Published: April 14, 2023
Key takeaways
Reminders can make your skill more useful to your customers and increase the likelihood they’ll come back to your skill repeatedly over time ("Retention"). Learn how to help customers discover your skill’s reminders, and how your design should support managing and canceling them.
Need quick advice?
View the Checklist for designing skills with reminders.
In this article:
With a customer’s permission, Alexa can wake up and make an announcement to remind them to do a task. The customer may set a reminder themselves without using a skill, or your skill may offer to set, change, or cancel a reminder on their behalf. This pages covers how your skill can support the latter.
Unlike Alexa Routines, reminders do not launch a skill session into an action, but passively remind the customer to complete an action. Customers may either ask Alexa directly to set a reminder, or, they might ask your skill to set a reminder. You might also want to proactively ask customers if they’d like to set a reminder while they’re visiting your skill.
To learn more about how customers use Alexa reminders, read What are Alexa Reminders?
Checklist for designing a skill with reminders:
▢ Choose a reminder type (one-time or recurring) appropriate to the content of the reminder
▢ Proactively offer to set a reminder for the customer at contextually relevant times
▢ Obtain consent to set each reminder
▢ The customer should be able to use your skill to modify and cancel their reminders with their voice
▢ Clearly restate the time and nature of the reminder message before and after the customer sets it
▢ After the reminder is set, tell the customer how to cancel or modify it
▢ Tell the customer clearly when a reminder has not been set due to an error
▢ Don’t surface too many requests to set a reminder; implement a cooling-off period after a “no”
▢ Don’t include personal customer information in the reminder
Reminders offer another way for your skill to be helpful to customers, and another opportunity for customers to remember and return to your skill. Customers who make skills a part of their daily life through setting reminders engage with them more often and more deeply.
You can learn more about implementing reminders in your skill with the Alexa Reminders Overview.
Reminders should provide value to a customer, such as helping them create a daily meditation habit, making sure they don’t forget an appointment, or reminding them to pay a bill on time. Reminders aren’t for simply reminding the customer to continue using your skill for its own sake.
Your skill can create a one-time, or recurring reminder. You can set a recurring reminder on a weekly basis, or on specific days and times. For example:
Reminder, one-time:
Customer: Alexa, ask Sports Wire when the Seahawks play next.
Matthew: The next Seahawks game is at the San Francisco 49ers, tomorrow at 5 p.m. Would you like me to remind you a few minutes before kickoff?
Customer: Yes please!
Matthew: Ok. I’ll remind you about the Seahawks game tomorrow at 4:55 p.m. You can ask me to change or cancel a reminder any time.
<The next day at 4:55 pm>
Alexa (announces): Here's your reminder from SportsWire: Seahawks at 49ers kickoff at 5 pm. Here's your reminder from SportsWire: Seahawks at 49ers kickoff at 5 pm.
Reminder, recurring:
Alexa: … That wraps up your meditation for the day. It was a few days since your last meditation. Would you like me to set you a reminder to meditate daily at this time?
Customer: Yes please!
Alexa: Ok. I’ll remind you to meditate with My Meditations each day at 3 p.m. You can ask me to cancel or change your reminder any time.
<Each day at 3 pm>
Alexa (announces): Here's your reminder from My Meditations: It's time to meditate. Here's your reminder from My Meditations: It's time to meditate.
Specific time, or relative time?
Your skill can create a reminder that has an absolute time, which means it occurs at a specified time, or a reminder with a relative time, which means that it occurs a specified amount of time after another event.
A reminder with absolute time is most helpful for a time that is unlikely to change, and/or the customer can take immediate action on it.
Customer: Alexa, ask MyTickets when Taylor Swift tickets go on sale?
Alexa: Welcome back to MyTickets. Taylor Swift tour tickets go on sale, at 7 am on Tuesday, November 15th. Would you like me to set you a reminder to get tickets at that time?
Customer: Yes
Alexa: Ok. I’ll remind you that Taylor Swift tickets go on sale on Tuesday, November 15th at 7 am. You can ask me to cancel or change your reminder any time.
<Tuesday, November 15 , 7 am>
Alexa (announces): Here's your reminder from MyTickets: Get Taylor Swift tickets. Here's your reminder from MyTickets: Get Taylor Swift tickets.
A reminder with relative time would be helpful for a time that could be subject to change, and/or may involve a commute or other delay in action for the customer.
