Set up user input for a bot flow

The User Input menu lets you set up bot behavior when the bot cannot confirm a caller’s match or input. Here, you can also set up barge-in settings, confirmation rejection prompts, and confidence and confirmation threshold settings. Use built-in prompts or build logic around replies that the participant hears when the bot does not detect a match or inputs, or encounters a confirmation error.

Under Settings, click User Input

Bot flows

Name Description

General

Configure the following settings:

  • Automatic Quick Reply Buttons: Enable or disable quick reply buttons in messaging interactions for the customer. Quick replies allow customers to answer yes or no questions, or to select from a preconfigured list of answers to direct web messages during bot interactions. For more information, see Work with quick replies in bot conversations.

Notes:

    • The quick replies work with the Ask for Intent, Ask for Yes/No, Ask for Slot, Anything Else? Loop actions, and confirmation questions.
    • During the slot creation process, for custom list slots, add the quick replies that you want to present to customers when they encounter an Ask for Slot action.
    • When you disable this option or use a NOT_SET Boolean, quick replies are unavailable. 
    • For existing bot flows, this option is unavailable by default.
    • For new bot flows, this option is enabled by default.
  • Voice Barge-In: Enable or disable whether a caller can interrupt a bot response. This global setting allows participants to bypass a question. For example, your callers know that they say their account number without waiting for the entire question. The global barge-in feature is available at points in the conversation when the bot expects an answer from the customer; for example, in an Ask for Intent action. A participant cannot interrupt at points in the conversation when the bot does not expect an answer, such as in a Communicate action

Notes:

    • For existing bot flows, this option is unavailable in each flow by default.
    • For new bot flows, this option is enabled by default.
    • When you enable this setting, you enable it for all “Ask for” actions in the bot flow that you are currently editing.
No Match Detected

Configure the following settings:

  • Maximum Number of No Match Retries: Set the maximum number of times that the bot attempts to match the user input. If the bot exceeds the maximum number of retries, the following rules apply:
    1. If enabled on the action, then the flow takes the No Intent path, or
    2. The event handling Recognition Failure Event settings trigger.
  • No Match Apology: The apology communication that prefixes the current Ask action’s No Match communication when the bot receives user input that was an invalid match.
No Input Detected

Configure the following settings:

  • Maximum Number of No Input Retries: Set the maximum number of times that the bot retries if it does not receive input from the user. If the bot exceeds the maximum number of retries, the following rules apply:
    1. If enabled on the action, then the flow takes the Max No Inputs path, or
    2. If enabled on the action, then the flow takes the No Intent path, or
    3. The event handling Recognition Failure Event settings trigger.
  • No Input Apology: The apology communication that prefixes the current Ask action’s No Input communication when the bot does not receive input from the user after the relevant timeout.
  • Voice No Input Timeout: (Voice only) Set the maximum time to wait for the caller or chat recipient to respond. The default setting is 7 seconds.
Confirmation Errors

Configure the following settings:

  • Maximum number of Confirmation Rejections: Set the maximum number of times that the bot allows a user to reply with a “no” response when the bot attempts to confirm an input. If the bot exceeds the maximum number of retries, the following rules apply:
    1. If enabled on the action, then the flow takes the No Intent path, or
    2. The event handling Recognition Failure Event settings trigger.
  • Confirmation Rejection Apology: The apology communication that prefixes the current Ask action’s No Match communication when the user replies with a “no” after the bot attempts to confirm the user’s last input.
  • No Match Confirmation Apology: The apology communication that prefixes the current confirmation question when the bot receives input from the user that does not match “yes” or “no.”
  • No Input Confirmation Apology: The apology communication that prefixes the current confirmation question when the bot does not receive input from the user after the relevant timeout during confirmation.
Confidence Thresholds

Configure the following settings:

  • Normal Low: Set the minimum confidence level percentage, or score, that an input phrase must receive to avoid a No Match. If the confidence level of an input phrase is above this threshold, then the bot either accepts or confirms it with the participant, depending on the value of the Normal High threshold.
  • Normal High: Set the maximum confidence level percentage, or score, that an input phrase must receive without triggering a confirmation question.
  • Confirmation: Set the minimum confidence level percentage, or score, that an input phrase must receive to avoid a No Match when a bot asks a yes or no question.
Speech Recognition Parameters

Configure the following settings:

