You do know that Sonos isn’t going to rely on easily gamed forum thread posts to determine the ROI on supporting a particular voice assistant, right?  

Just leaving a comment to provide user feedback and to display demand for an app. If they don’t look at it, they don’t look at it. It’s not for me to anticipate how they want to determine ROI, I am just leaving feedback in their community forums. If they have a different place to provide that feedback, please let me know.

As it’s necroed already, I’ll join the bandwagon and hype myself for the distant possibility of this happening. 

Sonos sells maybe about 5 million speakers a year with number if sales in decline at the moment. The extra maybe 40 000 to 60 000 new speakers a year isn’t very substantial per se, but most likely it would do the magic of getting goodwill from The Correct People, make Sonos a little more independent and put Sonos again as forerunner for a Connected Smart Home. As a business decision, having couple employees working with HA would be a good one.

Moderator Edit: Corrected spelling mistake of necroed

This would be great! As an avid HA users, if this was added I would buy more Sonos speakers

I would like point out a few key issues with this thread that have been lost in the reeds.  Yes, this thread is about controlling HA automation through the Sonos ecosystem. However:

1. The root of what we are asking is to actually have control over the input which is captured by the integrated mic.  By this, I mean having an option to choose which service that voice information is handed to.  What the OP is actually asking is to have is the option to direct voice responses to HA for processing.  This would be made possible by an open API for third-party integrations.  Leave the coding to interpret voice responses to the TTS of the 3rd party API.  HA users can already use the Sonos integration to control what is played by the speaker.  This is about redirecting the voice responses only.
2. Your stats regarding voice response users is skewed and unfortunate.  I would imagine those stats would be significantly different if you chose to review which platform most users choose to run home automation...and something more than just turning on a couple of light bulbs by saying, “Hey Alexa!”
3. If given the opportunity to choose where their personal information might be sent for processing, I would bet 9/10 users would easily choose a local option whereby they know it is not being captured by untold 3rd-party affiliates.  Nevermind the problem of these large companies enabling their devices to listen and capture at all times, even if the user is unaware.  If you think this doesn’t happen, do a little light research.  There are lawsuits about it in many countries as I type this.
4. The reason Google and Alexa have such a high usage statistics is because for quite a while, they were the *only* TTS models.  There is now competition.  Sonos can’t be expected to adapt every new company out there whom decides to enter this space.  They *can* choose to offer an open API which allows 3rd party startups to develop alternatives and boost the Sonos revenue stream by becoming a market leader and the first to adopt this strategy.  They make good hardware.  Now continue to lead the market in a new dynamic.

The justification for financial benefit is anecdotal but not insignificant.  Sonos, could in truth, position themselves as the market leader in the delivery of AI or merely TTS integration by making a simple change to their strategy.  Offer an open API and let the consumer choose their method of voice interpretation. 

This *will* happen whether Sonos participates or not.  The number of small companies entering the TTS space is fun to watch.  The ability for consumers to design their own ESP32 chips to manage voice response systems at home is becoming easier.  Somebody will enter this space and provide an ecosystem to deliver the response “sounds.”  Sonos is in a position to do so easily and quickly.   

Why am I reminded of the days when a rash of “one and done” posters came on here to say Sonos must produce a Windows Mobile app or suffer imminent doom, when Windows Mobile never had more than 3.5% of the mobile device market?  

You do realize that just because a login might be new, doesn’t mean that a person is new to the forum.  This is just the first time there is an issue I felt moved to post upon. 

Your response is short-sighted.  You are failing to read the room.  TTS is just the first iteration of what is to come.  The door has barely opened for this scene.  I have little skin in this game.  I have a Sonos player integrated into my system to stream music and adopted it when Windows Media Center went defunct.

If Sonos doesn’t, someone else will.  I am happy to move on when that product arrives.  Likewise, I am happy with the products Sonos has created and would enjoy buying more of their products.  But I won’t...unless that product can do more for me than it already does.  Therein lies the rub.

