Start conversation on satellite

Use this action to start a conversation from an Assist satellite. The satellite announces a message and then listens for one or more voice commands.

The satellite’s configured pipeline must use a conversation agent that supports conversations, such as OpenAI or Google Generative AI. The built-in Assist conversation agent does not support conversations yet.

If you provide text, the satellite converts it to audio using the text-to-speech system of its configured pipeline.

Using this action from the user interface

If you prefer building automations and scripts visually, Home Assistant walks you through this action step by step. You pick what to target, tweak a few options, and save. No YAML knowledge required.

To start a conversation from an automation or a script:

1. Go to Settings > Automations & scenes.
2. Open an existing automation or script, or select Create automation > Create new automation.
3. If you’re setting up a new automation, add a trigger in the When section. Scripts don’t need a trigger. They run when something else calls them.
4. In the Then do section, select Add action.
5. Select what you want to control. Under By target (see Targets), select the satellite you want to start the conversation on.
6. From the actions shown for that target, select Start conversation on satellite.
7. Set the Message to start with, or a Media ID, and any other options.
8. Select Save.

Options in the UI

Using this action in YAML

If you work directly in YAML, or you want to know exactly what Home Assistant does under the hood, this section has the technical reference. It lists the field names you use in YAML, their types, and which ones are required.

In YAML, refer to this action as assist_satellite.start_conversation. A basic example looks like this:

action: assist_satellite.start_conversation
target:
  entity_id: assist_satellite.living_room
data:
  start_message: You left the lights on in the living room. Turn them off?
  extra_system_prompt: >-
    The user left the lights on in the living room and is being asked
    whether to turn them off.

This starts a conversation on assist_satellite.living_room.

Options in YAML

Targets of the action

This action requires a target. The target is the object of the action. You can point the action at a single entityAn entity represents a sensor, actor, or function in Home Assistant. Entities are used to monitor physical properties or to control other entities. An entity is usually part of a device or a service. [Learn more], a device, an area, a floor, or a label, and Home Assistant will run the action on every matching assist_satellite entity behind that target.

• Entity: one specific assist_satellite entity, such as assist_satellite.living_room.
• Device: every assist_satellite entity that belongs to a device.
• Area: every assist_satellite entity in a room or area.
• Floor: every assist_satellite entity on a floor.
• Label: every assist_satellite entity that shares a label.

You can also select different target types in one action. For example, you can add a specific entity and an area as targets in the same action to run the action on both of them at once.

Good to know

• Provide either a start message or a media ID. A message is read out with text-to-speech, while a media ID plays your own audio.
• A chime plays before the start message by default. To use your own sound, set a preannounce media ID. To turn the chime off, set preannounce to false.
• The extra system prompt gives the conversation agent context, so it can correctly interpret short replies like yes or no.

Try it yourself

Ready to test this? Open Developer tools > Actions, search for this action, fill in the fields, and select Perform action. You see what happens on your actual entitiesAn entity represents a sensor, actor, or function in Home Assistant. Entities are used to monitor physical properties or to control other entities. An entity is usually part of a device or a service. [Learn more] without writing a line of YAML.

More examples

Real scenarios where this action shows up in automations and scripts. Copy any example and adapt it to your setup.

Automation: ask whether to turn off the lights at bedtime

At bedtime, if the living room lights are still on, start a conversation asking whether to turn them off.

• Trigger: Time: 23:00
• Condition: Living room lights are on
• Action: Start conversation on satellite
  • Target: Living room satellite
  • Message: You left the lights on in the living room. Turn them off?

alias: "Ask whether to turn off the lights at bedtime"
triggers:
  - trigger: time
    at: "23:00:00"
conditions:
  - condition: state
    entity_id: light.living_room
    state: "on"
actions:
  - action: assist_satellite.start_conversation
    target:
      entity_id: assist_satellite.living_room
    data:
      start_message: You left the lights on in the living room. Turn them off?
      extra_system_prompt: >-
        The user left the lights on in the living room and is being asked
        whether to turn them off.

Still stuck?

The Home Assistant community is quick to help: join Discord for real-time chat, post on the community forum with the action you’re calling and what you expected to happen, or share on our subreddit /r/homeassistant.

Related actions

These actions work well alongside this one:

• Announce on satellite: Announces a message on an Assist satellite.

• Ask question on satellite: Asks a question on an Assist satellite and gets the response.