  • Speech Detection Sensitivity: Set the sensitivity of speech detection to configure how to treat noise (for example, breathing) and when to trigger speech detection. A value of 0 configures the system to be the least sensitive to noise while a value of 1 makes the system highly sensitive to noise and triggers speech detection on any noise. When you use a NOT_SET value, the default value of 0.5 is used.
    • Minimum value: 0
    • Maximum value: 1
    • Default value: 0.5
  • Max Speech Timeout: Set the maximum duration of an utterance collected from the user. A duration value less than or equal to 0 milliseconds means no timeout. When you use a NOT_SET value, the default value is used. The default value is 5 minutes for Google Cloud STT, 10 minutes for Microsoft Azure Cognitive Services STT, and 22 seconds for Nuance Recognizer as a Service.
    • Minimum value: 0 milliseconds
    • Maximum value: 30 seconds
Automatic Speech Recognition

Intent Classification Hinting: Click to enable or disable whether to send hints to the speech recognition engine (ASR) for intent classification. For new flows, this setting is disabled by default.

Note: Hints are a set of phrases that the bot sends to the ASR to provide context and assist with speech recognition. Disable this setting to maintain control over automatic hinting with the goal to reduce or prevent potential inaccuracies and bias in the ASR.

Digital bot flows

Name Description
No Match Detected

Configure the following settings:

  • Maximum number of No Matches: Set the maximum number of times that the bot attempts to match the user input. If the bot exceeds the maximum number of retries, the following rules apply:
    • If enabled on the action, then the flow takes the No Intent path, or
    • The event handling Recognition Failure Event settings trigger.
  • No Match Apology: The apology communication that prefixes the current Ask action’s No Match communication when the bot receives user input that was not a valid match.
No Input Detected

Configure the following settings:

  • Maximum number of No Input Retries: Set the maximum number of times that the bot retries if it does not receive input from the user. If the bot exceeds the maximum number of retries, the following rules apply:
    • If enabled on the action, then the flow takes the Max No Inputs path, or
    • The event handling No Input Maximum Retries Exceeded Handling settings trigger.
  • No Input Apology: The apology communication that prefixes the current Ask action’s Question communication when the bot does not receive input from the user after the relevant timeout.
  • No Input Timeout: Set the maximum length of time to wait for the user’s response, after the bot sends the current communication, before No Input triggers. 
  • No Input Maximum Retries Exceeded Handling: Specifies the bot behavior when the user does not supply input after the bot exceeds the maximum number of retries. If you enable the Max No Inputs path on the current action, then that setting takes precedence over this setting. You can choose to keep the chat open, disconnect the interaction, exit the bot flow, or route to a reusable task.
    Note: If you select Jump to Reusable Task, under Task, perform one of these steps:
    • To choose an existing task, click the list and select the appropriate task.
    • To view or edit the task that you select, click Go to Task .
    • To create a new reusable task, click Create New Task and configure the task according to your specifications.
  • End of Bot Chat Message: The conversation-ending message from the bot. This setting is triggered when the bot receives no input from the user after the bot exceeds the maximum number of no input retries if:
    • You do not enable the Max No Inputs path for the current action and you set the No Input Maximum Retries Exceeded Handling to Disconnect or Exit the Flow, or
    • The user disconnects, or 
    • The session’s maximum time is met.
Confirmation Errors

Configure the following settings:

  • Maximum number of Confirmation Rejections: Set the maximum number of times that the bot allows a user to reply with a “no” response when the bot attempts to confirm an input. If the bot exceeds the maximum number of retries, the following rules apply:
    • If enabled on the action, then the flow takes the No Intent path, or
    • The event handling Recognition Failure Event settings trigger.
  • Confirmation Rejection Apology: The apology communication that prefixes the current Ask action’s No Match communication when the user replies with a “no” after the bot attempts to confirm the user’s last input.
  • No Match Confirmation Apology: The apology communication that prefixes the current Ask action’s No Match communication when the bot receives user input that was not a valid match.
  • No Input Confirmation Apology: The apology communication that prefixes the current confirmation question when the bot does not receive input from the user after the relevant timeout during confirmation.
Confidence Thresholds

Configure the following settings:

  • Normal Low: Set the minimum confidence level percentage, or score, that an input phrase must receive to avoid a No Match. If the confidence level of an input phrase is above this threshold, then the bot either accepts or confirms it with the participant, depending on the value of the Normal High threshold.
  • Normal High: Set the maximum confidence level percentage, or score, that an input phrase must receive without triggering a confirmation question.
  • Confirmation: Set the minimum confidence level percentage, or score, that an input phrase must receive to avoid a No Match when a bot asks a yes or no question.