Concept · gauging interest

A home assistant for the whole household

Your family's assistant lives in your home.

Norman is a small box you plug in next to your router. It keeps the pantry, the meal plan, the school week and the household budget in one place, and the whole family can ask it things.

I'd want one How setup works

Not for sale yet. Tell us if you'd use it.

NORMAN
Morning briefing · by emailTue 7:00

Good morning, Sam

  • Soccer practice moved to 5:30. Pack the shin guards.
  • Tonight: tacos. You're out of tortillas, so they're on the list.
  • The furnace filter is due this week.
Ava asked for granola bars ×2

Setup

Set up like a smart speaker. No technical skills needed.

If you've set up an Alexa or a Google Nest, you already know how this goes.

1

Plug it in

Connect Norman to power and your router. The light turns amber when it's ready.

about 2 min
2

Sign in with Google

Scan the code on the box with your phone and sign in. You become the household's admin.

about 3 min
3

Add your family

Type in everyone's email address. They sign in with their own Google account, and nobody else can.

about 5 min

About 10 minutes from box to first question. Updates install on their own.

What it handles

The jobs that keep a household running

Each part is something you can ask about in plain words, from a browser or by replying to an email.

Kitchen

Everyone

"What can we make with what's in the fridge?"

  • Pantry, fridge and freezer stock
  • A weekly meal plan that uses what you have
  • Everyone rates dinners, so the plan learns

Shopping

Admin confirms

"Order what we need for this week."

  • Fills your Instacart cart from the shopping list
  • Last-minute orders from Gopuff, like lunch or snacks
  • Nothing is bought until you confirm, with spending limits

School

Everyone

"What homework is due tomorrow?"

  • Class schedules and homework lists
  • A morning briefing for each person, by email
  • Reads your Google Calendar

Money

Admin only

"How are my investments doing today?"

  • Portfolio, net worth and cash runway
  • Monthly bills and yearly costs like taxes and vacations
  • Numbers are calculated exactly, never estimated

Home

Everyone

"How do I reset the dishwasher?"

  • Reminders for filters, gutters and servicing
  • Answers from your appliance manuals
  • A shared memory of family preferences and allergies

Everyday questions

Admin decides

"When does the pharmacy close?"

  • Web search, which you can turn on or off for others
  • Your email and calendar, read-only
  • Switch to another AI model for any chat

For everyone at home

One admin. Everyone else gets what they need.

The admin decides who can sign in and what each person can use. Everyone else gets the everyday parts and never sees the money side.

  • Requests, not surprises. When someone adds snacks or swaps a meal, it waits for the admin to approve it.
  • Everyone signs in as themselves. Answers fit the person asking, and nobody sees anyone else's chats.
  • Use it however suits you. Most people use the browser or reply to Norman's emails.
Browser, on any device Email replies Telegram admin

Privacy

Your household's records stay in your house.

Inventory, budgets, schedules and family details are stored on the box, not on our servers.

  • Plain about the AI. To answer questions, Norman sends your question to a cloud AI model, chosen from providers that don't keep it. You can switch any chat to a model that runs on your own hardware.
  • Away-from-home access is your call. One switch decides whether family members can reach Norman outside the house.
  • Look, don't touch. Norman can read your email and calendar but can't send, delete or change anything in them.