Customer: Alexa, open My Flight Finder.
Alexa: Welcome back to My Flight Finder. Where's your flight going?
Customer: When does the Alaska flight from Vegas land in Seattle?
Alexa: Hmm, I found a few flights from Las Vegas to Seattle arriving today, including 11 am, 1:30 pm, 4:30 pm, and three more. What would you like?
Customer: It’s the 11 am one I think.
Alexa: Alaska flight 9-8-2, from Las Vegas to Seattle, is on time. It arrives at 11 am, at gate 3C. Want me to remind you an hour before it lands?
Customer: Yes please
Alexa: Ok. I’ll remind you an hour before the flight arrives. You can ask me to cancel or change your reminder any time.
<10 am>
Alexa (announces): Here's your reminder from My Flight Finder: Your flight from Las Vegas arrives in one hour. Here's your reminder from My Flight Finder: Your flight from Las Vegas arrives in one hour.
You may even want to offer multiple opportunities for a customer to set a reminder, if it would be helpful for them to do so. Some examples might include…
- A skill could offer a reminder to book fitness classes for the week, and a reminder before any booked classes start.
- A skill could offer a reminder that a customer’s favorite TV show is on every weekday at 5 pm, and every Friday at 8 pm.
- A skill could offer a reminder to meditate twice a day, once in the morning, and once in the evening.
You won’t be able to customize the speech Alexa reads as the reminder, so you’ll need to label your reminder in a way that fits with the existing schema for Alexa’s response:
In the reminder: “Here's your reminder from MyCapital: Pay credit card bill due today,” the text “Pay credit card bill due today” is the label your will create for your reminder.
Be brief, and lead with the most important information first (learn more about the design principle Be Brief). Alexa reads out the reminder, but they may be cut off on small device screens. (Only about 25 characters appear per reminder on Echo Spot, including spaces).
Do:
Alexa (announces): Here’s your reminder from Plant Pal: Your plants are due for a watering. Here’s your reminder from Plant Pal: Your plants are due for a watering.
Don't:
Alexa (announces): Here’s your reminder from Plant Pal. It’s time to check on your plants with My Plant Pal. Your plants are due for a watering. Here’s your reminder from Plant Pal. It’s time to check on your plants with My Plant Pal. Your plants are due for a watering.
Be trustworthy, and omit private or protected information. Many of your customers use their Alexa devices in a communal space, and Alexa reads notifications out loud no matter who’s listening. Don’t include personal or sensitive information in your reminder. (Learn more about the design principle Be Trustworthy).
Do:
Alexa (announces): Here’s your reminder from My Capital: Pay credit card bill. Here’s your reminder from My Capital: Pay credit card bill.
Don't:
Alexa (announces): Here’s your reminder from My Capital: Pay overdue balance of $596.17 by October 13 to avoid late fees. Here’s your reminder from My Capital: Pay overdue balance of $596.17 by October 13 to avoid late fees.
Avoid unsolicited messaging, or messages that could be perceived by customers as unsolicited.
Do:
Alexa (announces): Here’s your reminder from Sports Wire: Seahawks at 49ers kickoff at 5 pm. Here’s your reminder from Sports Wire: Seahawks at 49ers kickoff at 5 pm.
Don't:
Alexa (announces): Here’s your reminder from Sports Wire: Seahawks at 49ers kickoff at 5 pm. Open Sports Wire for access to pre-game radio. Here’s your reminder from Sports Wire: Seahawks at 49ers kickoff at 5 pm. Open Sports Wire for access to pre-game radio.
Don’t include the skill name in your reminder to avoid excessive repetition. (Alexa repeats the reminder twice.)
Do:
Alexa (announces): Here’s your reminder from My Meditations: Play the morning meditation. Here’s your reminder from My Meditations: Play the morning meditation.
Don't:
Alexa (announces): Here’s your reminder from My Meditations: Use My Meditations to play the morning meditation. Here’s your reminder from My Meditations: Use My Meditations to play the morning meditation.
Refer to the customer as "you" and "your," rather than "my."
Do:
Alexa (announces): Here’s your reminder from Plant Pal: Your plants are due for a watering. Here’s your reminder from Plant Pal: Your plants are due for a watering.
Don't:
Alexa (announces): Here’s your reminder from Plant Pal: Water my plants. Here’s your reminder from Plant Pal: Water my plants.
