Amazon Echo can play music and all, but Google Home rules as a party DJ, is a better match for movie night, and has superior sound. But Home’s real strength is as a control center for playing music and video around the house. You can use it to speak commands to any smart TV or speaker that has Chromecast built in. If your devices aren’t that intellectually advanced, just plug in a Chromecast dongle for audio ($35) or video ($35 for 1080p, $70 for 4K) where you need it. Here’s how to set up your system for optimal voice-guided entertainment.

1. Name your babies

Give each device a location-based moniker like “family room TV” or “bedroom speaker.” When you first tell Google Home to play a video or song, you have to designate which device you want. “OK, Google, play Mastodon on the kitchen speaker.” Any subsequent commands you bark at Home (“Now play the Titanic soundtrack”) will be sent to the last specified device.

2. Connect your streams

Home’s smartphone app lets you pair the device with various streaming accounts so you can voice-­control them. Then you can queue up video from Netflix or YouTube plus any shows or movies you’ve scored from the Google Play Store. On the audio end, you can enjoy your Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio, or Google Play Music accounts on tap. Alas, you can’t order Game of Thrones via HBO Go (shame! shame!); ditto anything from Amazon Video (shocking!).

3. Go hands-free

Here’s where it gets really convenient. Not only can you ask your AI to play movies and shows (“OK, Google, play Easy on Netflix”), but you can also dock the remote and use just your voice for TV commands. Need to answer the door? “Pause the TV.” Seen this one before? “Next episode.” Kids making a racket? “Turn on captions.” Kids making so much of a racket that you have to go give ’em an earful? “Jump back 40 seconds.”

4. Say anything

These devices are adept at figuring out what you’re asking for, so cede control to the AI. Commands like “OK, Google, play some reggae music” will light up an appropriately doobie-us playlist. “OK, Google, play a few dance videos from YouTube” will get the party started (or abruptly shut it down, depending on the crowd). You don’t have to be specific—just let the cloud do the thinking.

Don’t have a Google Home? Don’t despair.

The Echo is really good at controlling streaming services. (Ask Alexa to play S-Town or to rock your Billy Joel playlist on Spotify—we know he’s your guilty pleasure, big shot.) But it stumbles a bit with entertainment devices. You have to pair it with third-party hardware, like Logitech’s $100 Harmony Hub, to commandeer your TV. Another alternative, while not strictly AI, is using an Xbox One or PlayStation 4 to voice-control the heck out of your television.

Though we have yet to attain our ideal vision of the smart home—robots scurrying to fetch our slippers, breakfast, and a perfect pour-over—we now have the tools for establishing verbal dominion over our connected devices. The best option for exercising this power is Amazon Echo; the openness of its platform means Alexa can interact with an army of internet-of-things, er, things. You have to load up Alexa with the relevant skills and install some new gadgets. But after the initial effort, you can relax and enjoy your coffee as your digital minions carry out your commands.

1. Light the way

Since you’re already replacing those inefficient incandescents with LEDs, spend the extra dough and get smart LEDs. Most connect to Alexa via an inexpensive hub, but some can accept commands directly. Then you can use your voice to control the lights in different rooms. This is no novelty: You’ll appreciate it when you walk into the pitch-black hallway with your squirmy 8-month-old in one arm and a bottle of Grapefruit Sculpin in the other. (Trust us.)

2. Keep cool

Smart thermostats get weather data from the internet and can sense when you’re around, saving money by heating or cooling your home only when it’s needed. Voice control adds another layer of power. When it’s sleepy time, just say, “Alexa, set the bedroom to 66 degrees.” Don’t stop at a thermostat—ceiling fans from Haiku can be sped up or slowed with your voice, and Coway’s Airmega air purifier can obey Alexa.

3. Turn the key

Given that smart home devices don’t have the greatest track record on secu­rity, it’s probably a good thing that Alexa will only let you lock a smart lock with your voice. Sensor-laden locks are still cool, though; they can automatically unlock as you (carrying your phone) approach, then lock behind you when you leave. Using recipes you build on the web, you can tie a smart lock to other devices: Turn on the porch light and play soothing Kendrick Lamar when Mom gets home from work, for example.

4. Stay secure

When something goes bump in the night, let your alarm system play sentry. Scout’s array of motion sensors and access detectors all connect to a hub, and that hub talks to Alexa. You can arm and disarm the alarm, call for help, trigger the siren, and set preprogrammed modes, all via voice. When your Lyft to the airport arrives, shout, “Alexa, open Scout and set Vacation mode!”

5. Pull up

Ensmarten your garage-door opener with Garageio’s $200 web-connected box. If you’re in the car, access Alexa through your phone—tap on the mic inside Amazon’s shopping app to talk to your smart home. If you’re in the house and you see FedEx arrive with your new 65-inch OLED TV, just say, “Alexa, tell Garageio to open my door.”