Set Up Slots

Slots are key/value pairs that function as your bot'sClosed A software application that handles customer interactions in place of a live human agent. memory. They hold data that can come from various sources, including contact utterancesClosed What a contact says or types. or your CRMClosed Third-party systems that manage such things as contacts, sales information, support details, and case histories..

Concept Definition Example What the Bot Does
Message envelope icon

Utterance

Anything a contact says in an interaction. Sometimes called a message.

"I lost my password."

"What is my balance?"

"Are you a bot?"

 The bot uses Natural Language Understanding (NLU) to analyze each contact utterance to determine its meaning, or intent.
Magnifying glass icon

Intent

What the contact wants to communicate or accomplish. Every message the contact sends has an intent.

"I lost my password" has the intent of "reset password".

"Hello" has the intent of "greeting".

The bot analyzes a contact's message using NLUClosed This process expands on Natural Language Processing (NLP) to make decisions or take action based on what it understands. to determine the intent. Once it knows that, it can respond with a message of its own. You configure the response you want the bot to use for each intent.
Information icon

Entity

A defined piece of information in a contact's message. Person or product name, phone number, account number, location, and so on. The bot uses NLU to identify entities in a contact's message. Entities help the bot understand what the contact's message means.
Slot icon

Slot

An entity extracted from a contact's message and saved for use in bot responses. Similar to a variable. Creating a slot for contact name lets the bot use that name in responses during an interaction, making it more personal. When configured to do so, the bot extracts an entity from a contact message and saves it in a slot. You can have the bot use this information later in the conversation.
Rule icon

Rule

Defines a bot's response to messages that don't change meaning with context.
  • Single-turn interactions with fixed responses: What are your hours? What is your address?
  • Conversation building blocks: Greetings, good-byes, thank yous and transitions; simple yes/no questions; and acknowledgments. CXone Bot Builder comes with default intents and rules for several of these, including greetings, handoverClosed Any contact message that should trigger transfer to a live agent requests, and more.
  • FAQs
  • Insults and classic bot challenges
Rules are one of two ways you can configure how the bot responds to an intent. Rules are useful for certain kinds of intents, but not all intents.
Story icon

Story

Trains a bot to handle an interaction based on message intent and conversational context. In an interaction about a forgotten password, the bot would respond to, "How do I do that?" in one way. If the interaction were about creating a new account, the response would be quite different even though in both cases the contact is using the same words with the same intent – to get more information. Stories are the second of two ways you can configure how the bot responds to an intent. Stories teach the bot how to use the context of the conversation to respond appropriately.
Action icon, notated by three cogs

Bot Action

Anything a bot says or does while handling an interaction.

In an interaction about a forgotten password, the bot responds by sending the link to the password reset FAQ on the website.

When a contact expresses frustration, such as "I don't understand! It's not working!!!" the bot responds with "I'm sorry. Would you like me to transfer you to a human agent?" When the contact says yes, the bot initiates the transfer.

Actions are the options you have when defining how you want the bot to respond to each intent. They give you the flexibility to configure each response to achieve the outcome that meets the contact's needs.

Configure an Entity-Based Slot

When you add an entity, CXone Bot Builder creates a corresponding slot. You must configure entity-based slots if you want to change the settings from the default.

  1. In CXone, click the app selector and select Bot Builder.

  2. Click the bot you want to work with.
  3. Click Dialogues icon, which looks like conversation bubbles. in the left icon menu.
  4. In the right pane, click Slots.

  5. Under the From Entity section, click the slot you want to configure.

  6. Configure the slot Type and, if the slot type supports it, indicate if you want this slot to Influence Dialogue.

    Field Details
    Text

    Select this type if you want the slot to holdtext information. This includes numeric characters that don't need to be treated as numbers, such as a telephone or account number.

    If you set Influence Dialogue to On, your bot can behave differently depending on the slot's content. For entity-based slots, the bot only evaluates whether or not there is content. It doesn't behave differently based on the meaning of the content. 
    Number

    Select this type if you want the slot to holdnumeric information that needs to be treated as numbers and not text. Enter the Min Value and Max Value to define a range of acceptable values. If the value that fills the slot is outside those bounds, the bot's behavior is different. You must train the bot to respond based on values that are in and out of the defined range.

