AI voice-activated assistants have been available since Siri took the world by storm in April of 2011. Hot on her heels was Google’s Google Now, Microsoft’s Cortana, and finally Amazon’s Alexa in late 2014. While there were a good number of early adopters who hit the ground running when Siri first debuted and several more who have done so on the other platforms since then, there are plenty of smart tech users who don’t use voice-activated functions. 

Recent innovations in voice-activated smart speakers mean that homeowners can sync their AI assistants to their refrigerators, thermostats, home alarm systems, and even their lighting inside and outside the home. While the butler robots many of us would hope for are still quite a ways off, smart