How to Get High Passkey Adoption in Creation Flows & Nudges

In this article we present a comprehensive guide that distills how to improve passkey adoption and especially passkey creation through optimizing passkey creation flows via well-timed nudges. We will answer the following questions:

• What are the best practices for passkey user prompts to maximize passkey creation?
• How can enterprises effectively encourage users to enroll passkeys at scale?

You’ll learn proven strategies and practical best practices tailored to enterprise contexts, enabling your organization to successfully transition users from passwords to passkeys. This blog specifically addresses passkey creation and enrollment; strategies to optimize subsequent passkey usage (login frequency and methods) will be explored separately in an upcoming article.

Implementing passkeys is only the first step; the true value is realized when organizations effectively improve passkey adoption. Without deliberate measures to increase passkey creation & usage rates, businesses frequently find themselves stuck with persistent password reliance. Simply providing passkeys as an option without purposeful nudges for passkey enrollment and optimized passkey login flows leaves people defaulting to what’s familiar: Passwords. This scenario can severely limit the returns of passkey projects.

Organizations experience substantial security enhancements and cost reductions, such as fewer password resets and lower OTP usage, only when passkeys achieve high passkey acceptance and become the primary login method for a majority of users. Hence, best practices for passkey user prompts, post-login passkey prompt best practices, and A/B testing passkey prompts play a critical role in meeting these objectives. Firms that target transitioning from passwords to passkeys user flow at scale and strive for 50–80% passkey login rate actively engage in passkey creation.

These passkey user engagement strategies align with the FIDO Alliance’s recommendations on Passkey Central, where FIDO alliance reinforces the need to drive user adoption of passkeys in enterprise. While high-level benefits are well-understood, the real challenge often lies in boost passkey login success metrics for example, effectively increasing passkey coverage across devices, implementing post-login passkey prompt best practices, and orchestrating continuous user education for passkey enrollment.

For instance, Amazon’s explicit approach to improve passkey adoption - via extensive experiments and iterative UX improvements - yielded six times faster sign-in speeds, notably reducing fallback to passwords and boosting user satisfaction. Likewise, Microsoft’s segmentation by persona and device, as well as Google’s 2.5 billion-plus passkey sign-ins, show their commitment to active usage rather than mere passkey availability:

In short, driving user adoption of passkeys in enterprise is far more important than simply enabling the passkey feature. Users rarely seek out new login methods by themselves. You must ensure optimizing passkey login flows, well-timed nudges for passkey enrollment, and ongoing A/B testing passkey prompts are part of the plan. Through such passkey user engagement strategies and passkey usage analytics and KPIs, organizations can surpass crucial thresholds, replace passwords with passkeys entirely, and reap the full benefits - security, financial, and user experience - of a passwordless future.

Encouraging users to set up passkeys often referred to as passkey creation or passkey enrollment or “registering a passkey” is the basis of any attempt to improve passkey adoption and increase passkey usage rates. In practice, multiple prompts and flows exist for nudges for passkey enrollment, but not all are equally effective. Below is an overview of common approaches, along with why post-login passkey prompt best practices are widely regarded as the most impactful.

When choosing where to implement passkey nudges, consider these insights based on large enterprise experiences:

The consensus from existing deployments is clear: post-sign-in nudges yield the highest passkey creations, justifying their implementation complexity. Other simpler options, like offering passkey enrollment through the account settings page, provide a useful starting point for initial user exploration. Conversely, complex methods such as post-password-reset prompts or ongoing in-app callouts typically deliver only moderate incremental benefit and rarely justify the required effort.

Consensus & Key Takeaways

• Post Sign-In Prompt ranks highest for impact, justifying significant development overhead. It taps into a universal “pain point” moment typing a password making it the most crucial best practice for achieving high passkey adoption rates for creation.

• Account Settings Page is effectively mandatory for any passkey project and thus will exist regardless. Although it plays a minimal role in significantly boosting adoption rates, it’s highly recommended as an initial implementation step. Using the Account Settings Page first allows organizations to pilot, refine, and validate their passkey implementation before deploying more complex post sign-in nudges.