    If you set Influence Dialogue to On, the bot's behavior can change depending on the value in the slot:

    • Values below the minimum are treated as the minimum.
    • Values above the maximum are treated as the maximum.
    Categorical

    Select this type if you want this slot to hold a defined set of text information. Depending on which of the defined Valuesfills the slot, the bot can provide a different response. Separate the specific values with commas.

    If you set Influence Dialogue to On, the bot's behavior can change depending on the value in the slot. Any values not specified in the Values field are treated as Other.
    Boolean

    Select this type if you want a slot that holds true or false values.

    If you set Influence Dialogue to On, the bot's behavior can change depending on whether the slot is set to True, set to False, or is Empty. An empty slot does not automatically act as a False value. You can train the bot to recognize "yes" as true and "no" as false.
    Any

    Select this type if you want the slot to hold other types of values, including lists or JSON. This type of slot cannot affect the bot's behavior. Any value slots might a good choice if you are gathering data from the contactClosed The person interacting with an agent, IVR, or bot in your contact center. that you want to use in other systems.

    Slots of this type cannot be used to influence the bot's behavior.

  7. To restrict this slot, select the Intent Restriction or Form Restriction for the slot. Changes are saved automatically.
    FieldDetails
    Intent Restriction

    Use the drop-down to select one or more of your intents to restrict slot filling to. The slot is only filled when the selected intents are identified.

    This field is only available for the From Message filling method.

    Form Restriction

    Use the drop-down to select a form or forms where this slot should be used. The slot will only be filled from the selected forms.

    This field is only available for the From Intent and From Message filling methods.

Create a Slot that Fills from Intents

You can create slots that fill with pre-defined values when the bot recognizes the specified intentsClosed The meaning or purpose behind what a contact says/types; what the contact wants to communicate or accomplish. Intent-based slots can have multiple pre-defined values that fill the slot depending on which of the specified intents occurs during the interaction. You can map the values to the appropriate intents in the slot's configurations.

  1. In CXone, click the app selector and select Bot Builder.

  2. Click the bot you want to work with.
  3. Click Dialogues icon, which looks like conversation bubbles. in the left icon menu.
  4. In the right pane, click Slots.

  5. Choose the filling method by scrolling down to the From Intent section, then clicking New Slot.

    The Slots panel showing all of the filling method headings.
  6. Enter a name for the new slot and press Enter.

  7. Click the slot name to edit it.

    The form for creating a slot that fills from intents.

  8. Select the slot Type and, if the slot type supports it, indicate if you want this slot to Influence Dialogue.

    Field Details
    Text

    Select this type if you want the slot to holdtext information. This includes numeric characters that don't need to be treated as numbers, such as a telephone or account number.

    If you set Influence Dialogue to On, your bot can behave differently depending on the slot's content.  
    Number

    Select this type if you want the slot to holdnumeric information that needs to be treated as numbers and not text. Enter the Min Value and Max Value to define a range of acceptable values. If the value that fills the slot is outside those bounds, the bot's behavior is different. You must train the bot to respond based on values that are in and out of the defined range.

    If you set Influence Dialogue to On, the bot's behavior can change depending on the value in the slot:

    • Values below the minimum are treated as the minimum.
    • Values above the maximum are treated as the maximum.
    Categorical

    Select this type if you want this slot to hold a defined set of text information. Depending on which of the defined Valuesfills the slot, the bot can provide a different response. Separate the specific values with commas.

    If you set Influence Dialogue to On, the bot's behavior can change depending on the value in the slot. Any values not specified in the Values field are treated as Other.
    Boolean

    Select this type if you want a slot that holds true or false values.

    If you set Influence Dialogue to On, the bot's behavior can change depending on whether the slot is set to True, set to False, or is Empty. An empty slot does not automatically act as a False value. You can train the bot to recognize "yes" as true and "no" as false.
    Any

    Select this type if you want the slot to hold other types of values, including lists or JSON. This type of slot cannot affect the bot's behavior. Any value slots might a good choice if you are gathering data from the contactClosed The person interacting with an agent, IVR, or bot in your contact center. that you want to use in other systems.

    Slots of this type cannot be used to influence the bot's behavior.

