Q. What is a Routine?
A. Alexa Routines are designed to make your days easier and more productive by taking a bunch of things you can do with Alexa and bundling them together seamlessly. Routines consist of a single trigger, which is the event which starts the Routine, followed by actions which are the things Alexa does during the Routine.
Q. What can I use Routines for?
A. Almost anything you can do on Alexa can be put into a Routine. You’ll find the whole list of actions under Add Action in the Routine creation flow. If you can’t find what you want there, Custom Action will let you input as text any command Alexa can understand when you speak to her.
Q. What is a trigger?
A. A trigger is the event which makes the Routine start. It can be a voice command, an alarm, a scheduled time or smart home device interaction. This is the event Alexa needs to detect to know to start your Routine.
Q. What is an action?
A. An action is the thing you want Alexa to do. It can be almost anything you can do with Alexa using your voice, like asking for the weather, playing the news, controlling compatible smart home devices, reading out your calendar, making a call - you're only limited by our imagination.
Q. What is a custom action?
A. Custom actions let you type in anything you can normally say to Alexa as an action in a Routine. Custom actions need to be the last action in your Routine.
Q. How do I set up a new Routine?
Open the Alexa app
Select More from the bottom navigation
Select Routines from the menu
From this page you can either start a new Routine creation by tapping + in the top right-hand corner, or tapping Featured and enabling on of the Featured Routines.
Q. Can I edit a Routine after I’ve set it up?
A. Yes! Just tap on the Routine in the Yours tab and select the elements you want to change. When you’ve made all the changes you want, tap the arrow in the top left of the screen and your changes will be saved.
Q. How do I disable a Routine?
A. Navigate to the Routines section of the Alexa app and open the Routine you want to disable. Use the toggle at the top of the screen and tap to switch to disable. If this is a featured routine, just use your voice by saying, "Alexa, disable xx routine". You can choose to enable it again via this command too.
Q. How do I delete a Routine?
A. Navigate to the Routines section of the Alexa app and open the Routine you want to delete. Tap the three dots in the top right corner and select Delete Routine from the menu that appears at the bottom of your screen.
Q. How do I share a Routine?
A. Navigate to the Routines section of the Alexa app and open the Routine you want to share. Tap the three dots in the top right corner and select Share Routine from the menu that appears at the bottom of your screen.