Chances are that you’ve at least heard of Siri, Amazon Alexa, and/or Google Assistant. You may use one of these voice assistants in your home. And, if you do, you may have found yourself wondering if maybe, just maybe, there is a better option out there.

The answer is yes, and his name is Josh.

Josh.ai may not be the leader in the marketplace just yet, but it’s tough to fight the instant brand recognition that Amazon and Google have on their side. More and more users are starting to seek out alternatives to their offerings, though, and Josh.ai is capturing a lot of attention from luxury smart home owners who are looking for more than Alexa or Google Assistant can offer.

What Sets Josh.ai Apart?

Josh.ai was first developed back in 2015, when the company’s CEO decided that he wanted a smart home system that paired seamlessly with solutions from companies like Creston and Control4. Amazon Alexa works with aftermarket devices, and struggles to provide accurate options to users. Josh.ai is more accurate, intuitive, and customizable, and its AI is only getting better.

Natural Language Understanding

If you’ve ever used IVR (interactive voice recording) software to, say, pay a bill over the phone, then you already know just how miserable of a user experience that can be. People don’t want to be reminded they’re talking to robots. They want to speak naturally to their voice assistants. Josh.ai understands this, and its platform utilizes proprietary software that leverages “Natural Language Understanding.”

What does that mean?

Well, if you use Alexa in your home, you can ask the system to lower the temperature in the house. But you have to do so by giving it a whole lot of information on how to do it. You need to identify a specific thermostat, give a specific temperature, etc. With Josh.ai, you can give the much more human command of “Josh, it’s too hot in here,” and the system will adjust the temperature accordingly.

Benefits of Josh.ai

A voice assistant is not something you should have to give too much thought to. Otherwise, you could just do what you’re asking the assistant to do yourself. With Josh.ai, you have a learning system that doesn’t get in your way or require too much input. Josh.ai recognizes patterns over time, like when homeowners close their shades when a certain temperature is hit. Once this pattern is recognized, the system will start to make such adjustments on its own.

The ability to talk to Josh the same way you’d talk to a human cannot be overemphasized. Amazon Alexa or Siri require simple, to the point commands to get anything done. Josh.ai understands more complicated, natural speech – meaning you can say something like “When I get home, turn the lights to “Night Time” and set the thermostat at 68.” You don’t have to break things up into shorter commands, and you can give future commands without worrying about the system getting lost.

Protect Your Privacy

It’s really no big secret that Google tracks a ton of user data in order to give target advertisements, or that Alexa will try to sell users products through Amazon. Josh.ai isn’t concerned with anything like that. Its whole purpose is to facilitate the use of your smart home system as a whole. That’s it. No spying, no data selling, and easily customized to remember only as much information as you see fit.

Josh.ai even stores your commands locally. It’s not cloud based, so you don’t have to worry about them being sent around the internet. Keep your information safe and out of the hands of third-party advertising entities, all while living in a modern, automated home.

What Can I Use Josh With?

So. Many. Devices.

Seriously, Josh.ai works with a huge selection of smart devices and services from some of the biggest names in the industry. These include Lutron, Creston, Sonos, Control4, Ecobee, Sony, Roku, and many, many more. If it can be integrated into a smart home system, there’s a very high likelihood that it can integrate with Josh.ai.

Contact Atlantic AV today to learn more about what Josh.ai can do for you and your smart home system.

There are a lot of different reasons why luxury smart home owners decide to invest in this type of technology. For some, it’s the undeniable convenience that the smart home has to offer. Others are excited about the efficiency and energy savings that automated shades and HVAC systems represent, and the safety and security that their smart home systems offer.

Whatever the case, being able to control all of these integrated systems reliably and naturally is a must if you want a great smart home experience. And at Atlantic AV, we believe that our customers deserve greatness in every aspect of their home technology. Let us know if you’re interested in learning more about Josh.ai, or if you think this might be the right smart home solution for you.

Images borrowed from Qmotion Shades.