You can learn more about labeling your reminder with Reminder Label Guidelines in the Alexa Reminders Guidelines for Usage.
Customers can use your skill to set, modify, edit, and delete only the reminders that the skill itself has created. In order to do this, you’ll first need to obtain informed consent to do so. The customer will need to grant your skill a one-time permission to access their reminders, and for each reminder thereafter, your skill will need the customer to confirm each instance of a new, changed, or canceled reminder.
Learn more about implementing permissions for reminders with Voice Permissions for Reminders.
The first time the customer uses your skill to set a reminder…
Customer: Alexa, ask Sports Wire what the score of the game was yesterday
Matthew: The Seattle Seahawks were defeated 41-23 in yesterday’s Wild Card Round of the playoffs against the Los Angeles Rams. There aren’t any more games this season. The 2023 season begins September 7. Want me to remind you at 5 pm?
Customer: Yes
Alexa (Amazon): Do you give Sports Wire permission to update your reminders? You can say I approve or no.
Customer: I approve.
Matthew: Ok. I’ll remind you about the start of the new football season on September 7 at 5 pm. You can ask me to change or cancel a reminder any time.
<September 7, 5 pm>
Alexa (announces): Here's your reminder from SportsWire: New football season starts today. Here's your reminder from SportsWire: New football season starts today.
When your skill offers any additional reminders afterward, it sounds like the following:
Customer: Alexa, ask Sports Wire what the score of the game was yesterday?
Matthew: The Seattle Seahawks defeated the Los Angeles Rams, 19-16, in the second game of the season. Want to hear more stats?
Customer: When do the Seahawks play next?
Matthew: The next Seahawks game is at the Green Bay Packers next Sunday, September 27, at 11 am. Would you like me to remind you a few minutes before kickoff?
Customer: Yes.
Matthew: Ok. I’ll remind you about the Seahawks game next Sunday, September 27, at 11 am. You can ask me to change or cancel a reminder any time.
<the next day at 4:55 pm>
Alexa (announces): Here's your reminder from SportsWire: Seahawks at 49ers kickoff at 5 pm. Here's your reminder from SportsWire: Seahawks at 49ers kickoff at 5 pm.
Clearly state the time, cadence, and nature of the reminder message that you’re offering to set.
Don’t be vague:
Customer: Alexa, open My Capital.
Alexa: Welcome back to My Capital. Thanks for your recent payment. You don’t have any balance due. Want to check your credit score?
Customer: Remind me to pay my bill
Alexa: I can remind you to pay your bill every month. Want me to set it now?
Customer: Yes
Alexa: Ok. I’ll remind you to pay your bill every month. Want to check your credit score?
On what day would you expect Alexa to set the above reminder? When do you think she’ll announce it? How would the customer know? State the time, day, and purpose of the reminder both when your skill offers it, and when your skill confirms it’s been set successfully.
Do be clear:
Customer: Alexa, open My Capital.
Alexa: Welcome back to My Capital. Thanks for your recent payment. You don’t have any balance due. Want to check your credit score?
Customer: Remind me to pay my bill
Alexa: I can remind you to pay your bill at 10 am on the first of every month. Want me to set it now?
Customer: Yes
Alexa: Ok. I’ll remind you to pay your bill at 10 am on the first of every month. You can ask me to cancel or change your reminder any time. Want to check your credit score?
Your skill should also proactively surface an offer for the reminder, asking explicitly to set a reminder with a yes/no question, as the examples above have. Don’t rely on passive messaging, as customers are much less likely to act.
Don't:
Customer: Alexa, open Plant Pal.
Brian: Welcome back to Plant Pal. Your plants shouldn’t need water today, but it doesn’t hurt to check. Are you ready to start checking your plants now?
Customer: No thanks.
Brian: No problem. By the way, you can ask Plant Pal to set reminders to check your plants any time. Have a great day!
<Skill session ends>
Your skill should also respond to a direct request from the customer for a reminder. If they ask to “set a reminder,” they may or may not include all the information you’ll need in that request, so your skill will need to follow up.
When the customer includes all the necessary information…
Customer: Alexa, open Seattle Super Trivia
<Time: 3 p.m.>
Alexa: Welcome back to Seattle Super Trivia. You already played today’s game with a perfect score of 5 out of 5, earning yourself a sudden-death bonus round. Way to go. Are you ready to start it?
