Google is opening its smart home ecosystem to third-party AI agents, allowing them to access, control, and analyze data from connected devices using the standardized Model Context Protocol (MCP). This integration between Google Home and MCP enables agents such as Claude, Open Claw, Google Antigravity, and Hermes to interact with user devices and data.
According to Taylor Lehman, a product group lead for Google Home and Nest, the Home MCP integration connects a user’s chosen AI agent to real-world events. For example, an agent could analyze footage from multiple cameras to answer questions about a child’s activities after school, or use device history to determine how many times laundry was done during the week or how long lights remained on. Agents will also be able to interact with users via voice—such as sending audio messages through a Google Home speaker after completing a task—and create custom Google Home dashboards.
Access and security
The MCP integration does not replace Gemini for Home, which remains Google’s primary interface for interacting with Google Home via the Home app and Google Nest smart speakers. Instead, MCP adds a layer of control, allowing third-party AI agents to interact directly with Google Home-connected devices through their own interfaces.
At launch, the feature is available only to Google Home Premium Advanced users in the United States. The subscription costs $20 per month or $200 per year, with access rolling out over the coming weeks. To set it up, users must create a Google Cloud project and configure it for use with Home MCP.
Granting AI agents access to physical devices like smart locks, thermostats, and HVAC systems raises concerns regarding security, privacy, and reliability. Google states that Home MCP employs rate limiting and other security mechanisms. For instance, agents are prohibited from unlocking doors.
At the same time, Taylor Lehman warned that connecting a specific AI agent to Home MCP could lead to unpredictable or undesirable behavior, depending on the agent itself. He recommended that developers review Google’s developer policies and terms of service.
From device control to whole-home analysis
A similar MCP integration has already been implemented by the open-source platform Home Assistant. A writer for The Verge noted that during testing last year, they used Claude to control a smart home using natural language. The agent was able to perform complex tasks, including troubleshooting, creating automations, designing dashboards, and adjusting intricate configurations.
The core shift is not merely that Claude or another AI agent can toggle lights through its own app. Rather, the agent gains access to the underlying data and control layer of the smart home. This enables the creation of a system that understands home activity, analyzes event history, identifies patterns, and performs actions on the user’s behalf.
This approach could allow AI to move beyond executing commands to troubleshooting issues, suggesting automation improvements, and identifying patterns in device performance. These are the capabilities Google is now integrating into Google Home via MCP.
Google aims to become smart home infrastructure
The writer for The Verge views this new integration not just as a consumer feature, but as part of a broader strategy. Over recent years, Google has increasingly positioned itself as an infrastructure layer for the smart home: in 2024, Google launched an API for accessing its smart home platform, followed by the introduction of Gemini for Home as a comprehensive AI solution.
This points toward a B2B2C model, where Google provides the AI and smart home infrastructure, while other companies build their own services and products on top of it. Developers can now also use the agentic programming tool Antigravity to build their own AI agents that work with Google Home device data and control layers.
Even if developers use other AI agents, their reliance on Google Home reinforces Google’s role as an infrastructure provider—much like AWS became the backbone for many internet and software companies.
However, questions remain regarding how willing developers are to rely on this platform long-term. The author notes that Google has previously launched and subsequently discontinued or pivoted several smart home projects, including Android @ Home, Weave, Project Brillo, Works with Nest, and Google Assistant. Developers must now decide if the current Google platform is a system the company intends to develop consistently moving forward.
Source: The Verge
