Google opens Google Home to Claude, ChatGPT via MCP — SkimNews
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- Google rolled out early access to its Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for the Google Home ecosystem, enabling AI agents that support MCP—including Claude, Hermes, OpenClaw, ChatGPT, and Google Antigravity—to work with smart home devices and access event history.
- Users can issue natural language instructions to review camera summaries, monitor smart home activity, control connected devices, and build custom dashboards.
- Setup requires creating a Google Cloud project, configuring it to use Home MCP, providing those details to an agent of choice, and signing in to grant permissions, with a guide available in the Google Home Developer Center.
- The system supports any device in the Google Home ecosystem, including Google Nest doorbells and thermostats and "Works with Google Home" (or Matter) devices like light bulbs.
- Access begins Tuesday and continues rolling out over coming weeks exclusively to Google Home Premium Advanced subscribers—the $20-per-month U.S. tier that includes longer event-based video history, descriptive notifications, and daily summaries.
- Google declined to comment on broader rollout timing to other subscription tiers or markets and is instead soliciting early adopter feedback through its Smart Home for Developers Community.
Why it matters: Google is opening its smart home platform to any MCP-compatible AI agent—not just its own Assistant—starting with a $20/month U.S. tier and no stated timeline for wider rollout, which gives third-party agents like Claude and ChatGPT a foothold in home device control while keeping access gated behind Google's premium subscription.
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