How to create routines in google home

Not long ago I got a coral Google Home Mini. Although I had not considered this acquisition before, a promotion at half price encouraged me to try it, and I must admit that the more I use it, the more satisfied I am. And this despite its limitations. One of the features with which you can make the most of your Google Home with Routines . Below I tell you what these "routines" are and how to create your own.

Routines, automation in your home

If you know the Shortcuts in iOS, this routine will be very familiar to you. It is a method that allows you to automate actions. Thus, when you invoke "OK, Google" and speak a certain voice command, Google Assistant will perform one after the other all the actions that you have programmed for that Routine. In addition, you can also program routines to run at certain times and days, for example, set the speaker volume to 30% between eleven at night and eight in the morning, or program an alarm clock on weekdays with your playlist Spotify favorite.

The great advantage of Routines is that with them, Google Assistant, integrated into your Google Home speaker, will perform various actions without you having to indicate them one by one.

Google Assistant, both on iOS and Android, comes to us with a total of six pre-configured routines that you can customize to your liking. This will help you better understand its operation and familiarize yourself with this automation feature. And, of course, you will be able to create your own routines based on your interests and habits. The only thing you should do is put your imagination to flight, yes, taking into account the limitations of the assistant and your own speaker.

How to create Routines with Google Assistant

Creating new routines is a quick, easy and versatile process. You can do it both from your iPhone and from your Android smartphone, and you just have to follow the following instructions:

First of all, open the Google Home app on your device, make sure you have selected the home tab, which is identified with the drawing of a small house in the lower right.
At the top of the screen, tap on Routines. A new window will appear with the routines you have programmed. Scroll to the bottom and click Manage routines. On this new screen you can modify the routines that are already predefined in the application, or create new custom routines. To create a new routine, press the blue button you see at the bottom right of the screen with a "+" symbol inside.

You are already in "New routine". This section is where you are going to create your new routine:

In the " When…" section, you must enter the voice command that you will use to activate this routine. Optionally, you can schedule your routine for certain hours and days, which is really useful to automate tasks. In this section I advise you to deactivate the option “Receive a notification on the phone when it is activated” (except for those routines that you program, for example, when you get home, such as turning on the thermos to take a warm shower). "Add action" section you can choose between the "popular actions" suggested by the application (remember to check the action and click on the cogwheel to configure that action), or manually write the action to perform, for example, "Play the playlist Nap on Spotify ”, or“ Turn on the air conditioning ”.

Click "Add. " Then continue adding as many actions as you like, in the order you want it to run. Once you're done, click Save.