Published: April 14, 2023
Key takeaways
Routines are shortcuts for customers to perform multiple actions with Alexa. They can be activated at a specific time, by voice, and smart home devices. Your skill can create a routine for your customer that launches to a Custom Task.
Learn how to use proactive prompts to help customers set a routine, and how your design should support a customer who wants to manage or cancel one.
Need quick advice?
View the Checklist for designing skills with routines.
In this article:
Routines are shortcuts for Alexa, saving customers time by grouping actions so they don’t have to ask Alexa to perform each one individually. There are several ways a customer can activate a routine: with their voice, at a certain time of day, with a smart home device, and more.
Learn more about how customers create, manage, and use routines with the Official Guide to Alexa Routines.
You can create a routine on behalf of your customer that, when activated, will launch your skill to start a custom task. Routines make skills that customers enjoy easier to use regularly – they don’t have to remember and use the skill’s invocation name. They can also be tied to actions a customer performs frequently (such as beginning an action after the customer asks for the weather in the morning). Here’s an example of a simple routine in a hypothetical trivia skill, in which the customer has returned to the skill for at least two days in a row to play trivia, around 10 am:
<Time: Wednesday, February 1 at 10 am.>
Customer: Alexa, open Plant Pal.
Brian: Welcome back to Plant Pal Lauren. Your plants shouldn’t be due for water for another 27 days, but it doesn’t hurt to check. Are you r-eady to start checking your plants?
Customer: No thanks.
Brian: No problem. You can come back and check on your plants any time.
Alexa (Amazon): Oh! Here's an idea. I can create a routine to automatically start checking your plants at 10 am on the first each month. Would you like me to enable this routine?
Customer: Sure.
Alexa (Amazon): Ok. I created a routine for you. You can make changes to it, and create new routines, in the Alexa app.
Brian: Thanks for being a plant pal. Happy gardening.
<skill session ends>
Note that some of the lines of sample dialog included throughout this article are labeled “(Amazon)”. Your skill will initiate a skill connection, in which it passes control to Alexa (Amazon). Amazon collects permission to enable the routine, then creates the routine for the customer before handing them back to your skill.
Checklist for designing a skill routine:
▢ Select an action/s that the customer would perform frequently and/or regularly
▢ Check that your routine contains one trigger; The routine trigger should be appropriate for the routine you’re offering
▢ Check that your skill has updated content at a cadence that supports the frequency of the routine
▢ Check that your skill’s messaging doesn’t duplicate information Amazon will surface to the customer
▢ Proactively inform the customer of the routines at an optimal time
▢ Don’t block the customer from completing a task / fulfilling their request before proactively offering a routine
▢ Don’t offer routines that aren’t related to what the customer is doing
▢ Don’t include unsolicited content in your routine, such as starting the interaction with an upsell or advertisement
▢ If they ask, tell the customer how they can change or cancel the routine
Depending on the core functions of your skill, you might want to offer a routine to suit a customer need (or even multiple kinds of routines). Your routine can contain up to two actions, one of which your skill can perform. When the routine contains two actions, Amazon Alexa will perform the first action, and your skill will perform the second.
A single-action routine might include launching the skill and playing fresh content in a daily trivia game each weekday at a certain time (see example above), while a two-action routine might include playing the customer’s Flash Briefing each at 10 am before launching a skill and playing a daily fact.
Your skill’s action should make it easier for a customer to complete a task they would do frequently with your skill. It should not be an uncommon or infrequently used action. You’ll also want to make sure the amount of content in your skill is enough for the cadence of the reminder. It would be frustrating if the trivia skill in the above example doesn’t have fresh trivia available daily, yet the routine will launch the skill each weekday.
You must choose one trigger for your routine, which could be the time of day, or something the customer will say.
Time-trigger routines
Use time-trigger routines when the time the customer will want to perform the action is predictable and/or consistent over time. You might also choose it because it is convenient for the customer to perform the action at the same time every day, or your skill aims to help them build a daily habit of taking the action. (See the example in the first section of this page.)
Do: Offer a relevant time and logical cadence for the routine.
<Time: Wednesday, February 1 at 10 am.>
Customer: Alexa, open MyCapital
Alexa: Welcome back to MyCapital. Thanks for your payment for February. You can check your balance, or check your credit score. Which would you like?
Customer: Check my balance.
Alexa: What’s your security code?
Customer: 1-2-3-4
Alexa: Great. Your balance is $671.85, with a minimum payment of $25.04, due March 1. Want to check your credit score?
Customer: No thanks.
Alexa (Amazon): Oh! Here's an idea. I can create a routine to automatically check your balance on the first of each month at 10 am. Would you like me to enable this routine?
Customer: Yes please
Alexa (Amazon): Ok. I created a routine for you. You can make changes to it, and create new routines, in the Alexa app.
