Alexa Reminders Guidelines for Usage
Reminders are prearranged messages that Alexa speaks to the customer at a specific time.
If you want to use Alexa to create reminders for a customer who uses your skill, you must obtain their informed consent every time you create a reminder on their behalf. The wording of your request must accurately and completely represent the action that you will take on the customer's behalf, so that the customer won't be surprised by the outcome.
For more details about reminders, see Alexa Reminders Overview.
Reminder examples
The following table shows example reminders for some skill categories.
| Skill category | Example request | Example confirmation | Reminder created |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business & Finance | Alexa: Would you like me to remind you to check your account balance every Thursday at 8 AM? | Alexa: OK, I'll remind you every Thursday at 8 AM. | Text: Check your account balance Scheduled Time: 8 AM Recurrence Rule: Every Thursday |
| Education & Reference | Alexa: Would you like a reminder to meditate every day at 7:00 PM? | Alexa: OK, I'll remind you every day at 7:00 PM. | Text: Start your meditation Scheduled Time: 7:00 PM Recurrence Rule: Every day |
| Games, Trivia & Accessories | Alexa: Would you like a reminder to start your daily quiz every day at 7:30 PM? | Alexa: OK, I'll remind you every day at 7:30 PM. | Text: Start your daily quiz Scheduled Time: 7:30 PM Recurrence Rule: Every day |
| Lifestyle | Alexa: Would you like a reminder to walk for 20 minutes every day at noon? | Alexa: OK, I'll remind you every day at noon. | Text: Walk for 20 minutes Scheduled Time: 12 PM Recurrence Rule: Every weekday |
| Local | Alexa: Would you like me to remind you two hours before your dinner reservation? | Alexa: OK, I'll remind you Friday at 5 PM. | Text: Dinner at Chez Alexa 7 PM Scheduled Time: Friday at 5 PM |
| Sports | Alexa: Would you like a reminder to check your fantasy league team tomorrow at 6 PM? | Alexa: OK, I'll remind you tomorrow at 6 PM. | Text: Check your fantasy league team Scheduled Time: Tomorrow at 6 PM |
| Travel & Transportation | Alexa: Would you like me to remind you to check the train status on weekdays at 7 AM? | Alexa: OK, I'll remind you every weekday at 7 AM. | Text: Ask MyTransitSkill for the train status Scheduled Time: 7 AM Recurrence Rule: Every weekday |
Reminder label guidelines
Review the following guidelines for creating reminders.
| Guideline for reminder text | Do | Don't |
|---|---|---|
| Be concise and lead with the most critical information. Alexa announces lengthy reminders, but they might be visually truncated on small device screens, as approximately 25 characters appear per reminder on Echo Spot, including spaces. | Alexa: "Here's your reminder from MyReservationSkill: Dinner at Chez Alexa 7 PM" | Alexa: "Here's your reminder from MyReservationSkill: Dinner reservation at Chez Alexa at 15 Broadway Street for 4 people at 7 PM" |
| Be discreet. Alexa might display and announce reminders on shared devices where other people can see/hear them. Don't include personally identifiable or sensitive information in the reminder text. Examples of PII (personally identifiable information) include name, social security number, date and place of birth, and mother's maiden name. Sensitive information includes medical, educational, financial, and employment information. | Alexa: "Here's your reminder from MyFinanceSkill: Pay credit card bill" | Alexa: "Here's your reminder from MyFinanceSkill: Pay credit card bill for $2,415.89" |
| If you must refer to the user in the reminder text, use the second-person pronouns "you" and "your" rather than "me" and "my." | Alexa: "This is a reminder from MySportsSkill: Check your fantasy league team." | Alexa: "This is a reminder from MySportsSkill: Check my fantasy league team." |
| Don't include the skill name in the reminder text. | Alexa: "Here's your reminder from MyTransitSkill: Check train status" | Alexa: "Here's your reminder from MyTransitSkill: Ask MyTransitSkill to check train status." |
| Don't include unsolicited content in the reminder text, such as upselling, advertising, or other content unrelated to the reminder to which the user originally consented. | Alexa: "Here's your reminder from MyLifestyleSkill: Play a 3-minute meditation" | Alexa: "Here's your reminder from MyLifestyleSkill: Play a 3-minute meditation, and check out our new 15-minute option!" |
Provide instructions when you submit your skill for certification
When you submit your skill for certification, use the test instructions to describe how you have implemented reminders functionality in the skill. See Submission checklist.
Best practices for setting reminders
Follow these guidelines when you use reminders in your skill. You want the customer to feel comfortable with reminders from Alexa, and to not disable your skill due to a bad experience.
Ask for permission to set a reminder at the right times
Skills should only prompt the customer for permission to create or edit reminders in the context of offering to set a reminder. The customer is more likely to grant permission if there is immediate value, such as a reminder being set, and if the suggested reminder is relevant to the conversation they are currently having with Alexa.
Provide detailed information about why your skill needs access to reminders
Skills should explicitly inform users why they need access to the reminders permissions, otherwise the skill might not pass certification.
Limit the frequency of asking for permission
You don't want your customers to feel inundated with offers to set reminders if they have previously declined permission, as they might choose to disable the skill. If a customer says "No," they shouldn't receive another offer for at least seven days.
Restate a reminder when set
If the customer grants permission, and the skill sets a reminder, make sure to restate the time and nature of the reminder so that the customer knows it has been set.
Tell customers how to grant permission at a later time
If a customer hasn't granted reminders permission to your skill, the skill should inform the customer by voice about how to grant permissions. Also, you can send a home card that provides a link to the skill permissions page.
Inform a customer of errors when your skill attempts to create, modify, or delete a reminder
When your skill attempts to create a reminder, but doesn't succeed, make sure that your skill service informs the customer that the reminder wasn't created.
If your skill attempts to modify or delete a reminder, but doesn't succeed, make sure that your skill informs the customer of the error.
Don't reuse expired reminders
When a reminder has expired, don't reuse this expired reminder by updating it, but instead create a new reminder. If appropriate, your skill can update a reminder before Alexa reads it.
Last updated: May 22, 2024