

Amazon is doing everything possible to ensure that Alexa aces the inevitable voice assistant IQ tests. Yesterday, the company flipped the switch on more intelligent and aggressive Alexa smart home automation features.

Hunches: For a few years, Alexa has been able to learn the timing of regular actions, like turning off a lamp, and proactively ask owners if it should complete the routine task. Amazon calls this a “hunch.” Now, users can toggle a setting that will allow Alexa to act on proactive hunches without asking for permission (or forgiveness).

Security: Amazon is launching Guard Plus. The $4.99/month security subscription service tasks Alexa with detecting strange noises and other aberrations, and can put home owners in touch with human agents.

• Both Google and The Everything Store are looking for new use cases for the smart home and voice assistant business lines. They both seemed to have landed on home security.