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Custom Routines are one of the handiest features of the Amazon Echo—you can use them to launch a cascade of home automation actions before bed or play specific media each morning—all in response to a single request. And now Alexa can respond to up to seven unique phrases per routine (versus just one), so you can trigger the same series of actions whether you say “Alexa, goodnight” or “Alexa, it’s bedtime” or “Alexa, go the hell to sleep,” etc. You can also use wording completely unrelated to the actual routine–Alexa doesn’t know the difference.
To set up your custom phrases, open the Alexa app, go to the More menu and select the Routine you want to edit. Under “When,” you’ll see an option to view or edit your trigger phrases. Tap this, and on the next screen, enter the wording you want to use—do not type “Alexa” separately, as this is added automatically to each custom phrase.
Once you’ve saved your custom phrases, it’s a good idea to test out each one to make sure all of the actions within the routine are triggered properly.
This probably isn’t a feature you need, per se, especially if the phrases that already launch your custom routines are simple and specific. However, programming multiple phrases could be useful if your kids have an easier time remembering certain words or if you simply want to entertain yourself with obscure or absurd wording.
Plus, Alexa supports multiple languages and can automatically switch between them. (Up to two can be enabled at a time, such as English plus Spanish.) So if you and your family are multilingual or you want to practice speaking another language, you can set up trigger phrases for each of your custom routines in both enabled languages.
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