Customer: Remind me to play it in two hours.
Alexa: Ok. I’ll remind you to play your bonus trivia round today at 5 pm. Want to replay today’s game?
Customer: No thanks.
Alexa: Ok. Have a great day.
<Skill session ends>
When the customer omits some of the necessary information, your skill could offer a time that makes contextual sense for the customer…
Customer: Alexa, open Seattle Super Trivia
<Time: 3 p.m.>
Alexa: Welcome back to Seattle Super Trivia. You already played today’s game with a perfect score of 5 out of 5, earning yourself a sudden-death bonus round. Way to go. Are you ready to start it?
Customer: Remind me to play it later
Alexa: Ok. I can remind you to play your trivia round at 5 pm [current time + 2 hours]. Want to set it now?
Customer: Yes.
Alexa: Ok. I’ll remind you to play your bonus trivia round today at 5 pm. Want to replay today’s game?
Your skill will also need to tell the customer when the skill fails to set a reminder due to an error:
Customer: Alexa, open My Flight Finder.
Alexa: Welcome back to My Flight Finder. Where are you going?
Customer: When does the Alaska flight from Vegas land in Seattle?
Alexa: Alaska flight 9-8-2, from Las Vegas to Seattle, is on time. It arrives at 11 am, at gate 3C. Want me to remind you an hour before it lands?
Customer: Yes please
Alexa: Sorry, I’m having trouble setting a reminder right now. You can check your flight later to try again. Want to track another flight?
To learn more about designing your skill to handle errors, read Natural Speech: Handling Errors Gracefully.
If a customer has declined to set a reminder or grant permissions for your skill to set a reminder, inform them they can set a reminder later.
If it is the first time your skill has asked to set a reminder…
Customer: Alexa, open My Flight Finder.
Alexa: Welcome back to My Flight Finder. Where are you going?
Customer: When does the Alaska flight from Vegas land in Seattle?
Alexa: Alaska flight 9-8-2, from Las Vegas to Seattle, is on time. It arrives at 11 am, at gate 3C. Want me to remind you an hour before it lands?
Customer: Yes
Alexa (Amazon): Do you give My Flight Finder permission to update your reminders? You can say I approve or no.
Customer: No.
Alexa: Ok. I won’t remind you about your flight. Want to check another flight?
If it’s not the first time your skill has asked to set a reminder…
Customer: Alexa, open My Flight Finder.
Alexa: Welcome back to My Flight Finder. Where are you going?
Customer: When does the Alaska flight from Vegas land in Seattle?
Alexa: Alaska flight 9-8-2, from Las Vegas to Seattle, is on time. It arrives at 11 am, at gate 3C. Want me to remind you an hour before it lands?
Customer: No thank you.
Alexa: No problem. I won’t remind you about your flight. Want to check another?
Don’t pester the customer or ask again too often. Consider some guardrails such as…
- If the customer declined your skill’s offer, do not surface another offer that day, and consider waiting a few to several days before offering again.
- Cap the total number of times a customer might hear an offer, or set a cooling-off period of a certain time (a few days or a certain number of sessions, for example) after reaching a certain total “no” count.
- If your skill offers multiple kinds of reminders, consider the total number of such messages a customer could receive when setting those guardrails.
Customers will need to be able to make changes to and cancel a reminder using your skill. During their skill session, they might say phrases such as “cancel my reminder,” “change my morning meditation reminder to 11 am,” and more.
In the case of multiple reminders, a customer may want to request, hear about, or manage any one those reminders, so you’ll need to support navigating a list of those reminders. That might sound something like the following…
Customer: Alexa, ask Plant Pal to cancel my reminders
Brian: You have a few Plant Pal reminders. The first is Cactus Watering, each month on the first at 9 am, and 6 more. Want to cancel it?
Customer: No
Brian: The next reminder is Alocasia Watering, each Monday at 10 am. Do you want to cancel it?
Customer: Yes that one
Brian: Ok. I’ve canceled your reminder for Alocasia Watering. Do you want to cancel another reminder?
Customer: Cancel all my reminders
Brian: You have 7 reminders set. Are you sure you want to cancel them all?
Customer: Yes.
Brian: Ok. I’ve canceled all your Plant Pal reminders. Would you like to check your plants?
Customer: No, I’m done.
Brian: No problem. Have a plant-tastic day.