Brisk It's Zelos-450 boasts gimmicky generative AI. However, it's a stellar piece of hardware, especially at this price.

Grills don't need AI, but you might need an AI grill. When it debuted at CES early this year, the Brisk It Zelos-450 was advertised as being "the first grill with generative AI." That AI comes in the form of "Vera," an in-app feature that “creates customized recipes based on your input" and then sets the grill's temperature to cook them.

The tech press enthusiastically reported on the device early this year. I was less optimistic, which is why it took me the better part of the year to finally free the grill from its disintegrating cardboard box—something I finally did last week. AI is notoriously bad at recipes (unless you're a glue pizza aficionado), and who needs a recipe for a burger or steak? Since the grill can't physically stop the cook and pull your meat off ...