Create an Alexa for Business trigger

Set up triggers so your Alexa devices can make announcements when specific events occur. You must have the Administrator or Triggers Manager user role to access these settings.

How it works

The MRI OnLocation integration with Alexa for Business uses triggers to send messages to supported devices. Alexa then announces the message on the device you have configured.

You need to set up a trigger for each scenario that you’d like an announcement for. Each trigger has three components:

  • Trigger Details – includes the name, status and the event that triggers it
  • Trigger Rules – set up rules to narrow the trigger to specific scenarios, e.g. use a rule to restrict the time of day that Alexa makes announcements
  • Trigger Actions – this component sets up what happens when a trigger is activated, e.g. the announcement that Alexa makes on a device linked to a location

You can use almost all of OnLocation's trigger types to integrate with Alexa. However, Time and Employee Geolocation Updated triggers are not yet available. 

Learn more about how triggers work. 

Before you start

Make sure you have:

Set up Alexa triggers for your location

To set up a trigger:

  1. Go to Locations, then select a location from the drop-down menu.
  2. Select Triggers.
  3. Click Create a New Trigger.
  4. Enter the Trigger Name, select Active for Trigger Status, then select the Trigger Event.

    Alexa-trigger-1.png
  5. Click Next.
  6. (Optional) In the Trigger Rules tab, click Create a new rule. Select the rule, complete the fields, then click Next.
  7. In the Trigger Actions tab, click Create a New Action.
  8. Select Alexa - Triggers Alexa Voice.
  9. Select the room you set up in Alexa for Business.
  10. Enter the message you would like Alexa to announce. You can use placeholders to customize the message for each announcement.
  11. Click Preview to listen to your announcement.

    Alexa-trigger-2.png
  12. Repeat for each trigger you need to set up for your location.
  13. Click Save & Close.

Fix a room error

While setting up the trigger action, if you receive a message saying ‘No rooms found with configured IAM credentials’, check that: