As of 13 August 2026, AI can only partly choose a smart thermostat for your UK home.

What to actually do

1. Hand it to a person

   The route this page recommends

   A person who owns the outcome does this end to end, worth it when the failure is dear.

2. Use a tool built for this

   Second choice

3. Do it yourself

   The distant third

   A chat interface, chat-fluent skill, and roughly 30 minutes until you can act on the result.

   How to actually do it

   1. Open the boiler and current thermostat or programmer manuals, then record the exact model numbers and any stated wiring, receiver, zone and hot-water details.
   2. Take clear photographs of the labels and controls without exposing personal information, and note anything the manuals do not identify.
   3. Paste the prompt into a chatbot and replace each bracketed field with your recorded details, using unknown where you cannot confirm an item.
   4. Ask the chatbot to use current UK manufacturer pages if it has browsing, then save the source links for every product it recommends.
   5. Open each manufacturer product page and manual, and compare the claimed boiler, wiring, zone, hot-water and smart-home compatibility with your own records.
   6. Before buying, send the shortlisted model and your heating-system details to the manufacturer or a qualified heating engineer and get confirmation that it is suitable and can be installed safely.

   Prompt

   Help me choose a smart thermostat for my UK home. Do not recommend a product until you have identified compatibility risks and asked for any missing information.
   
   My details:
   - Boiler make and model: [insert or say unknown]
   - Heating system type, if known: [combi, system, regular, heat pump or unknown]
   - Current thermostat or programmer make and model: [insert or say none or unknown]
   - Number of heating zones: [insert]
   - Hot-water control needed: [yes, no or unknown]
   - Existing wiring or receiver details: [insert only what is printed on the equipment or manual]
   - Home size and occupancy pattern: [insert]
   - Smart-home platform: [Alexa, Google Home, Apple Home, none or other]
   - Features wanted: [insert]
   - Budget in pounds: [insert]
   - Installation preference: [DIY only, professional installation or either]
   
   Use current UK manufacturer sources or retailer pages if browsing is available. Separate confirmed facts from assumptions, quote the source link for every compatibility or feature claim, and do not invent specifications, prices, discounts or installation requirements. Produce a shortlist of up to three products in a table with model, confirmed compatibility, required accessories, smart-home integrations, important limitations, current price if confirmed, and source links. Explain which details I must confirm with the manufacturer or a qualified heating engineer before buying. Do not give electrical or heating installation instructions.

   Open it prefilled in ChatGPT or Claude, or copy it into Gemini, which takes no prefill link.