Should you assume your smart home is commonly type of dumb, you are most likely proper. Clumsy voice assistants misunderstand instructions. Between compatibility points and quite a few privateness considerations, each new gadget is its personal type of journey, and never at all times an fulfilling one.
Now, the AI revolution has hit the smart home, bringing daring guarantees and “repair every part” swagger. Will it? CES 2026 is the place to seek out out.
I’ve just a few guesses about what good residence tech will probably be revealed at CES, together with new conversational AI, elevated presence sensing and the event of extra unbiased AI services. Manufacturers are utilizing new options to deal with long-standing points, making good properties more like personal assistants, ultimately.
Listed here are my high 4 predictions for good residence know-how forward of CES 2026, and what they will imply for you.
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My good residence predictions for CES 2026
- Good residence tech manufacturers will usually label every part as “AI,” however not all of it would really be.
- Conversational voice assistants will usher in higher, butler-style residence management.
- Improved presence-sensing know-how will hit the mainstream, providing privateness advantages.
- Good gadgets will automate residence routines with out requiring human intervention.
1. Manufacturers will name every part ‘AI’ (solely a few of it is going to be)
Gemini for House is an instance of precise AI working within the residence.
I discussed this trend after the IFA expo in Berlin. Residence manufacturers of every kind have began utilizing the “AI” label of their advertising and marketing. I do not blame them. AI is such a sizzling subject that there is strain to incorporate the time period in no matter new gadget or software program an organization is rolling out.
The issue is that this dilutes the AI label and confuses individuals, who grow to be disillusioned when “AI” appears to imply every part and nothing on the similar time. I anticipate to see “synthetic intelligence” in every single place at CES, however solely a fraction of these claims will really maintain up.
Some touted merchandise will, actually, use trendy LLM and generative AI options, which I am going to talk about additional under. Others will depend on older machine studying methods that we have by no means known as “AI” earlier than, however will now obtain a shiny new label to maintain up with the occasions. Some manufacturers will stretch the time period to this point that they will name fundamental automated algorithms “AI,” even when it would not make a lot sense.
Sooner or later, tech corporations could be held accountable for utilizing AI labeling incorrectly. But it surely will not be at CES 2026. Which means our CNET crew will probably be standing by to let what AI options are literally spectacular — and which fall flat.
2. Conversational voice assistants make speaking straightforward, ultimately
Alexa Plus feels a lot better to make use of than the outdated Alexa, and it alerts a shift coming to extra voice assistants.
What makes a voice assistant conversational? Suppose much less “giving instructions” and extra “speaking to ChatGPT.” Conversational home assistants use the most recent AI options to sound extra cheerful, relaxed and able to parsing your that means extra simply. They will perceive follow-up instructions or sudden adjustments in route, reply advanced questions and even make solutions for what to do subsequent.
I have been testing the brand new conversational options in Gemini for Residence and Alexa Plus, and so they really feel nice (albeit with some processing delays). They’re lastly delivering on the promise that voice assistants made years in the past to be “cheerful butlers,” who now appear way more conscious of their very own flaws.
Nonetheless, I am additionally seeing conversational options on the rise in third-party platforms, together with Josh AI, Home Assistant’s latest features, and even tightly educated, LLM-powered voice assistants from brands such as Lepro’s smart lights.
Gemini can search your video historical past for you, in case you do not thoughts the privateness implications.
CES 2026 is a perfect alternative to showcase how good residence gadgets reply to pleasant, informal instructions and the way they leverage the latest AI technology to grasp your moods and actions. This might imply asking your refrigerator what you may make for dinner, having your TV inform you which actors are common proper now or encouraging a lamp to change its bulb color in your yoga time.
I additionally anticipate to see portable robots and good shows that interact with you extra realistically, safety techniques that now clarify what is going on on when a sensor triggers and — my favourite — video doorbells that can hold full conversations for you when you may’t make it to the door, a neat trick AIs like Alexa Plus will probably be rolling out simply forward of CES.
3. Noninvasive presence sensing will come out in full drive
Philips Hue is not the one model engaged on presence sensing.
Presence sensing refers to residence gadgets that monitor human exercise round a house, however in a nonintrusive means. I’ve seen presence-sensing know-how earlier than on smart thermostats, such because the Nest Learning Thermostat, because it’s helpful for a thermostat to be taught when individuals are energetic in the home and regulate temperatures accordingly. But these are typically more traditional motion sensors — sensing direct movement and folks close to or distant.
At CES, I anticipate to see a wave of latest good gadgets that step again from direct sensors and as an alternative use tiny disruptions in Wi-Fi and related frequencies to gauge exercise across the residence. They will sense human presence and motion patterns, however that is about it. The method provides a bit extra privateness whereas permitting lights, safety techniques and extra to reply to human motion.
I’ve already seen this sort of presence sensing within the latest Philips Hue smart bulbs, in addition to less intrusive monitoring for older people. From what I’ve heard, it is also coming to safety techniques and extra residence tech at CES. It is a know-how that mixes low-cost implementation, privateness advantages and user-friendliness, which implies any such sensing could be very straightforward to undertake for a wide range of use instances.
4. Residence routines get simpler with hands-off automation
Conversational options additionally assist energy hands-off residence administration.
Throughout Google’s key occasion this fall, when the corporate demonstrated how the Gemini for Residence AI would work, it talked about one thing not solely shocking: Nobody actually builds residence routines. These routines are extra advanced automations by which gadgets react in unison to triggers, just like the time of day or a selected command, adjusting lights, locking doorways or disarming the safety system whenever you get residence.
The issue is that these routines take effort and time to arrange, usually requiring a lot of tinkering in Google Home or Apple Home to see what’s even attainable — or utilizing third-party platforms like IFTTT to manually combine gadgets, which provides its personal studying curve. The end result? Few individuals with good gadgets even trouble making an attempt.
At CES, I anticipate we’ll see AI that’ll maintain that for you. I’ve seen good residence corporations describe their imaginative and prescient of a command-less residence, the place gadgets take the initiative and act on their very own based mostly on AI-determined triggers. I anticipate this concept to grow to be much more distinguished in safety tech, residence power techniques, lighting and numerous app-based platforms.
Anticipate residence gadgets to grow to be extra agentic — doing issues with out being instructed.
This self-managing tech is the fruits of the tendencies I have been discussing. Conversational voice assistants will fortunately whip up a routine for you from a easy immediate — one thing I’ve tried with Gemini for Residence and already choose to the outdated method. New presence-sensing options will take initiative, adjusting lights and settings as individuals arrive or depart. And algorithms will more and more deal with how your routines form gadget habits, quite than making you construct routines for them.
I am unsure whether or not these hands-off residence AI techniques will find yourself with a singular title. Some are calling them AI copilots, whereas others are borrowing the time period “agent” from data-analyzing Agentic AI. No matter time period sticks, anticipate these new home-management options to seem on quite a few CES shows. Tech corporations need you to know — very a lot — that their merchandise can maintain issues for you.
After all, you might have to surrender some management to let these AI managers take the wheel. Relating to a easy setup, akin to a smart thermostat adjusting itself mechanically, that is not often an issue. However a complete home responding by itself? That is a a lot increased ask — and it invitations one other spherical of privateness questions, so I am all for studying the small print.
Wish to see what kind of gadgets CES could showcase within the good residence world? Check out my guides on the current best smart home devices, the products I couldn’t stop using this year and my favorite uses of home AI to date.