Home automation as a whole, became less useful without a product like WMC in the past because it was not as much fun.  You are solely focused on HAS when, in fact, you should be looking at what the market is becoming holistically.  Now that “smart” products proliferate the market, and include entertainment devices as well as merely power modulation, interest is growing again.  

Again, the OP is only asking for a way to direct microphone input into an API which can be consumed by the TTS system of his choice.  He simply mentioned HAS.  It might also be a company who has yet to launch.  He wants Sonos to hear that there is a growing demand for securing what personal information we share and whom we share it with.  

He’s asking for the ecosystem to be opened because he *likes* his Sonos products and wants to buy more if they expand his system potential.  

I’m going to say exactly what I said to the Windows Mobile fans that came here to register because of a fan page or reddit page call to arms - Sonos will support Home Assistant when the market share makes it a positive ROI.  Nothing about ad hoc forum polls or discussions, future markets, possible expansion, predictions of what is to come, benefits to Sonos’ image, or even an effort for Sonos to “win back trust” is going to change that requirement (nor should it).  If you wish Sonos to support HA, then HA has to capture far more market share than it does now.  Period. 

I am not particularly sure what your position is...whether it’s to defend the status quo or to protect the monopoly two companies have had in this realm.

No matter, this is *not* about HAS.  It’s about open access to a consumers data input.  It’s also not about Sonos choosing HAS as an integration.  It’s about making a consumer’s voice input available to other consuming devices.  This can easily be done with little expenditure from Sonos using existing hardware architecture.

No one has moved me with a call-to-arms.  There is no grand conspiracy out there.  It’s about consumer demands.  This is a feature people want.  They are asking Sonos to give them control to choose the provider they want.

I returned to this forum, as a Sonos user for almost 10 years, because I wanted to know whether there were plans to capitalize on the growing desire to embrace the TTS movement more fully.  I was literally researching how to replace the last remaining Alexa devices now that HAS offers an alternative and had plans to make several speaker purchases--today.

Just because you find something to be perfect, does not mean you are in the majority, nor that it cannot be improved.  I don’t care about your thoughts on Windows Mobile.  TTS is non-proprietary.  Folks are asking for an open-source integration which many different developers can make use of.

I am neither protecting the status quo nor any monopoly.  Ironically though, you have hit upon the exact reason for my posts - “It’s about consumer demands”.  The consumer is not demanding this.  A few posters on this board are requesting this.  That is not consumer demand, or at least it’s not enough demand to move the needle.  And no amount of wordsmithing and heartfelt replies are going to help it move the needle.  Only market share moves the needle, and the current market share of Voice Assistants that aren’t from the Big 4 is under 1% (and currently Sonos only fully supports 1 of those that have the other 99%). 

That’s not protecting anything; monopolies, status quo, or anything else.  That’s just cold hard facts.  Would I love Sonos to support something which de-tethers me from companies where I am the product?  Of course I would, who wouldn’t?  Do I realistically think it is possible when those alternatives have a less than 1% market share?  I think you know the answer to that. 

To this, we might finally agree.  Any major company will make decisions based on market projection and potential revenue streams.  They are in the business of making money.

Few companies get into a business realm with the thought of making money today without plans for how to grow that revenue tomorrow.  We do not agree on the size of the demand we speak about today.  A simple scan of Google or Amazon...yes, the very driving forces behind this post...shows the multitude of smart devices out there.  Inherently, those devices need some form of ecosystem behind them to drive their IoT network.  

In the past, people have been happy to accept that *something* *anything* allowed them to do something in the kitchen and then continue in the back yard.  They didn’t care what they had to give up to do it.  Those consumers carried the bulk of the purchasing power.  Those consumers are now more interested in what is being done with their data.

This is why the OP made a feature request.  I support this request.  I simply don’t agree that the numbers are small, even if the bulk purchasing power fails to know how to verbalize their thoughts...but that is changing.

