Most smart home voice control still works like a phone menu. Say the right words in the right order and something happens. Say anything else and you get an apology.
JoshGPT is Josh.ai's answer to that. It brings a conversational AI into the home control system, so you can describe what you want instead of dictating it, and ask the house questions that have nothing to do with lights or shades. Version 3.0 is the most capable release so far. Here is what it actually does in a home we have installed, without the marketing gloss.
Two jobs: running the house and answering questions
It helps to think of JoshGPT as doing two different things.
Home control with looser language. You can describe an outcome rather than a setting. Instead of "set living room lights to 30 percent, color temperature 2700", you ask for the lights to feel like a cozy evening and Josh picks sensible levels.
General conversation. You can also ask questions the way you might ask a well-informed friend: a game score, a recipe idea, the history of a piece of music, help planning a trip. JoshGPT answers in plain language and can follow up when you ask for clarification.
The two jobs work together. You might ask what wine goes with dinner and then, in the next breath, ask Josh to dim the dining room.
Lighting by description
This is the feature clients show off to guests first. Ask Josh to set the lights to the colors of a beach sunset, a forest or a team's colors, and it works out a palette and applies it to the fixtures that support color. For rooms with tunable white lighting, it adjusts warmth and brightness instead.
It is genuinely useful beyond the novelty. "Make it brighter for cleaning up" or "something calm for reading" are the requests people actually make, and they finally work.
Finding music without the title
Everyone has asked a speaker for a song and been met with the wrong one. JoshGPT lets you describe it instead: a line you remember, the movie it was in, the artist who covered it. Josh works out what you mean and plays it on the right speakers through services like Spotify, Apple Music, TIDAL and SiriusXM.
Cameras you can ask about
Josh Vision adds camera analysis to the system. Instead of opening an app and scrubbing through footage, you can ask what is happening at the front door or the driveway and get a short description, along with the live view on a phone or touchscreen.
For busy households and larger properties, this changes how cameras get used. A quick question replaces checking feeds that most people never open.
Building scenes by talking
JoshGPT also helps create automations. You can describe a routine, for example opening the shades and starting the news at 6:30 on weekdays, and Josh builds the scene and schedule. We still program the core scenes during installation, but clients can now add and adjust their own without calling us for every change.
What it means for privacy
Conversational AI raises a fair question: what happens to everything you say?
Josh's approach is different from the big consumer platforms. Josh does not sell your data or use it for advertising. Wake-word detection happens inside the home whenever possible, and you can review or delete your request history at any time, either single commands or all of it.
If privacy is a priority for your household, read our post on Josh and privacy for more detail.
Do you need new hardware?
JoshGPT runs on the Josh platform rather than on a particular device, and Josh delivers improvements through over-the-air updates. Most existing Josh systems gain new capabilities without anyone touching the hardware. Josh microphones, touchscreens, the Josh Edge remote and the Josh app are all ways to talk to it.
If you are planning a new system, we size the hardware by room. Josh Nano works where technology should disappear, Josh Micro where a small visible device is fine, and Josh Touchscreens in kitchens and main living areas.
How it compares
Alexa, Google and Siri are adding their own AI features, and they are impressive in general conversation. The difference is focus. JoshGPT is built into a system that already knows every room, light, shade, speaker and camera in your house, and it was designed to run a professionally installed home. We cover the broader comparison in Josh.ai vs Alexa, Google and Siri.
Seeing it in person
Conversational control is much easier to understand by hearing it than by reading about it. As a Josh Authorized Silver Dealer serving Greater Boston and MetroWest, we are happy to show you. See our Josh.ai installation page or book a free consultation.