As of 13 August 2026, AI can choose a smart thermostat.

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. Find the boiler, existing thermostat and programmer labels, then photograph or write down every make and model number without guessing missing characters.
   2. Open the manufacturer websites for the boiler and current controls, and save the relevant manuals or compatibility pages.
   3. Write down your heating zones, hot-water controls, home layout, Wi-Fi conditions, desired features, products under consideration and budget.
   4. Paste those details and the manual or compatibility-page text into a chatbot with the supplied prompt, asking it to separate confirmed facts from unknowns.
   5. Compare each AI compatibility claim against the manufacturer pages and manuals, removing any product that is not explicitly supported by your system.
   6. Ask a qualified heating or electrical installer to confirm the final model, wiring requirements and whether your existing controls need changing before you buy it.
   7. Buy only after the installer or manufacturer has confirmed compatibility, then arrange installation rather than attempting wiring yourself.

   Prompt

   Help me choose a smart thermostat for a UK home. Do not recommend a product until you have identified compatibility risks. Use only the information I provide and clearly mark anything that is unknown. Ask concise follow-up questions if essential information is missing.
   
   My details:
   - Heating system and boiler make and model: [insert details or say unknown]
   - Existing thermostat or programmer make and model: [insert details or say unknown]
   - Number of heating zones: [insert number or say unknown]
   - Hot water controlled by the same system: [yes, no or unknown]
   - Current control method: [insert details]
   - Home type and size: [insert details]
   - Important rooms or occupancy pattern: [insert details]
   - Broadband and Wi-Fi situation near the thermostat: [insert details]
   - Features wanted: [for example, app control, schedules, room sensors, geofencing, open-window detection]
   - Features not wanted: [insert details]
   - Budget: [insert amount or say unknown]
   - Products already being considered: [insert names or say none]
   
   Produce:
   1. A short list of the information that still needs confirming.
   2. A comparison table for the products that can be assessed from the information supplied, covering heating-system compatibility, hot-water and zoning support, installation requirements, app and schedule features, dependence on cloud services, and any important limitations.
   3. A provisional recommendation only if the compatibility evidence supports it. Otherwise say that no safe recommendation can yet be made.
   4. A checklist of the exact manufacturer pages, manuals, labels or installer questions I should use to verify the recommendation.
   5. A separate warning that choosing a product is not the same as installing it, and that I should not alter electrical or heating wiring myself.
   Do not invent prices, savings, compatibility, model specifications or installation requirements. Distinguish clearly between facts, assumptions and questions for a qualified installer.

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