[corethree]

Try google assistant. Google assistant actually has a little bit of an LLM in it, so it's a bit smarter.

[jfim]

It's still pretty dumb, though. For example, it'll often misunderstand "turn all the lights off" as turn the lights off or worse, turn the lights on (even though they're already on).

[stacktrust]

Alexa has been most reliable when a command does not require a third-party cloud service.

For Amazon Basics WiFi smart plugs, the device type can be configured as "Light" instead of "Plug".

Echo 4 works as a Zigbee hub, avoiding dependency on a third-party cloud service.