IBM Watson

IBM Watson is a third-party platform that provides virtual agents. Virtual agents interpret what your contacts say and respond appropriately. They do this using technologies such as:

• Speech-to-text Also called STT, this process converts spoken language to text. (STT)
• Text-to-speech Allows users to enter recorded prompts as text and use a computer-generated voice to speak the content. (TTS)
• Natural language processing Also called NLP, this process understands human speech or text and responds with human-like language. (NLP)
• Artificial intelligence (AI)

Virtual agents are flexible and can provide a range of functions to suit the needs of your organization. For example, you can design your virtual agent to handle a few simple tasks or to serve as a complex interactive agent.

Conversation Flow for Voice Virtual Agents

To start an interaction with a voice virtual agent, contacts The person interacting with an agent, IVR, or bot in your contact center. call a phone number and reach your organization. The contact may be connected directly to the virtual agent, or they might need to choose an option in an IVR Automated phone menu that allows callers to interact through voice commands, key inputs, or both, to obtain information, route an inbound voice call, or both. menu. Once the conversation with the virtual agent begins, the contact's utterances What a contact says or types. are transcribed Also called STT, this process converts spoken language to text. into text so the virtual agent can analyze them. The virtual agent's responses are converted to synthesized speech using a text-to-speech Allows users to enter recorded prompts as text and use a computer-generated voice to speak the content. service before being sent to the contact. Transcription and speech synthesis can happen in CXone or, in some cases, in the provider's platform.

After the conversation has started, the virtual agent analyzes the contact's utterances to understand the purpose or meaning behind what a person says. This is known as the contact's intent. When the intent is identified, the virtual agent sends an appropriate response to the contact. Depending on how the integration is set up, requests and responses are handled in one of two ways. They can be: 

• Sent directly between the virtual agent and the contact. CXone stays connected to the virtual agent service throughout the conversation, waiting for the signal that the conversation is complete or that the contact needs transferred to a live agent. For voice virtual agents, this is the SIP Protocol used for signaling and controlling multimedia communication sessions such as voice and video calls. backchannel method of connection.
• Sent via Virtual Agent Hub and the script with each turn. This option allows for customization of the virtual agent's behavior from turn to turn. For voice virtual agents, this is the utterance-based method of connection.

At the end of the conversation, the virtual agent sends a signal to the Studio script. It can signal that the conversation is complete, or that the contact needs to speak with a live agent. If the conversation is complete, the interaction is ended. If a live agent is needed, the script makes the request. The contact is transferred to an agent when one is available.

Once the conversation is complete, post-interaction tasks can be performed, such as recording information in a CRM Third-party systems that manage such things as contacts, sales information, support details, and case histories..

Prerequisites

To use IBM Watson virtual agents A software application that handles customer interactions in place of a live human agent. with CXone, you need:

• An IBM Cloud account.
• An IBM Watson Assistant virtual agent configured and trained to use actions that fulfill your contacts' requests.

Components of an Integration

The integration of IBM Watson involves the following components: 

• CXone: CXone must have a configured voice channel A way for contacts to interact with agents or bots. A channel can be voice, email, chat, social media, and so on. to use with the integration.
• Virtual Agent Hub in CXone: Virtual Agent Hub holds the configuration information for connecting to your virtual agent A software application that handles customer interactions in place of a live human agent. provider. This includes choosing the options you want to use for TTS Allows users to enter recorded prompts as text and use a computer-generated voice to speak the content. and transcription Written form of a voice or digital interaction, if your integration requires these services.
• Studio scripts: You need at least one script that includes a virtual agent Studio action. The action must be configured with the connection information for your virtual agent. The point of contact for the channel you're using with the integration must be configured to use this script.
• IBM Watson: Your virtual agent must be fully configured in the provider's platform. See the prerequisites on this page for any specific requirements.

Custom Scripting Guidelines

Before integrating a virtual agent The meaning or purpose behind what a contact says/types; what the contact wants to communicate or accomplish, you need to know: 

• Which script you want to add a virtual agent to.

• The virtual agent Studio action you need to use.

• Where the Studio actions must be placed in your script flow.
• The configuration requirements specific to the virtual agent you're using.
• How to complete the script after adding the virtual agent action. You may need to: 
  • Add initialization snippets as needed to the script using Snippet actions. This is required if you want to customize your virtual agent's behavior.
  • Re-configure the action connectors to ensure proper contact flow and correct any potential errors.
  • Use the OnReturnControlToScript branch to handle hanging up or ending the interaction. If you use the Default branch to handle hanging up or ending an interaction, your script may not work as intended.
  • Complete any additional scripting and test the script.

If you need assistance with scripting in Studio, contact your CXone Account Representative, see the Technical Reference Guide section in the online help, or visit the NICE CXone Community site.

Supported Studio Action

Voicebot Conversation Action

The Voicebot Conversation action is only for use with very simple bots or when you are using a SIP Protocol used for signaling and controlling multimedia communication sessions such as voice and video calls. backchannel connection. It does not allow the Studio script to customize or control the virtual agent's behavior from turn to turn.

This action interacts directly with the virtual agent and passively monitors the conversation in real time. The virtual agent analyzes the conversation for intent The meaning or purpose behind what a contact says/types; what the contact wants to communicate or accomplish and context from a constant audio stream. It then returns appropriate responses to the contact. When the virtual agent indicates the conversation is over, the action continues the Studio script. The action passes along any relevant information for screen pops State that allows an agent to complete work requirements after finishing an interaction, agent routing, and so on.

This is the only voice action supported for use with IBM Watson .