Alexa: Thanks for checking your balance. Goodbye.
<Skill session ends>
Don't: Offer a random time or illogical cadence for the routine.
<Time: Wednesday, February 1 at 10 am.>
Customer: Alexa, open MyCapital.
Alexa: Welcome back to MyCapital. Thanks for your payment for February. You can check your balance, or check your credit score. Which would you like?
Customer: Check my balance.
Alexa: What’s your security code?
Customer: 1-2-3-4.
Alexa: Great. Your balance is $671.85, with a minimum payment of $25.04, due March 1. Want to check your credit score?
Customer: No thanks.
Alexa (Amazon): Oh! Here's an idea. I can create a routine to automatically check your balance each weekday at 5 pm. Would you like me to enable this routine?
Customer: No!
Alexa (Amazon): Ok. I won't create a routine for you.
Alexa: Thanks for checking your balance. Goodbye.
<Skill session ends>
Voice-trigger routines
Use a voice-triggered routine when the time the customer will want to perform the action is unpredictable and/or not consistent over time, or the customer might want to perform the routine at irregular intervals (such as tracking a flight, or checking a balance).
Do: Offer a voice trigger that sounds natural and is relevant to the subject matter of the routine.
Customer: Alexa, open My Cactus.
Alexa: Welcome back to MyCactus. Prickly Pete is doing just fine, and doesn’t need anything right now.
Brian (Cactus speaking): All good thanks.
Alexa: Keep them happy like this, and they just might surprise you. Want to hear a cactus joke?
Customer: No thanks.
Brian: That’s OK. It wasn’t very sharp anyway.
<audio src="soundbank://soundlibrary/musical/amzn_sfx_drum_comedy_02"/>
Alexa (Amazon): Oh! Here's an idea. I can create a routine to begin your daily activity from MyCactus when you say “check my cactus.” Would you like that?
Customer: Yes please.
Alexa (Amazon): Ok. I created a routine for you. You can make changes to it, and create new routines, in the Alexa app.
Alexa (Cactus speaking): Thanks for being such a diligent gardener. I’m sure I’ll do something interesting someday. Have a good day.
<Skill session ends>
Don't: Use a voice trigger that is a common Alexa task, or isn’t relevant to the routine.
Customer: Alexa, open My Cactus.
Alexa: Welcome back to MyCactus. Prickly Pete is doing just fine, and doesn’t need anything right now.
Brian (Cactus speaking): All good thanks.
Alexa: Keep them happy like this, and they just might surprise you. Want to hear a cactus joke?
Customer: No thanks.
Brian: That’s OK. It wasn’t very sharp anyway.
<audio src="soundbank://soundlibrary/musical/amzn_sfx_drum_comedy_02"/>
Alexa (Amazon): Oh! Here's an idea. I can create a routine to begin your daily activity from MyCactus when you say “what's the weather.” Would you like that?“
Customer: No.
Alexa (Amazon): Ok. I won't create a routine for you.
Alexa: You can ask MyCactus to set a routine any time.
Alexa (Cactus speaking): In the meantime, we'll just hope you don't forget about me. Have a good day.
<Skill session ends>
The best way to get your customer to take action and set a routine with your skill is to ask them directly. You will need to select an ideal time to offer the routine, but you cannot control the TTS for the routine (see “Make a smooth handoff” below for more information about the TTS you will control).
A good time to offer a routine might include …
- after a customer finishes a task
- after the customer has taken an action related to the content of the routine
Do:
Customer: Open Breakfast Buddy.
Alexa: Good Morning from Breakfast Buddy. Would you like to re-order your usual large black coffee and old fashioned donut for pickup at 1-5-0-0 Diner Way?
Customer: Yep I do.
Alexa: Added. Anything else?
Customer: No that’s all.
Alexa: You got it. Your order, with one large black coffee and one old fashioned doughnut, comes to $5.55 with tax. Want to add a tip?
Customer: Add a dollar please.
Alexa: Got it. That’s $6.55 with tax and tip, using the card I have on your Breakfast Buddy account. Ready to place your order?
Customer: Yes.
Alexa: You got it. I’ve placed your order for pickup at the Breakfast Buddy at 1-5-0-0 Diner Way. It should be ready in about 10 minutes.
Alexa (Amazon): Oh! Here's an idea. I can create a routine to automatically start an order with Breakfast Buddy when you say “I'm ready for breakfast.” Would you like that?
Customer: Yes please.
Alexa (Amazon): Ok. I created a routine for you. You can make changes to it, and create new routines, in the Alexa app.
Alexa: Thanks for ordering with Breakfast Buddy. Enjoy.
