Schlage announced today that users of its Sense and Connect smart locks will now be able to unlock them with Alexa. Users have been able to lock and check the status of their smart deadbolts with Amazon's digital assistant since October, but unlocking them still required a phone. Now Sense and Connect owners can use any Alexa-enabled device to unlock their doors for them. The feature will have to be enabled -- it's disabled by default for security purposes -- through the Amazon Alexa app and users will be required to create a PIN in order to use the feature. That PIN has to be spoken before Alexa can unlock the door and three wrong attempts will cause the voice control feature to be disabled.

The Google Assistant--the all-knowing digital voice that reverberates throughout the house every time you ask your Google Home a question--is about to get a lot smarter. This week at Google I/O (a developer's conference), Google detailed some of the new abilities coming to its digital assistant platform, which lives inside smartphones, smart speakers, and various other connected devices. The Google Assistant is on its way to becoming more conversational and easier to use, and it's even coming to the screen later this summer. You can try some of these features right now, but not all of its new abilities are available to the public just yet. And there's one feature in particular that might leave you feeling like it's a little ahead of its time.

Google has unveiled an artificial intelligence tool capable of handling routine tasks -- such as making restaurant bookings -- as a way to help people disconnect from their smartphone screens. Kicking off the tech giant's annual developers conference, Google chief executive Sundar Pichai argued that its AI-powered digital assistant had the potential to free people from everyday chores. Pichai played a recording of the Google Assistant independently calling a hair salon and a restaurant to make bookings -- interacting with staff who evidently didn't realize they were dealing with artificial intelligence software, rather than a real customer. Tell the Google Assistant to book a table for four at 6:00 pm, it tends to the phone call in a human-sounding voice complete with "ums" and "likes," and sends you a message with the details. "Our vision for our assistant is to help you get things done," Pichai told the conference in Google's hometown of Mountain View, California.

The first day of Google's 2018 I/O developer conference came and went, with the tech titan announcing a ton of features, products, and other future-gazing tidbits. Artificial intelligence (AI) permeated just about every announcement Google made at the event. From Google Assistant and Gmail to Google News and Alphabet's self-driving car unit Waymo, here's a recap of everything announced at I/O 2018. Google Assistant is now available on more than 500 million devices -- across tablets, phones, speakers, TVs, and cars -- a figure that will only increase with the news that Google Home is landing in seven more countries this year. As such, Google is doubling down on its efforts to make the virtual assistant more fun and easier to use.

Amazon.com has set up model'smart' homes across the United States for shoppers to experience what it's like for voice aide Alexa to dim the lights, turn on the TV or order more laundry detergent. The rollout underscores how Amazon aims to make Alexa and the company's growing list of services, from shopping and entertainment to home security, an everyday part of consumers' lives. It also steps up competition with retailers such as Best Buy Co Inc that focus on showcasing technology and advising shoppers. Inside the Amazon house: An Amazon Echo Spot is seen on a bedside table in a bedroom in an Amazon'Experience center' in Vallejo, California. The so-called'Amazon Experience Centers' are now open near 15 cities including Los Angeles, Dallas and Washington, with more to come Amazon, the world's largest online retailer, said it has partnered with Lennar Corp to convert some of the home construction company's model homes into showrooms for Alexa.

An amateur sex toy inventor has created a smart speaker that doubles up as a voice-controlled dominatrix. British engineer Gary, who keeps his surname anonymous, created his discipline device using parts of an electrified dog collar and an Amazon Echo Dot speaker. Known as mistress Alexa, the gadget administers shocks to its wearer's genitals following a short conversation that users initiate with the phrase'Alexa, punish'. Gary, who built the device for partner Kirsty, has posted a tutorial video to YouTube to help other sex toy enthusiasts build their own dominatrix technologies. An amateur sex toy inventor has created a smart speaker that doubles up as a voice-controlled dominatrix.

For the first time in nearly three decades, the yellow-and-black price tag logo at Best Buy is getting an update. On Wednesday the Minnesota-based electronics retail giant announced that it will be refreshing its logo, moving the words "Best Buy" outside the yellow price tag, which will still appear, but on the lower right of the store name. "The updated logo is true to our heritage, but it's really cleaned up," Best Buy Chief Marketing Officer Whit Alexander said in a statement. "It's an evolution toward the future, and we're really excited about that." More Tech: We asked Google Assistant, Amazon's Alexa and Apple's Siri 150 questions.

Does the Voice Activated Assistant have a place in the business? There are lots of voice activated assistants available to help us with our daily tasks. Some are built into mobile devices and some are purchased as specific items. The key is that they all respond to commands and can interact with other devices in our lives. These devices are already within most business today, but may not be used to their full potential.

The homes all come with WiFi, smart thermometers, lighting, doorbells and locks pre-installed, and Amazon's voice-activated Alexa personal assistant devices to run them. The experience centers offer customers the chance to interact with the technology in a real-life setting. Lennar announced Wednesday that standard features in its new homes will include built-in Wi-Fi, smart locks, doorbells, thermostats and lights -- all controlled by Alexa, Amazon's voice-activated digital assistant. Each house will come with two Alexa-enabled smart speakers, an Echo Show and an Echo Dot. New homeowners will also get a free visit from an Amazon technician to help set everything up and teach them how to use it.

Google has built an Artificial Intelligence (AI) that's able to book a table over the phone and sound so natural it could pass as human. Google unveiled'Duplex' at its I/O developer conference. Audio Player failed to load. Try to Download directly (13.76 MB) Press play then disable your screen reader. Use space bar to pause or play, and up and down arrows to control volume.