• Account Creation Prompts offer moderate benefits and are recommended as secondary measures to complement a broader adoption strategy. They provide incremental adoption among new users but don’t significantly impact existing user bases.

• After Password Reset and In-App Callouts & Banners typically yield low to moderate gains. While these measures can supplement broader adoption efforts, their implementation complexity rarely justifies prioritizing them as core strategies.

In crafting the ideal post-sign-in nudge, it makes sense to examine successful rollouts by large tech companies and identify common findings from their experiments. Most of this information can be found in talks published by the FIDO Alliance.

• Multiple Experiments & Treatments: Amazon tested various postsignin flows (“T1,” “T2,” “T3”) to see which user prompts worked best. Some automatically opened the passkey creation dialog, while others displayed a simple “Set up your passkey” screen with two choices: “Yes, create a passkey” or “No, keep using passwords.”

• 6× Faster SignIn Speeds: Through iterative A/B testing and realtime adjustments, they achieved up to six times faster logins for those who adopted passkeys—significantly reducing fallback to passwords.

• Mobile vs. Desktop Differences: Amazon found that autotriggering passkey enrollment on mobile led to notably higher acceptance compared to desktop flows, suggesting that users on smartphones are more open to biometric prompts.

• Persona & Device Segmentation: Microsoft’s internal rollout systematically targeted different user groups (executives, developers, frontline workerLinks) and specific platforms (Windows, macOS, iOS, Android). They displayed post-login passkey prompts tailored to each segment’s workflow.

• Phased Enforcement: After measuring success in early waves, Microsoft steadily ramped up the mandatory passkey usage in subsequent phases. The organization also measured “passkey acceptance rate” for each wave, refining UI text or fallback logic if conversion dipped.

• Encouraging Coverage: Once a user set up a passkey on one device, they were prompted after future signins on new devices with “Add a passkey here?” so that passkeys became ubiquitous across a user’s environment.

• Scaled A/B Testing: With 2.5 billion+ passkey sign-ins, Google invests heavily in A/B testing passkey prompts. They often compare convenience messaging (“Skip typing your password next time”) vs. security messaging (“Protect your account with a passkey”) to see which resonates more.

• ReAuthentication Flows: Google also leverages reauth prompts (such as when users modify sensitive settings) to remind them about passkeys: “Want a quicker step? Create a passkey now.”

• Cross-Device Nudging: Because Google Password Manager syncs passkeys across devices, the post-sign-in approach often includes a short note about multiplatform convenience, reinforcing “create once, use everywhere.”

• Security vs. Convenience Language: Intuit, home to QuickBooks and TurboTax, tested messages like “Phishing-resistant login” (security-forward) vs. “Faster sign-in, no password” (ease-of-use emphasis). They discovered certain segments (especially finance pros) were more motivated by security, while others by convenience.

• Repeated User Testing: With a highly diverse base - from small business owners to everyday taxpayers - Intuit continuously refined wording, UI layout, and the timing of the prompt. They found that prompting soon after sign-in yielded much higher passkey acceptance.

• Sustained Reminders: For users who skipped the passkey flow initially, Intuit built a “second chance” prompt, reappearing after a brief interval - a strategy that further increased the eventual creation rate.

Let’s take a look and summarize the commonalities of those large rollouts:

Together, these real-world lessons confirm that post sign-in best practices featuring simple, well-timed copy and consistent re-exposure are the strongest drivers of improve passkey adoption for creation. In the next section, we’ll explore how to structure this approach to ensure users not only set up their first passkey but also add extra passkeys on multiple devices, bringing adoption rates close to the 50–80% threshold required to replace passwords with passkeys altogether.

Effective post-sign-in strategies do more than just prompt users to create their first passkey. They also proactively guide users toward comprehensive passkey adoption across their devices, ensuring passwords become increasingly redundant. The goal of these nudges is to establish passkeys as the primary method of authentication, significantly reducing reliance on legacy password logins. Below are expanded considerations for each strategic phase in the post-sign-in process.

