Installers wanting to promote the entire smart home ecosystem to their clients will want to know about this. That’s because Roomba has officially rolled out an update to its smart vacuum cleaners and it brings with it Alexa voice control.

Alexa is already capable of controlling a whole host of smart home devices, but those who use robotic vacuum cleaners will likely be pleased by the added functionality. Roomba is the world’s largest manufacturer of robot vacuums, but it’s been slow to catch on to the voice control craze. Both Samsung and Neato already offer such functionality.

Despite this, owners of the Roomba 960 or Roomba 980 will soon be able to bark commands at their vacuums using their voice. Voice commands that Alexa will recognise include start, stop and pause; although users will need to use the familiar ‘Alexa, ask Roomba to start cleaning’ phrase to get those functions to work.

The Alexa skill won’t launch until later this year, and there’s no confirmation as to whether UK Roomba owners will get the skill. Those in the UK looking for a robot vacuum that already works with Alexa aren’t left in the cold, however, as Neato’s electronic cleaners already support that functionality.