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It depends on the voice assistant. Currently, Siri and Gemini for Home can dial 911 for you -- which is helpful if you're really short on time and your hands are shaky. In fact, Gemini has been known to get overeager and call 911 when instructed not to. Alexa cannot call 911, unless you pay for the Alexa Emergency Assist feature, which lets you call emergency services. (The feature will cost you $6 per month.)

Holding the left steering wheel button or saying, "Hey, Rivian," tells the assistant to start listening. The basic vehicle control functions range from the familiar -- call Mom, navigate home, adjust the temperature, etc. -- to more advanced tasks like changing drive modes, adjusting ride height, opening the front trunk or checking range-on-arrival estimates. The utility of such voice commands is proven and well-covered. More interesting are the context-aware commands. Instead of requiring precise phrasing, the assistant parses natural language and interprets intent. Rivian's own example -- "M

This is a useful question when you're installing or upgrading any kinds of smoke detectors in your home, whether a single device or a DIY security system. I found certain voice assistants were better than others at this question. Gemini for Home was the most useful, tapping into a government site and giving specific information on exactly where the state required homes to install smoke alarms. In fact, Gemini's summary was so long first-time users might find all the info overwhelming, which is why it may be helpful to use a web search for a question like this. Siri gave some helpful info, but

This one is for more advanced, conversational AI services that can review your home-security videos and even recognize faces with the right subscriptions. Google already has these capabilities with Gemini's voice assistant, and this feature is coming with Alexa Plus. Siri's expected AI update may include similar features, although it's not entirely clear what direction Apple will take. Even third-party startups are starting to offer these services. With this kind of AI, you can ask who left the house to get an idea of when loved ones may have departed, and bring up a security video to see wher