The core challenge in driving initial passkey adoption lies in finding the right messaging. Organizations should clearly define whether to appeal to user comfort and convenience or focus primarily on enhanced security. For instance, Google found mainstream success with simple, convenience-oriented prompts like “Faster sign-in, no passwords,” resonating strongly with everyday users. In contrast, Intuit determined that professionals, particularly those in finance, reacted more positively to security-focused messaging such as “Protect your account from phishing.” The ideal messaging will depend heavily on your target user demographics and their specific needs or priorities, which underscores the importance of extensive A/B testing to pinpoint the most effective language.

Testing variants of these messages allows you to measure which resonates most strongly and yields the highest acceptance rates. Equally important is managing the frequency of prompts: initial nudges are essential, but subsequent reminders should be balanced carefully. Companies like Amazon observed a steep decline in acceptance rates after too many repeated prompts in quick succession. A widely adopted best practice is allowing users to skip prompts easily but reintroducing the passkey setup after a cooldown period, for example 30 days.

Deciding whether to automatically trigger the enrollment flow post-sign-in also significantly impacts adoption. Automatic triggers on mobile devices have proven highly effective, with Amazon noting 30–50% higher acceptance rates due to the intuitive nature of biometric interactions. However, automatic enrollment prompts must be executed thoughtfully to avoid user frustration, particularly on desktop platforms, where manual triggering has generally been more effective and less intrusive.

Achieving widespread passkey adoption involves not only getting users to enroll their first passkey but also systematically prompting them to extend coverage to other devices it also drives down the likelihood of account lockouts. Proactive messaging helps ensure seamless authentication experiences regardless of the user’s device, significantly enhancing security while providing convenience. For instance, if a user enrolls a passkey initially on Windows and later logs in via an Android device via fallback options, the system should prompt clearly: “Set up a passkey here to skip your password next time.”

This multi-device approach ensures continuous coverage and significantly reduces fallback to traditional authentication methods. Furthermore, addressing scenarios where passkeys previously failed or were abandoned such as when a user deletes or aborts a passkey enrollment offers another important opportunity to re-engage users. Prompting them after a successful fallback login with messaging like “Passkey setup didn’t work last time - try again now to simplify future logins” encourages them to reattempt the enrollment.

In hybrid login scenarios involving cross-device authentication (CDA), prompt users immediately after successful authentication to store native passkeys locally, improving future convenience. For example, after completing CDA via smartphone to authorize a Windows session, encourage the user clearly: “Add a passkey directly to this device to avoid using your phone next time.”

Ultimately, this expanded approach across devices not only enhances security but also respects users time, convenience, and preferences. Users feel valued and empowered when provided clear, personalized guidance, reinforcing trust and willingness to adopt passkeys across their entire digital ecosystem to avoid inconvenient fallbacks and reduce CDA logins.

Transitioning users to mandatory passkey adoption requires a strategic, incremental approach, especially important in regulated environments or for high-value accounts. Gradually enforcing passkey adoption rather than abruptly mandating it minimizes user resistance and maximizes acceptance rates.

One effective method is to initially track voluntary adoption, allowing users to familiarize themselves with passkey usage. After users successfully log in multiple times using passkeys, you can progressively disable password-based login methods, clearly communicating this transition well in advance. For instance, inform users explicitly: “Starting next month, passwords will no longer be accepted; please ensure your passkey is active.”

Monitoring statistics user engagement closely also helps fine-tune the mandatory transition. If users repeatedly dismiss enrollment prompts, escalate your messaging, potentially removing the “Skip” option after a certain threshold or escalate messaging to a mandatory action as seen in the Microsoft Implementation above. However, always provide secure fallback mechanisms, such as hardware security keys, for users who face genuine technical limitations or compatibility issues.

Clearly communicating the benefits, such as protection from phishing and account takeovers, reinforces users’ understanding and acceptance of mandatory passkey adoption (which is different from simplify messaging when it is still optional). Messaging like “Passkeys help us keep your account secure - passwords will be phased out soon” emphasizes the necessity and value of this transition, promoting user confidence in adopting passkeys as the new standard for authentication.

To effectively drive high passkey adoption rates for passkey creation, a carefully structured and clearly communicated post-sign-in flow is essential. The optimal flow systematically addresses three scenarios based on whether a user already has passkeys enrolled, guiding them step-by-step through initial creation, extending passkey coverage to additional devices, and handling fallback scenarios.

