Automation can be implemented through many Smart home systems. Examples would be:

Temperatures can be set/scheduled for the day, night, when your away or 30 minutes before you arrive home or when you walk in the door.

Lighting can be set/schedule in the same manner or when it senses movement and even a plane being broken (like a door opening).

Watering can be completely automated by having the system synch up with the local weather data, so no more watering when it rains or the day after it rains. 

Maybe I'd like to be notified when the mail arrives or when someone approaches my front door, or the garage opens, or there's a water leak. 

These are all daily items that can be automated.