Recording tools for creating interactive AR experiences. An interaction recording application enables a user with little or no programming skills to perform and record user behaviors that are associated with reactions between story elements such as virtual objects and connected IoT devices. The user behaviors include a range of actions, such as speaking a trigger word and apparently touching a virtual object. The corresponding reactions include starting to record a subsequent scene and executing actions between story elements. The trigger recording interface is presented on the display as an overlay relative to the physical environment.