Manage smart home automations in Google Home

Important:Only people in the home with Adminaccess or Memberswith Settingspermission can create and manage automations. Learn more about access levels and permissions in the Google Home app .

The new automation editor makes it easier to create and edit automations. The editor also has a new conditions section with device state and presence conditions to control when your automation starts. It now allows you to add optional conditions so that an automation can only start if, for example, a certain device is on, or if someone is home.

The new automation editor is only available for household automations. For Personal Routines, follow the steps in Create and manage Routines in Google Home .

Important:All household members can check when these automations start. Automations are for convenience only, not safety or security-critical use cases. Do not create automations that could result in injury or harm if they fail to start or stop. Automations can depend on working internet, Wi-Fi, and service availability from both Google and the third parties who manufacture the devices included in the automations. Automations may not always work, and Google isn't responsible for any harm or losses incurred due to failed automations.

How to use the new automation editor

Important:If you revert to the previous automation editor, you can view and start automations that you created with the new editor. However, you can no longer edit them.

Check automation availability by region and language

Country or region	Supported languages
Argentina	Spanish
Australia	English
Austria	German
Belgium	English, French, German, Dutch
Brazil	Portuguese (Brazil)
Canada	English, French (Canada)
Chile	Spanish
Colombia	Spanish
Denmark	Danish
France	French
Germany	German
India	English, Hindi
Indonesia	Indonesian
Italy	Italian
Japan	Japanese
Korea	Korean
Mexico	Spanish
Netherlands	Dutch
Norway	Norwegian, Norwegian Bokmal
Peru	Spanish
Singapore	English
Spain	Spanish
Sweden	Swedish
Switzerland	French, German, Italian
Taiwan	Mandarin (Taiwan)
United Kingdom	English
United States	English, Spanish

Create an automation

Important:If you don't have a starter, then your automation will not start automatically, but you can still manually start your automation (make sure conditions are empty as well).

Open the Google Home app.
Tap Create New automation.
To name your automation, tap Add name.
Optional: To include a description for your automation, tap Add description
Add the starters, conditions, and actions you want.
Tap Save.

The new automations setup has the same supported starters, conditions, and actions as Help Me Create. Some traits, like a starter based on familiar faces, require a Nest Aware subscription.

Edit an automation

Open the Google Home app.
Tap Automationsthe automation that you want to edit.
Add or edit the automation name and description:
1. Tap the name of the automation or tap the Menu.
2. Enter the name and description in the designated fields.
3. Tap Saveto confirm the changes and return to the automation overview.
Add starters, conditions, and actions:
1. Tapnext to the section you want to add to.
2. Select the type of starter, condition, or action you want to add.
3. Make any adjustments from the available options.
4. Tap Done.
Edit starters, conditions, and actions:
1. Tap the existing starter, condition, or action you want to edit.
2. Make any adjustments from the available options.
3. Tap Done.

Learn more about starters and conditions.

Remove starters, conditions, and actions:
1. Tap the existing starter, condition, or action you want to remove.
2. Tap Removeand confirm removal.

Tip:You can also swipe the starter, condition, or action you want to delete.

To avoid potential errors and conflicts in your automation, review each behavior before you apply your changes .
Tap Saveto apply the changes, or Back Discardto discard the changes.

Delete an automation

Important:You must stop an automation from running in order to Delete it. To stop the automation, tap Menu.

Open the Google Home app.
Tap AutomationsMenu Delete.
Tap Deleteto confirm that you want to delete the automation.

Activate or deactivate an automation

Open the Google Home app.
Tap Automationsselect an automation.
Tap Activateor Deactivate Save.

The option that you choose will be highlighted once you make a selection.

Revert to the previous automation editor

Important:Any changes made to the current automation will be lost when you load the previous household routine editor.

As we continue to fully integrate all the features to this improved editor, there might be some features that aren’t yet available such as pulse effect on lights. We're actively working to move all existing features to this new automation editor. In the meantime, the steps below will help you return to the previous editor that still has these features:

Open the Google Home app.
Tap AutomationsCreate New automation.
Tap Menu Previous household editor or Previous personal editor.
Confirm that you want to go back to the previous editor.

Was this helpful?

How can we improve it?

Manage smart home automations in Google Home

How to use the new automation editor

Revert to the previous automation editor

Was this helpful?

Need more help?

Try these next steps: