Smart speakers connect to your smart devices and give you more control and convenience by allowing you to issue voice commands. You don’t have to whip out your smartphone or go to your control hub whenever you need certain smart devices to perform.
If you have Amazon Echo, you can tell its voice-activated virtual assistant, Alexa, what you want, or if you have Google Home, you can ask Google Assistant.
If Alexa refers to your Amazon Echo speaker, Alexa and Google Home will work together. However, having both in the same room and connected to the same smart devices can be tricky. So, you must ensure they don’t get confused or execute the same commands.
Smart Speakers and Voice-Activated Virtual Assistants
Smart speakers are different from ordinary speakers. They are also voice command devices with a built-in microphone and integrated software called a virtual assistant.
These VAs are voice-activated and offer interactive actions, allowing you to activate apps and certain connected home automation devices without using your hands.
To put things simply, it is the virtual assistant that makes a smart speaker smart. The VA takes your voice as its input and identifies your command or question, then gives you a verbal response or confirmation.
And if necessary, it interacts with other services.
In this case, Amazon Echo smart speaker comes with Alexa as its virtual assistant. Google Home smart speaker, meanwhile, comes with Google Assistant as its virtual assistant.
All you need to do is say certain “hot words” or “wake-up expressions” to prompt your VA to communicate with other apps, smart devices, or the internet.
For instance, if you have an Amazon Echo smart speaker, you can use the wake-up expression “Alexa” for it to listen to your command and execute it.
For Google speakers like Google Home, you can start your commands by saying, “OK, Google.”
What Can Your Smart Speaker and Virtual Assistant Do for You?
Your smart speaker and VA can do many things for you.
For one, your VA can do internet searches for you. For example, if you say, “Alexa, what is the weather in New York City?”
Your smart speaker will connect with the weather service online and tell you, conversationally, whether it’s sunny or rainy in NYC and its temperature.
You can also ask Alexa or Google Assistant to play a particular video on YouTube, and it will look for that video and communicate with your smart TV so you can watch it without having to move a finger.
You can call anybody on your contacts list without dialing your phone, play music, open your door’s smart locks, turn on your smart lights and indicate what colors you’d like them to be, set your ideal temperature on your smart thermostat, and many others.
You can still ask your virtual assistant to do many other things via your smart speaker, depending on what smart devices are connected to your home automation system or even the apps you have installed on your phone or tablet.
Will Google Home and Alexa Work Together?
This question is quite confusing and ambiguous. It can be taken to mean any of these questions:
Can You Have Home As Your Smart Speaker and Alexa as a Virtual Assistant?
Alexa is a virtual assistant, and Google Home is a smart speaker, but these two do not belong together.
If you wonder whether you can ask “Alexa” to do something for you when your smart speaker is a Google device, the answer is no. You can’t because Alexa doesn’t exist.
Your Google Home smart speaker has Google Assistant as its proprietary VA, and it won’t respond to commands that begin with “Alexa.” Alexa only works for Amazon smart speakers.
Can You Have Both in the Same House?
Many people have referred to Amazon speakers as Alexa, so if you ask whether you can have both Google Home and Amazon Echo smart speakers in one room or house, you can.
These two smart speakers can co-exist with their proprietary VAs, Google Assistant and Alexa.
You can use both devices to carry out full functions in the same room or house without interfering with one another.
However, it helps to know that there are certain things that Google Home can do that Amazon Echo can’t and that Amazon Echo can do that Google Home can’t.
So it is best to use them for specific and unique purposes to maximize their capabilities.
Will They Both Respond to Commands At Once?
Alexa and Google Assistant have different hot words or wake-up expressions. Generally, if your command is for Alexa, your Amazon speaker gets to work.
And if your command is for Google Assistant, your Google speaker performs the job.
You must also note that Google Assistant is very conversational and responds to conversation phrases and complete sentences.
Meanwhile, Alexa responds to direct commands or short and basic phrases better.
Nevertheless, Alexa and Google can pick up almost the same commands you issue, so using them in the same house is simple. They are just ways to maximize their function better.
Tips on How To Use Them in the Same House
Having both Amazon and Google speakers at home can be great, especially if you know each device’s strengths and weaknesses.
For Amazon and Google Home to work well together, it is best to:
- please place them in different locations or areas inside your home
- get a third-party smart home application that would help establish controls
- use each smart speaker for unique purposes that suit it best
- limit voice commands to one speaker and mute the other
Different Speakers, Different Locations
Each speaker is great for specific tasks that different devices in your home will perform.
For example, Amazon Echo is excellent in quiet areas or in close quarters of your house where you sleep or work or where your children study.
This is because the speaker has parental control settings that give you peace of mind when you cannot supervise your kids.
A smooth speaker system like Google Home would be perfect for open kitchen and living room areas.
You could interact with Google Assistant and even play music without being drowned out by background noises, like the sound of your kids playing or the sound of your cooking.
Third-Party Smart Home App
The most popular apps you can use with Google Assistant and Alexa include IFTTT, Yeti, and Stringify.
Using third-party software can help you establish strings of commands that you will program into each smart speaker.
This way, you don’t get confused as you have everything on one platform, and it would be easy to keep track of them.
Assigning Specific Tasks to Each Speaker
Your smart speakers will be easier to manage if you assign specific tasks. This avoids confusion between the devices and helps prevent redundancy in the tasks.
For instance, your Google Home can control the music and entertainment devices, while Alexa or Amazon Echo can control your lights, locks, and security devices.
If both smart speakers are connected to one device, there could be issues between them if they both try to execute one command.
Assign Voice Tasks to One Speaker and Mute the Other
If your Amazon and Google speakers are in the same room, you can easily manage them by assigning specific voice tasks to each of them and muting the others.
For example, if you want to know more about the weather, you can assign the voice command to Google Home and mute it on Amazon Echo.