Google just let Claude and ChatGPT control your Nest — and any AI can do it now

Google has built a public MCP server for Google Home, and any AI assistant that supports the protocol can now authenticate to it and issue commands to whatever Nest hardware is on the account. Thermostats, cameras, lights, locks, speakers: the devices that previously only answered to Gemini now answer to Claude, ChatGPT, and any other AI built on the same standard.

MCP — Model Context Protocol — is the specification that defines how AI agents connect to external tools and services. First published by Anthropic in late 2024, it has become the closest thing the industry has to a shared standard for AI-to-tool communication. Google is not the first company to build an MCP server, but it is by far the largest in terms of installed base. More than 100 million households run Google Home hardware.

The functions available through the MCP connection are the same ones a user would access through the Google Home app: adjusting thermostat schedules, reading camera event history, toggling smart plugs, controlling lights by room or device name. The interface is functional and complete rather than a demonstration subset.

Access is rolling out starting September 16 as early access, limited to Google Home Premium Advanced subscribers in the United States. That subscription runs $20 per month. The restriction is a gate on the beta, not a permanent condition — Google has not said when it will open to all Google Home users, but the structure of the announcement suggests this is a launch period rather than a premium-tier-only feature.

Four AI assistants are available to connect on day one: Claude, ChatGPT, Hermes, and OpenClaw. Users authorize each connection through the Google Home app, granting access to specific device categories. The authorization flow is per-assistant and per-scope, so connecting Claude does not automatically give ChatGPT access to the same hardware.

The decision to open Google Home to competitor AIs is a meaningful signal. Google makes Gemini. Gemini already controls Google Home natively, and has for years. Choosing to build a public MCP server that competitors can use is a deliberate choice to treat Google Home as infrastructure rather than a Gemini advantage. The rationale is likely ecosystem: the more capable the AI integration, the more households treat smart home hardware as a serious investment rather than an ambient curiosity.

For the AI assistant providers, access to a 100-million-device installed base on day one is a significant expansion of capability. A user who could previously only ask Claude questions can now ask it to turn off the lights and drop the thermostat before bed. The practical scope of what AI assistants can do in a home environment just expanded substantially.

Tags: Google, Claude, chatgpt, AI agents, Google Home, MCP