Philips Hue adds natural-language automation with Custom AI Behaviors

Philips Hue is adding natural-language automation to its lighting system with a beta feature called Custom AI Behaviors. Users can describe what they want their lights to do in the Hue app, which then generates an automation that they can accept or adjust.

The feature is designed to handle more complex automations than changing colors or creating a scene. For example, users could define different lighting behavior when they are awake or asleep, provided they supply an input such as pressing a button to trigger a sleep or wake routine. Custom AI Behaviors can also program Hue switches. In one demonstration, a user asked the system to program button 4 on the Hue dimmer switch to disable the dining room motion sensor.

Custom AI Behaviors is currently in beta and will roll out next month. It requires the latest Bridge Pro; the automation engine runs locally on that bridge, while the AI assistant runs in the cloud. The feature was built on the open-weight GLM family of models.

The automation engine will also be available to third-party developers. Philips Hue additionally announced a new Sonos integration for select Hue switches, including the Hue Tap Dial Switch. A software update planned for November will let users trigger Favorites, play or pause audio, adjust volume, and move between songs. Back-up & Restore, for saving bridge settings to the Hue cloud, is planned for early next year.