How Many Gadgets Do You Need to Check the Weather? Voice Assistants Still Struggle to Prove Their Worth

When the kids first got their new voice assistants, they were thrilled. They asked it silly questions, played music, and had fun with trivia. But by the second week, the novelty had worn off. Like so many others, the smart speaker had been demoted to glorified alarm clock status.

This pattern isn’t unusual. A recent YouGov survey found that most people who own voice assistants aren’t doing much with them. Fifty-nine percent use them to check the weather, 51% to play music, and 47% to search the internet. About 40% use them as timers. That’s it.

Which raises a question: Do we really need yet another gadget to tell us it’s going to rain?

Too Many Screens, Too Few Reasons

Today, most people already carry a smartphone in their pocket, wear a smartwatch on their wrist, have a tablet or computer on their desk, and maybe even own smart glasses. All of them can tell you the temperature, give you a forecast, or set a timer—with the exact same data and from the same sources.

So why use a voice assistant at all?

The trouble is, while voice assistants may seem high-tech, they haven’t changed much in years. And when they do respond, they don’t always get it right. The same YouGov survey showed that 27% of users say their voice assistants don’t understand what they’re saying, and 12% say the answers they do get are inaccurate.

A Smarter Assistant…Coming Soon?

That might change soon. Companies like Amazon, Google, and Apple are betting that artificial intelligence (AI) can breathe new life into their smart devices.

Amazon is set to release its new “Alexa+” in 2025, promising a much more conversational and proactive assistant powered by generative AI—the same kind of technology behind platforms like ChatGPT.

Instead of giving a dry response like, “It’s 75 degrees,” an AI-powered assistant could say, “It’s 75°F, but there’s a 40% chance of rain this afternoon. You might want to take an umbrella to soccer practice.” It might also remind you to leave early for work if snow is in the forecast, or suggest a recipe using the groceries you have.

These changes could turn smart assistants into something closer to a household manager than a high-tech paperweight.

Helpful or Hype?

For some people, this vision is already a reality. One TikToker recently made headlines for claiming that ChatGPT is helping to raise her daughter, run her household, and make day-to-day decisions. She’s even started selling her AI-generated prompts to followers, hoping to do the same.

While some see that as creative, others see it as overkill—or even risky. Can a voice assistant really help you parent, plan your meals, and manage your life? Or is it just another layer of tech that sounds helpful but doesn’t deliver?

The Bottom Line

For now, most voice assistants are still used for simple tasks—weather, music, and reminders. And most people are happy to check the weather on their phone rather than invest in another device.

Still, with AI technology improving rapidly, voice assistants may finally become more than a fancy clock or a weather radio with a speaker.

Until then, the most advanced thing your voice assistant might do is remind you what you already knew: It’s going to rain, and yes, you should probably bring an umbrella.