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Worried About Spying Voice Assistants? Emerson Smart Is an Attractive Alternative

The new SmartVoice technology from IAI Smart offers the benefits of voice commands without compromising privacy.

Headshot of Tyler Lacoma
Headshot of Tyler Lacoma
Tyler Lacoma Editor / Home Security and Smart Home
Tyler has worked on, lived with and tested all types of smart home and security technology for over a dozen years, explaining the latest features, privacy tricks, and top recommendations. With degrees in Business Management, Literature and Technical Writing, Tyler takes every opportunity to play with the latest AI technology, push smart devices to their limits and occasionally throw cameras off his roof, all to find the best devices to trust in your life. He always checks with the renters (and pets) in his life to see what smart products can work for everyone, in every living situation. Living in beautiful Bend, Oregon gives Tyler plenty of opportunities to test the latest tech in every kind of weather and temperature. But when not at work, he can be found hiking the trails, trying out a new food recipe for his loved ones, keeping up on his favorite reading, or gaming with good friends.
Expertise Smart home | Smart security | Home tech | Energy savings | A/V
Tyler Lacoma
2 min read
A black Emerson Smart air fryer on a white counter.

Emerson Smart's air fryer knows hundreds of voice commands without needing Wi-Fi.

 IAI Smart

I really like voice assistants, not just because it's my job to like them, but because they're useful for multitasking. And conversational AI is making them much better. 

Still, there's a catch: Voice assistant apps like Alexa, Google/Gemini and Siri download and analyze your voice data. Changing your privacy settings can't block all of that, especially if you want the latest AI features.

At CES 2026, smart home company IAI Smart showcased an alternative for those concerned about voice assistants overhearing too much conversation or compromising their privacy. It's the company's newly expanded Emerson Smart home device line, powered by SmartVoice technology to respond to your voice commands.

"That still sounds like a voice assistant," you may say. But the key behind Emerson Smart's innovation is that all the voice assistant tech lives solely on the devices themselves. They have mics, plus speakers to confirm commands, and built-in algorithms to recognize wake words and orders. But that's all.

Those wake words include "Hey fan" for the tower fan line, "Hey heater" for the fan heater models, and even "Hey air fryer" for the SmartVoice air fryers, which have 100 cooking presets and can recognize more than 1,000 voice commands. The Emerson Smart line also includes smart plugs that can recognize over 30 commands for scheduling, timers and other settings.

An Emerson Smart plug shown with various voice command options.

All voice command algorithms live directly on Emerson Smart devices, without apps or internet connections.

 IAI Smart

These device voice assistants work entirely without Wi-Fi connections, without apps and without sending a single bit of voice data to companies. You simply plug them in and start giving commands.

While we saw immense amounts of AI at CES, privacy considerations were harder to find. One example was the growing adoption of presence-sensing technology, which CES home companies used to detect people without the need for cameras or face recognition. IAI Smart's offline voice assistants are another welcome sign for those who prefer not to send their comments into the clouds of corporate data.

Certain Emerson Smart products are now available for purchase, including tower fans starting at $90 and smart plugs starting at $25.Â