LG’s AI will tell you off if you abuse your washing machine

Back at CES, LG introduced the concept of Proactive Customer Care: artificial intelligence that will spot problems in appliances before they occur, and guide owners through steps to avert problems. Now the company has announced that this will be rolled out in Europe this year.

The idea certainly sounds helpful on paper, though calling it AI might be a bit of a stretch. Users simply register their smart appliances with LG, and will then get emails as and when problems are detected. The company will be able to rush repair visits and provide tips on how to keep devices humming along nicely.

One example the company gives is of a bottom-freezer. Proactive Customer Care will keep an eye on the temperature and immediately ping an email over if it spots a temperature exceeding 3°C. “The service looks for issues that could potentially cause increases in energy usage and water consumption and provides corrective guidance to improve efficiency and save the money,” the company writes.

“LG Proactive Customer Care is a new paradigm in customer service, one that ensures greater value and peace of mind for owners of our smart home appliances,” said LG’s president for Home Appliances and Air Solutions, Song Dae-hyun. “We will continue to develop innovative smart home solutions for the European market and deliver new ways to enhance convenience for LG appliance owners.”

While the idea of a needy fridge sending constant notifications might make the skeleton of a passable comic “Black Mirror” episode, nobody wants unexpected repair bills. If LG’s system really makes appliances more reliable with timely interventions, it may just be a feature that pays for itself in time.

It’ll be coming to the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain this year, with more European countries and the USA to follow in 2020.