Below is a detailed description clearly aligned with the flowchart provided:

Upon each login, the system performs an initial check:

• Does the user already have a passkey?

  • If no (zero passkeys), users are directed to the Primary Screen.

  • If yes (one or more passkeys), users proceed to a tailored Secondary Screen.

On the Primary Screen, the enrollment approach depends on the user’s device platform:

• Desktop Flow
  On desktops, the passkey creation prompt is always manual:

  • First prompt: Users explicitly choose to either Accept or Skip passkey creation.

    • If they Accept, a passkey is created immediately.

    • If they Skip, they will encounter a Second Prompt on their next login.

  • The Second Prompt offers another chance, again explicitly asking the user to Accept or Skip.

    • If the user Accepts, a passkey is created successfully.

    • If they Skip again, they receive a Third Prompt at a subsequent login.

  • After the Third Prompt, if users still Skip, the system imposes a clear and defined Cooldown period of 30 days to avoid excessive user friction.

• Mobile Device Flow employs a more dynamic approach:

  • Initially, the passkey creation prompt is triggered automatically due to the intuitive nature of mobile biometric enrollment.

    • If users Accept, the passkey enrollment completes immediately.

    • If users Skip the first automatic prompt, the flow shifts to a manual Second Prompt at their next login.

  • At the Second Prompt (manual), users again explicitly choose to Accept or Skip.

    • If they Accept, passkey creation is successful.

    • If skipped again, a Third Prompt is offered during a subsequent session.

  • After the third consecutive skip, the mobile user similarly enters a 30-day Cooldown period before further prompts occur.

This structured Primary Screen strategy balances user convenience with persistent yet respectful reminders, gradually guiding users toward passkey adoption without overwhelming them.

For users who already have at least one passkey, secondary prompts focus on expanding passkey coverage across multiple devices or operating systems to eliminate fallback reliance:

• Upon successful login via a fallback method (password, OTP, or QR-based CDA login), users see a clear, device-specific Secondary Screen prompt, encouraging them to create an additional passkey. Example messaging could include: “Set up a passkey here to skip the password on this device.”

  • Users again have the option to Accept or Skip.

  • After multiple skips, the system similarly introduces a Cooldown of 30 days to avoid user annoyance or fatigue.

• Additionally, this secondary screen also applies to cases where users previously had unsuccessful passkey enrollments or explicitly removed their passkey. In these scenarios, the messaging explicitly addresses the earlier failure, emphasizing the renewed convenience and improved reliability of the current setup process.

The described flowchart represents a strong foundational blueprint for implementing an effective post-sign-in passkey enrollment strategy. While the outlined steps such as differentiating between desktop and mobile experiences, carefully managing prompt frequency, and providing clear pathways after repeated skips reflect proven best practices observed in large-scale deployments by companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, it’s important to emphasize that user bases differ significantly. What works exceptionally well in one scenario may yield varying results in another due to diverse user demographics, device preferences, and organizational contexts.

Therefore, continuous analytics and rigorous monitoring of user interactions are essential to truly optimize and refine your passkey enrollment strategy.

Detailed tracking of Passkey Acceptance Rates and other critical KPIs provides actionable insights into which parts of your flow succeed or struggle. For instance, analyzing drop-off points in the enrollment process can reveal whether users find prompts too intrusive, confusing, or untimely. Here is our recommendation for the Metrics to track:

Your passkey adoption strategy should never be static. Instead, it should evolve dynamically based on measured data, enabling adjustments to the messaging, frequency, and prompt methods (automatic vs. manual). By closely observing how different user segments respond over time, your organization can iteratively refine these nudges, ensuring that prompts remain compelling without overwhelming users. Ultimately, a successful deployment of passkeys depends heavily on adapting best practices to the specific behaviors and preferences of your users, informed by precise analytics rather than assumptions alone.

When it comes to executing the best practices for passkey user prompts and ensuring high-impact post-sign-in nudges, Corbado Connect Enterprise Platform goes far beyond a standard WebAuthn integration.

