Digitalisation facilitated by algorithms and automation holds significant potential for reducing energy consumption, enhancing efficiencies and fostering sustainable energy systems. While various daily life activities have seamlessly integrated automation, such as bill payments and streaming recommended entertainment, those with substantial energy impacts, like home energy management, face challenges in gaining end-user acceptance. This empirical research addresses the gap of understanding factors influencing automation acceptance in different daily life activities and the possible impacts on acceptance this may have for other activities. Utilising a mixed methods experimental research design within a UK household living lab, we conducted two one-month trials, automating the planning and execution of distinct daily activities (grocery shopping and floor cleaning). Our findings reveal three key insights: 1) acceptance of automation varies across different phases of an activity, with planning aspects predominantly overridden and controlled by users; 2) when expectations, especially concerning the automation’s usefulness during activity execution, were exceeded, participants reported strong positive feedback mechanisms; 3) automation acceptance occurred more frequently for the execution of mundane tasks involving household management. Whilst it is the automation of ‘planning’ which enables nudging of activity execution towards lower carbon outcomes, our findings highlight the challenges faced for increasing acceptance and adoption of such automation.