Amazon announces the general availability of the Alexa Routines Kit for developers

Today, Amazon announced the general availability of the Alexa Routines Kit. The Alexa Routines Kit enables you to configure Routines, and offer them as pre-built Routines to customers during their skill interactions. 

Customers can use Routines to automatically execute a sequence of actions based on a trigger event such as a particular time of day. Routines allow customers to group multiple actions together so that they don’t have to invoke each one separately. For example, a developer can offer customers a pre-built Routine so that Alexa wishes them good morning, reads the news briefing, and provides the weather update from a Skill such as Big Sky on weekdays at 8 a.m. 

Because Routines enable customers to simplify their lives by automating everyday tasks, their popularity has grown sharply. Over the last two years, the number of monthly Routines users has quadrupled. In addition, the monthly engagement for customers using a skill in a routine is seven times higher and their six-month retention is eight times greater compared to customers who don’t use that skill in a Routine.

Developers like NPR and Red Bull have integrated the Alexa Routines Kit to drive repeat customer engagement with their skills. For example, the total listening time for NPR and its member stations on Alexa doubled since the launch of Alexa Routines Kit on Alexa’s NPR skill. NPR also saw a 40% increase in the number of days that listeners came back to engage with their skill every month.

Multiple integration options for developers

You can leverage pre-built Routines surfaced to customers as they interact with an Alexa Skill – to enable customers to make your skill a part of your customers’ daily habits. through simple voice consent when Routines are offered during their interactions with Alexa. 

You can use skill connections to create pre-built Routine offers. When you initiate an AMAZON.OfferAutomationconnection, your skill passes control to Alexa. Alexa constructs the offer prompt and creates the Routine in the user's account before handing the session back to your skill. Please review the technical documentation to view the eligibility criteria and steps for pre-built Routines.

Amazon also announced the general availability of Custom Tasks in Routines. Custom Tasks in Routines enables you to surface specific functionality from their skills as actions in Routines. This allows customers to pre-select a specific action supported by a skill while configuring their Routines eliminating the need for a voice input during Routine execution. 

For example, Alexa Skill developers like Endel can deep-link directly to specific actions within their skill to enablecustomers to pre-configure Alexa to play a specific soundscape (such as ‘sleep’ or ‘focus’), and make that action part of their “Bedtime” or ‘Work’ Routine. Please review the technical documentation to get started with Custom Tasks in Routines.

Please visit the technical documentation to get started with the Alexa Routines Kit.