The smart home track has recently ushered in a major industry change. WeChat’s AI capabilities have officially been fully integrated into smart home scenarios, completely changing the previous user pain points of different brands of smart home appliances needing to download independent APPs to control and being ecologically disconnected, and truly realizing unified intelligent control of all categories of home appliances.
The upgraded smart home control logic is extremely convenient. Users do not need to download additional APPs. They can complete full scene control through voice commands in WeChat: for example, saying “I’m a little cold”, the system will automatically increase the temperature of the air conditioner and actively ask if the humidifier needs to be turned on; saying “I want to watch a movie”, the system will automatically close the smart curtains, dim the indoor lights, turn on the projector synchronously and adjust to the appropriate playback mode, truly understanding the potential needs of the user and achieving scene-based intelligent response.
At present, the first batch of brands that have completed WeChat AI adaptation covers almost all major domestic home appliance manufacturers. Leading brands such as Midea, Haier, TCL, and Siemens have all completed docking. All categories of home appliances such as air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, TVs, and smart lighting commonly used in ordinary households have basically supported WeChat control.
The reason why WeChat’s entry into the game is called a major industry event is that it has three major advantages that other smart home platforms cannot match: First, WeChat has 1.4 billion monthly active users, and its popularity covers all age groups. Even the elderly who cannot operate complex intelligent systems can use it as long as they know how to use it.
WeChat can control smart home appliances, and the user education cost is almost zero; secondly, WeChat is not only a control entrance, but also can form a complete closed loop of services. Through the combination of “AI + mini program + payment” capabilities, it connects smart home control and daily consumption services. For example, users say “Invite friends to your home tomorrow
“Eat hot pot”, the system will automatically identify the existing ingredients in the refrigerator, push adapted recipes, and directly jump to the e-commerce platform to purchase missing ingredients. You can even directly book movie tickets after the meal. The entire process can be completed without jumping out of WeChat. This is something that traditional smart home platforms that only focus on device control cannot
The ability to realize; thirdly, WeChat is a neutral platform. It does not produce home appliances itself and will not compete with connected home appliance brands. Brands do not need to worry about user data being obtained by competing products. They can also use WeChat’s traffic to reach more potential users. This is also the core reason why major brands are willing to quickly complete the adaptation.
This change has also brought new competitive pressure to the existing leading smart home ecology. Take Xiaomi Mijia as an example. The IoT ecosystem equipment it has built for many years has mature interconnection capabilities and high user stickiness. It will not be directly replaced. However, users’ perception of smart home entrances is changing: in the past, many users would give priority to whether they are suitable for Mijia ecology when purchasing home appliances. In the future, more users will
By giving priority to products that support WeChat AI control, the freedom of cross-brand matching is greatly increased. There is no need to purchase all categories of home appliances of the same brand for ecological binding. Products of different brands such as Gree air conditioners, Midea refrigerators, TCL TVs, etc. can all be managed uniformly through WeChat, truly turning smart home appliances from “enthusiast toys” to daily tools available to everyone. The entire smart home track will also usher in a new round of experience upgrades and market explosions.
