Google Home is adding 12 new smart home vendors, which will be compatible with it’s smart “voice activated” speaker system.  This is documented as follows:

https://www.cnet.com/au/news/google-home-gets-new-partners-in-its-first-big-smart-home-update/

Starting today, Google’s smart speaker can control a variety of new devices, including locks and sprinklers. With a dozen new companies announcing integrations with its platform, the search giant has dramatically increased what its smart speaker can do.  You’ll be able to give a voice command to the Google Assistant built into the Google Home smart speaker and control devices from these 12 companies.

This announcement doesn’t quite even the playing field with Amazon, since Amazon’s assistant Alexa now has more than 10,000 “skills” — essentially third-party apps for voice control. Still, it’s a big push in the right direction that includes many popular smart home products.

It also expands Google Home’s abilities into new territory. Previously, the Google Assistant only worked with lights, plugs, switches, thermostats and recently robot vacuums. Today’s announcement includes locks, sprinklers, an air conditioner, a sous vide cooker and even a professionally installed smart home system.