Home Assistant AI Tutorial: Gemini Welcome Messages and Doorbell Person Descriptions

AI has become a hot topic, and while it brings convenience, it also raises real concerns—especially around privacy and reduced human interaction. Still, there are ways to use AI in a smart home that are lightweight, practical, and fun.

In this tutorial, I’ll show two Home Assistant AI automations using Google Gemini (Google Generative AI):

1. A funny AI welcome-home message played via Text-to-Speech
2. A doorbell notification that describes the person at your door from a camera snapshot

Both use built-in Home Assistant features and a small amount of YAML.

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What You Need

To follow along, you’ll need:

• Home Assistant
• A configured person entity with a device tracker (Companion App recommended)
• A smart speaker (or any media_player entity)
• A doorbell or camera entity (for the snapshot use case)

You’ll install:

• Google Translate Text-to-Speech
• Google Generative AI (Gemini) integration

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Step 1: Install Google Translate Text-to-Speech (TTS)

1. Go to Settings → Devices & Services
2. Click Add Integration
3. Search Google
4. Select Google Translate Text-to-Speech
5. Choose your language and finish

This gives you a reliable TTS engine for your smart speaker.

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Step 2: Create a Gemini API Key

Gemini requires an API key:

1. Open Google AI Studio
2. Click Get API key
3. Create a new key and copy it

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Step 3: Install Google Generative AI (Gemini) in Home Assistant

1. Go to Settings → Devices & Services
2. Click Add Integration
3. Search Google
4. Select Google Generative AI
5. Paste your API key and finish setup

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Use Case 1: AI Welcome Home (Funny TTS)

Goal

When you arrive home, Home Assistant generates a short welcome message using Gemini and plays it on your speaker.

How it works

• Trigger: person.ed changes to home
• Delay: 3 minutes (so you’re actually in the living room)
• Action 1: Gemini “Generate Content” with a funny prompt
• Action 2: tts.speak using {{ response.text }}

This is a great example of using AI to make your smart home feel more personal without being intrusive.

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Use Case 2: AI Doorbell Notification (Describe Person at Door)

Goal

When the doorbell rings, take a snapshot, ask Gemini what it sees, then send the description to your phone.

Workflow

1. Trigger: doorbell rings
2. Action: camera.snapshot → save to /config/www/tmp/snapshot-doorbell.jpg
3. Delay: 1 second (ensure file exists)
4. Action: Gemini “Generate Content” with image reference + prompt
5. Action: phone notification with:
   • Message: {{ response.text }}
   • Image: /local/tmp/snapshot-doorbell.jpg

This creates a smart notification like:
“Someone in a red jacket is holding a package at your door…”

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Tips for Reliability

• Use /local/ when sending images in notifications
• Add a short delay after snapshot creation
• Device trackers can be slow—don’t expect instant “Home” detection every time
• If you want continuous detection and full control, pair this with Frigate or a dedicated NVR

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Optional: LLMVision and Local AI (Ollama)

If you want more advanced AI workflows, you can explore:

• LLMVision (HACS) to support multiple AI providers and richer media analysis
• Ollama to run AI locally (better privacy, no cloud)

If you want a full tutorial on LLMVision or Ollama in Home Assistant, that’s a great follow-up topic.

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Final Thoughts

These two automations are small, practical examples of using AI in Home Assistant:

• A fun welcome home
• A useful doorbell description

They’re easy to implement, easy to customize, and they can make your smart home feel more alive—without turning your house into a “cloud-only” AI machine.

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