Disclosed are various embodiments for initiating execution of an application using trigger characters. A computing device detects an entry of a trigger character within a first user interface presented by a first application installed on the computing device. The computing device then identifies a string following the trigger character. The computing device then determines that the string matches a name of a second application installed on the computing device. The computing device then initiates execution of the second application. Subsequently, the computing device switches from the first user interface to a second user interface presented by the second application.