Below are six compelling ways Corbado’s enterprise platform can elevate your passkey rollout and transform adoption metrics with our pre-defined post-sign up nudges that are embedded into your application.

1. Built on Proven Best Practices

All components in Corbado Connect follow time-tested design patterns and lessons learned from major tech deployments like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft yet are refined with Corbado’s own real-world data and experience from large deployments. This means your implementation is grounded not just in theory but also in practical, field-tested approaches that are already proven to boost acceptance rates.

2. Rich Analytics and Real-Time Telemetry

Many passkey solutions merely log a user’s choice. Corbado Connect collects in-depth statistics on passkey enrollment funnels, fallback usage, and multi-device coverage. We then visualize the key metrics - login success times, passkey acceptance per OS, repeated skip patterns to show precisely how your user education for passkey enrollment and nudges for passkey enrollment are performing.

3. Continuous Optimization Against Legacy Authentication

One of our core differentiators is ongoing optimization that compares passkey adoption vs. passwords or OTP. Corbado Connect highlights improvements in login speed and security posture, allowing you to validate ROI in real time. This ongoing comparison encourages further iteration: as passkey usage soars, you can see a direct drop in password resets and average login durations.

4. Granular Device-Specific Insights

Different platforms respond to passkey prompts in different ways. Corbado Connect dissects adoption by device type (iOS, Android, Windows, macOS) and OS version, revealing friction points or high performers. With these insights, you can fine-tune your passkey user engagement strategies - for instance, introducing auto-prompts on certain mobile OS versions while opting for manual flows on older desktops.

5. Managed Enterprise Deployment and A/B Testing

Corbado Connect offers a white-glove service that tailors the entire user flow (timing, text, fallback logic) to your organization’s needs. We handle A/B test creation, run automated funnel optimizations, and adopt rules for separate desktop vs. mobile strategies. Crucially, these updates require no new releases on your side - Corbado continuously refines the user journey to boost passkey login success metrics without burdening your dev teams.

6. Adaptive Rules Engine for Ongoing Growth

After your initial passkey launch, user behaviors evolve. Corbado Connect uses an adaptive rules engine to modify prompts (auto vs. manual) based on skip history, risk levels, or usage patterns. Whether you’re phasing out passwords in a regulated environment or gently nudging more devices to adopt passkeys, our platform ensures every strategy pivot is frictionless, maximizing success for your entire user base. By combining these features, Corbado Connect ensures your passkey enrollment strategy remains agile, data-driven, and user-friendly transforming passkeys from a mere alternative to the go-to authentication method for your customers.

Passkeys have emerged as a transformative authentication method, enabling faster, simpler, and more secure logins than traditional credentials. However, merely offering passkeys does not guarantee that users will embrace them. Organizations must strategically design passkey prompts, A/B test messaging, and tailor flows to different devices in order to boost passkey adoption beyond 50% the threshold at which passwords become genuinely replaceable. This guide has covered the foundational knowledge, from exploring why adoption matters more than basic implementation to detailing the specific nudge tactics (post‑sign‑in vs. settings page, frequency limits, mobile auto‑creation, etc.) that major tech companies rely on for success.

• What are the best practices for passkey user prompts? The most effective prompts occur immediately after users successfully sign in, leveraging their authentication mindset. Messaging should clearly emphasize either convenience (“Faster login, no passwords”) or security (“Protect your account from phishing”), determined through rigorous A/B testing. Nudges must also respect user autonomy, incorporating cooldown periods after repeated skips to minimize frustration.

• How to drive user adoption of passkeys in enterprise contexts? Successful enterprise adoption relies heavily on structured, incremental approaches combined with continuous analytics. Organizations must monitor key performance indicators (e.g., Passkey Acceptance Rate, Creation Success Rate), refining their strategies based on user data. Encouraging passkey enrollment across multiple devices and transitioning high-value segments toward mandatory passkey usage are essential to achieve the desired 50–80% adoption threshold.

If your organization is planning a large-scale deployment and aims for industry-leading adoption metrics, we at Corbado are happy to help you. Our Enterprise Platform provides sophisticated analytics, A/B testing, and tailored user journeys to ensure optimal passkey adoption.