Here’s what to know about the assistants running your home .
your phone
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Amazon Echo Show 8.Amazon
Lifewire
Google Assistant and Amazon’s Alexa are the two leading virtual assistants for a reason.
These are important differences, and we’ll outline them for you.
Overall Findings
Tied into the Amazon ecosystem, great for shopping.
Nest Audio speakers.Google
Excellent third party skill support.
Can be used on smartphones, in the home, and in the car.
Tied into the Google ecosystem.
The Google TV Streamer and remote.Google
Growing support for third party skills.
Can be used in smartphones, in the home, and in the car.
Google’s and Amazon’s smart speaker underlying software is in constant flux.
Fire TV 4K Max.Amazon
Amazon announced a new AI-powered digital assistant, Alexa+, in early 2025.
Where Will You Use Your Assistant?
The other key aspect here is to ask yourself where you’ll use the assistant the most.
Google Assistant does also work with Apple CarPlay.
In the home, you need specific devices to use one assistant over another.
Alexa, of course, works with Amazon devices but is also integrated into a variety of other products.
Google Assistant works with its own line of Google Home devices and some others.
The two don’t typically cross lines with home products but there are some exceptions.
Music Integration
Works with a variety of music streaming services.
Offers voice commands for general requests.
In this case, it’s possible for you to’t really go wrong with either.
Several voice options; pick from different accents, celebrity voices, and languages.
Has historically led in third party skills.
Getting better at general knowledge, but still better at shopping.
“Okay Google” and “Hey Google” wake words.
Lots of voice and accent options, some sound better than others.
Has lagged behind in skills, but is closing the gap.
Draws on Google’s extensive Knowledge Graph and powerful AI technology.
Both virtual assistants operate well, with natural-sounding voice options and decent speech recognition.
Alexa gets stuck if you don’t use specific wording and relies more on Wikipedia.
you should probably add a skill for some questions, as Alexa simply can’t answer them alone.
In terms of third-party skills that provide additional functionality, Alexa has historically held the lead.
However, Google has closed the gap to the point where the distinction is no longer as important.
Smart Home Integration and Connectivity
Excellent compatibility with smart home devices.
Compatible with Fire TV.
Can make “drop in” calls to other Echo devices and phones.
Broadcast messages and make calls.
Both the Nest and Echo products are great at forming the backbone of a smart home.
Echo products typically work with everyWorks with Alexadevice across protocols like Matter and Zigbee.
Google Assistant works with Nest products and a variety of smart home companies such as Ecobee.
We’ve found nearly everything we looked at includes integration with Google Assistant (except for Amazon products).
This is relevant if you’ve already invested in smart TV hardware from either company.
Other devices, like Roku, work with both assistants.
Both the Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa are versatile in their communication capabilities.
They’re both reliable options for your smart home needs.
For raw connectivity, both Google and Amazon devices connect to your home Wi-Fi.
Final Verdict: Which Ecosystem Would You Rather Get Stuck In?
Ask yourself whether you’re already more deeply entrenched in the Google or Amazon ecosystem.
Otherwise, you’ll have to decide between the products and features that you like best.
Gives us the best of both worlds, no matter where we are.