A bad time to offer a routine might include …
- as soon as the customer launches the skill
- before the customer has finished a task they’ve started, or before the skill answers a question they asked
- offering content or an action unrelated to what the customer was doing
- when the customer has recently declined to set a routine
Do:
Customer: Open Breakfast Buddy.
Alexa: Good Morning from Breakfast Buddy. Would you like to re-order your usual large black coffee and old fashioned donut for pickup at 1-5-0-0 Diner Way?
Customer: Yep I do.
Alexa: Added. Anything else?
Customer: No that’s all.
Alexa (Amazon): Oh! Here's an idea. I can create a routine to automatically start an order with Breakfast Buddy when you say “I'm ready for breakfast.” Would you like that?
Customer: What? No.
Alexa (Amazon): Ok. I won't create a routine for you.
Alexa: You got it. Your order, with one large black coffee and one old fashioned doughnut, comes to $5.55 with tax. Want to add a tip?
Customer: Add a dollar please.
Alexa: Got it. That’s $6.55 with tax and tip, using the card I have on your Breakfast Buddy account. Ready to place your order?
Customer: Yes.
Alexa: You got it. I’ve placed your order for pickup at the Breakfast Buddy at 1-5-0-0 Diner Way. It should be ready in about 10 minutes.
Alexa (Amazon): Oh! Here's an idea. I can create a routine to automatically start an order with Breakfast Buddy when you say “I'm ready for breakfast.” Would you like that?
Customer: I said no!
Alexa (Amazon): Ok. I won't create a routine for you.
Alexa: You can ask Breakfast Buddy to create a routine any time. Thanks for ordering. Enjoy.
A bad time to offer a routine might include …
- as soon as the customer launches the skill
- before the customer has finished a task they’ve started, or before the skill answers a question they asked
- offering content or an action unrelated to what the customer was doing
- when the customer has recently declined to set a routine
Your skill will need to hand off to Skill Connections for the customer to give Alexa permission to set the routine. Skill Connections will return the customer to your skill after they set (or fail to set) the routine. Amazon will handle some of this dialog, and your skill will handle the rest.
Below is a breakdown of the speaking parts in the first example on this page. Your skill will handle the dialog marked “skill”; Amazon Alexa will handle the dialog marked “Amazon.”
Skill: Ok. Last question of the day. This one is for a perfect score. How tall is the Seattle Space Needle? Is it A. 605 feet tall. B. 812 feet tall. Or is it C. 530 feet tall?
Customer: I think it's 605.
Skill: That’s right! The Space needle is A. 605 feet tall. It opened in 1962 and took 400 days to build. You nailed it today with a perfect score of 5 our of 5. You’ve earned yourself a sudden-death bonus round. Ready to play it?
Customer: No thanks.
Skill: No worries. You can come back and play your bonus round any time today.
Amazon: Oh! Here's an idea. I can create a routine to start your round of Seattle Super trivia at 10 am each weekday. Would you like me to enable this routine?“
Customer: Yes.
Amazon: Ok. I created a routine for you. You can make changes to it, and create new routines, in the Alexa app.
Skill: Thanks for playing Seattle Super Trivia. Have a rainy day!
Don’t repeat information that Amazon will surface, such as asking directly to set the routine or letting the customer know the routine was successfully set, in your own skill dialog.
To learn more about routines and Skill Connections read Offer Pre-Built Routines from Your Skill.
Once the customer has agreed to set the routine, your skill cannot further edit or cancel the routine. The customer will have to disable or re-enable it in their Alexa app. If a customer asks your skill to cancel, change, or set another routine, provide a response that directs the customer there.
A customer asks a skill to cancel a routine:
<Time: 10 am March 1>
Alexa (Amazon): Let’s check on your plants.
Brian: Welcome back to Plant Pal. Nine of your plants might need water. Are you ready to start watering now?
Customer: Cancel this routine.
Alexa (Amazon): You can change or cancel your routines any time using your Alexa app.
Brian: Want to start your watering routine?
Customer: No thanks.
Brian: No problem. Have a great daisy.
<audio src="soundbank://soundlibrary/musical/amzn_sfx_drum_comedy_01"/>
<Skill session ends.>
A customer asks a skill to set a routine, when they have already set all the routines your skill offers.
<Time: 10 am March 1>
Alexa (Amazon): Let’s check on your plants.
Brian: Welcome back to Plant Pal. Nine of your plants might need water. Are you ready to start watering now?
Customer: Set another routine.
Alexa (Amazon): There are no other routines to offer right now. You can change or cancel your routines any time using your Alexa app.
Brian: Want to start your watering routine?
Customer: No thanks.
Brian: No problem. Have an unbeleafable day.
<audio src="soundbank://soundlibrary/musical/amzn_sfx_drum_comedy_01"/>
<Skill session ends.>