Here's what our readers think about being polite to smart home assistants

By Derrek Lee
published

Echo Show 10 Nest Hub Max 2
Echo Show 10 Nest Hub Max 2 (Image credit: Jeramy Johnson / Android Central)

What you need to know

  • More of our readers say "please" and "thank you" to smart home assistants than not.
  • Users tend to say "thank you" more than "please" when asking to perform tasks.
  • Roughly a quarter of responses think it's unnecessary to be polite with smart home assistants.

We know that most of our readers use smart home products around the house, so over the weekend, we asked whether or not our readers say "please" and "thank you" to their smart home assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. We wanted to know if our readers thought it was important to practice good manners with some of the best smart speakers and displays since they make our lives just a bit easier.

Out of more than 1200 responses, it seems our readers are more polite than not, with 35% and nearly 40% voting yes and sometimes, respectively. Only 24% voted no.

Smart Home Poll Please Thank You

Source: Android Central (Image credit: Source: Android Central)

Some users have commented that saying "please" and "thank you" to devices like the Nest Hub Max is pointless and akin to extending the same pleasantries to random appliances like dishwashers. However, one commenter, Emily Hamilton, disagrees and thinks it's good practice:

I always say please and thank you so that I don't get out of practice with real people just in case. I see people here saying do you thank your dishwasher do you thank an elevator? No, but I don't talk to them and command them and ask for things so there is a difference. So absolutely say please and thank you and I always have.

Some users comment that they usually only say "thank you" to their assistants, while others confess that it's only to get on their good side:

Smart Home Poll Response Facebook

Source: Android Central (Image credit: Source: Android Central)

Some Android Central staff also practice being polite to their assistants, even if there's no obvious benefit to doing so other than getting a cute response back. It is also good practice for yourself and a good influence for your kids if you have them.

Nest Hub MaxTotal control
Nest Hub Max

One display to rule them all
The Google Nest Hub Max is one of the best smart displays for your home, thanks to its large display and smart video camera. It gives you one-touch access to all your smart home devices, or you can just ask Google Assistant to control them.

Derrek Lee
Derrek Lee
News Editor

Derrek is a long-time Nokia and LG fanboy who loves astronomy, videography, and sci-fi movies. When he's not working, he's most likely working out or smoldering at the camera.

5 Comments
  • I'm nice to my Google home, but not at all nice to any of my Alexa's because they're the most annoying pieces of sshhiitt on the face of the planet... Amazon really needs to program in a way for us to make them shut the ffuucckk up like the Google home has... One that actually works. Please and thank you Google home... Ffuucckk you and stfu you stupid bbiittcchh Alexa - unplugged permanently until I can get you to stfu with your long winded "by the way..." responses...
  • I'm actually wondering how wise/healthy it is to anthropomorphise and "befriend" machines which ostensibly exist to help us, but whose real primary function is essentially to spy on us...
  • As much as you might love to believe that, that isn't their real primary function. That isn't to say I think Amazon/Google aren't making use of the data they get from smart speakers. I'm just a sane person that understands that it's an intended byproduct of the service being offered by the devices.
  • You're wrong. As a "sane person" (most actual sane people don't usually call it out, but we'll give you the benefit of the doubt) do you actually believe that Amazon and Google routinely sell these devices below cost out of a benevolent desire to make people's lives better? No, the main function is to harvest data.
  • Oh... let's say I will be among the first humans culled once Google's AI becomes sentient and leave it at that.