I would like to use voice commands to trigger pistons, but don’t really know which to choose and what they can do. I also would like to “speak notifications” to either. At this time, which works well with webCoRE… Echo Dot or Google Home Mini?
EDIT: Could the forum admin please move this to the correct discussion? I accidentally post this to this NON EC RELATED area. 
Ok, this is going to be one of those “it depends” answers. I have worked with both Echo and GoogleHome, and for me the choice was Amazon for one simple reason.
I run my own domains, and use Google’s GSuite to manage my family’s email, calendars, etc with their paid service (so I have my own family domain e.g.: foo.com for email instead of gmail.com) and Google Home at the time (and IIRC still the same) cannot see the GSuite accounts. I needed the voice command device for both SmartThings integration (Wife Acceptance Factor) and for other “voice assistant” needs such as calendar reminders, etc.
As Google could not support their own paid email/calendar solution, I went with Amazon for the house (I still have a google home @ my office for non-home related bits).
I have 2 Echo Shows, 3 Dots and a Dash Wand - all work (almost) flawlessly with SmartThings, and therefore WebCore - with a few kinks here and there. (delays, outages, echo having trouble with my accent - a mix of NYC and Brit/Irish etc).
There is a SmartApp for SmartThings Echosistant which is being updated to make the install process easier … rumor has it in beta later this month … which I will be using to extend the Echo/ST intergration.
Ultimately - as I said earlier - it depends … neither is perfect, and both pass the 80/20 rule … but for me the GSuite integration was mandatory, so it tilted the scale to Amazon.
Eitherway, you will find they pretty much work as expected - except when they dont 
What about sending “voice notifications” via a piston to either, like “The garage door has been left open too long” kind of thing. I think I heard that you can’t do this with Google Home, but you can with Echo. Unless I’m wrong?
I also need a “wife… and daughter… acceptance factor” too so it’s easy for them to use without having to use a tablet, etc. to turn on some lights.
Personally the Echo Dot looks sexier, but the Google Home Mini has a better speaker.
Unless I am mistaken echos will not accept notifications like that. It will only act on you verbally telling it too.
I THINK LANnouncer can act as a bridge between ST and Echo for custom announcements. I played with it once, more than a year ago. On the ST forum, look up LANnouncer. It was complicated, but I seem to recall it worked and allow for tts custom announcements.
I’ll check it out. I’ve tied LANouncer with a tablet, but don’t want to run two systems lke that (it would be annoying). If it’ll work with ECHO, that would be great.
There’s a great app for Google devices (Home, Home Mini, Chromecast) that I am currently using to get voice notifications through Google Home Minis. It does mean you have to have a service set up but I used a Raspberry Pi Zero W that I already had set up for my dash buttons and it worked great. I’m also able to send commands from the Google Assistant, through IFTTT to WebCore with number values for things I want to happen (i.e. Turn that off for 60 minutes). I have a Chromecast on every TV, so Google Home was a no-brainer for me.
Definitely. The functionality in Cast-web alone tips the balance in favor of the Google Home set of products. Setting up audio groups allows you to send voice notifications to any combination of speakers so things like Laundry Done announcements don’t get sent to the Chromecast audio in my kids’ room after bedtime. Super flexible.