You sound exactly like the folks in the Windows Mobile thread.  It’s all bargaining and rationalization for something which hasn’t caught fire in the general public, and you know where that got them.  Then again, you also sound like the people in the “Please make an Android app” thread, including me.  A thread which eventually succeeded in convincing Sonos to develop an Android app.  Coincidently, that thread’s success was right around the time Android hit a 35% market share.  Make of that what you will.

https://www.theverge.com/news/719775/sonos-voice-control-smart-assistant-philips-hue

Three is an similar articles that hint at rumors that Sonos is looking at an integration that allows SVC to control Philips Hue smart devices.  No real details beyond that.  I’m not a fan  of Hue, don’t own anything from them, and I’m not really sure why they wouldn’t look at an integration that uses Matter to reach a wider audience.  Still it’s possible that whatever they are doing is a foundation to expand to other products.  We’ll see.

Could be an unfounded rumor, but most Sonos rumors are atleast partially true, from my experience.

Worth nothing though that the market for users with Hue lighting and Sonos is likely significantly larger than those with Sonos and HA, given the popularity of Hue.  I would guess those who would buy Sonos or Hue products due to this integration is probably true as well.

Danny, I think Hue uses matter. I’d have to double check, but I’m pretty sure my V2 Hue hub does support it. 
 

Edited to add link:

https://www.philips-hue.com/en-us/explore-hue/works-with/matter

The interest for IoT devices is growing significantly.  I feel there is no argument among us about that.  ​@jgatie Your scepticism about HA use may not be unfounded.  One thing is for sure, the application has persisted and continues to persist today.

The truth of the matter is, as consumers continue to integrate these devices into their homes their understanding of the hubs driving them will increase.  From 2010-2020 or so, the corporate response was to create proprietary hubs and apps to capture, collect and share that data for profit.  

Consumers are becoming more aware of the privacy implications which has driven more companies to limit sharing or make choices available to do so.  This was driven by laws in the EU and California for example.  The merit is not important.  What is, is consumer voices are changing.  

As mentioned, this may or may not sway a large company like Sonos.  Money will.  It is important to also voice a concern or request for change.  OP followed the correct process.  It should not matter whether they have one or 50000 messages on this board.  The request is still valid.  It's something I felt moved to support verbally after all these years of lurking.

Opening Sonos to OpenHome + Home Assistant voice would rebuild trust, add privacy, and let users enjoy true flexibility with already great-sounding hardware.

Also not about Home Assistant per sé, but Google Assistant is the only assistant that supports many languages. Since Sonos seems to have left/was left behind by Google, another asistant that works with a lot of languages would be useful to have. I do see a responsibility for Sonos to not leave the people now helped by Google behind.

For me it would be best if Sonos would repair their relations with Google/Google repair their realtions with Sonos. I would like GA to work better on Sonos and since Google is changing GA to Gemini see a dark future for GA on Sonos - that I enjoy using.

Yes, but the marketing page doesn’t give important details, such as whether the hue hub can control other Matter devices.  I get the impression that all that’s really happening is that your Hue devices can be controlled by a Matter controller.   That’s not very useful with SVC if you’re hoping to control non-Hue products.

HA is here to stay partly because it has no developers to pay, or anything a software company would have to be concerned about, and partly because it’s way too big for any other competing freeware version to rise up.  That’s not meant to be a knock on them, I’m just saying that the fact that they still exist doesn’t mean that it’s a large market of users to be captured.

I don’t think anyone is saying you can’t make the request.  What happens with a lot of these requests is people state that they are confident it would bring in a lot of new sales, etc, and everyone  else thinks like them, when the reality is that they do not speak for others.   is that a big deal?   Perhaps not, but I also think it’s helpful for the community to consider if the request is likely to happen or not.

That said, I am surprised that Sonos is even working with Hue.