  9. Click Add Value Mapping.

  10. Click No intent - Default value to configure the new value mapping.

  11. Select the Intents and specify the Value you want to map. Changes are saved automatically.

    Field Details
    Intents

    Use the drop-down to select one or more intents to associate with this slot. When one of the selected intents is recognized in a conversation, the Value you define is filled into the slot.

    This field is only available for the From Intent filling method.

    Value

    Enter the value you want to the slot to fill with when an intent is recognized.

  12. Add more value mappings if you want the slot to fill with a value when other intents are recognized.

  13. Select one or more forms from the Form Restriction drop-down if you want to restrict this slot to filling only when the selected forms are used in a conversation.

  14. When you're finished making changes, click Train and Stage to update your bot modelClosed Version of a bot that has been trained and staged to test this change.

Create a Slot that Fills From a Message

You can create a slot that holds the text of the contact's next utteranceClosed What a contact says or types.. There is a system message slot that holds the contact's most recent message. You can use that slot in conversations. However, you cannot change its configurations. If you want to customize how the slot works, you can create your own message-based slot.

  1. In CXone, click the app selector and select Bot Builder.

  2. Click the bot you want to work with.
  3. Click Dialogues icon, which looks like conversation bubbles. in the left icon menu.
  4. In the right pane, click Slots.

  5. Choose the filling method by scrolling down to the From Message section, then clicking New Slot.

    The Slots panel showing all of the filling method headings.
  6. Enter a name for the new slot and press Enter.

  7. Click the slot name to edit it.

  8. Select the slot Type, if the slot type supports it, indicate if you want this slot to Influence Dialogue.

    Field Details
    Text

    Select this type if you want the slot to holdtext information. This includes numeric characters that don't need to be treated as numbers, such as a telephone or account number.

    If you set Influence Dialogue to On, your bot can behave differently depending on the slot's content.  
    Any

    Select this type if you want the slot to hold other types of values, including lists or JSON. This type of slot cannot affect the bot's behavior. Any value slots might a good choice if you are gathering data from the contactClosed The person interacting with an agent, IVR, or bot in your contact center. that you want to use in other systems.

    Slots of this type cannot be used to influence the bot's behavior.

  9. To restrict when this slot can be filled, set the Intent Restriction or Form Restriction for the slot. Changes are saved automatically.
    FieldDetails
    Intent Restriction

    Use the drop-down to select one or more of your intents to restrict slot filling to. The slot is only filled when the selected intents are identified.

    This field is only available for the From Message filling method.

    Form Restriction

    Use the drop-down to select a form or forms where this slot should be used. The slot will only be filled from the selected forms.

    This field is only available for the From Intent and From Message filling methods.

  10. When you're finished making changes, click Train and Stage to update your bot modelClosed Version of a bot that has been trained and staged to test this change.

Create a Custom Slot

Custom slots typically hold information based on business logic. An example would be data retrieved by an API call to your CRM or another third-party application.

You cannot assign intent or form restrictions to custom slots.

  1. In CXone, click the app selector and select Bot Builder.

  2. Click the bot you want to work with.
  3. Click Dialogues icon, which looks like conversation bubbles. in the left icon menu.
  4. In the right pane, click Slots.

  5. Choose the filling method by scrolling down to the Custom section, then clicking New Slot.

    The Slots panel showing all of the filling method headings.

  6. Configure the slot Type and, if the slot type supports it, indicate if you want this slot to Influence Dialogue. Changes are saved automatically.

    Field Details
    Text

    Select this type if you want the slot to holdtext information. This includes numeric characters that don't need to be treated as numbers, such as a telephone or account number.

    If you set Influence Dialogue to On, your bot can behave differently depending on the slot's content.  
    Number

    Select this type if you want the slot to holdnumeric information that needs to be treated as numbers and not text. Enter the Min Value and Max Value to define a range of acceptable values. If the value that fills the slot is outside those bounds, the bot's behavior is different. You must train the bot to respond based on values that are in and out of the defined range.

    If you set Influence Dialogue to On, the bot's behavior can change depending on the value in the slot:

    • Values below the minimum are treated as the minimum.
    • Values above the maximum are treated as the maximum.
    Categorical

    Select this type if you want this slot to hold a defined set of text information. Depending on which of the defined Valuesfills the slot, the bot can provide a different response. Separate the specific values with commas.

    If you set Influence Dialogue to On, the bot's behavior can change depending on the value in the slot. Any values not specified in the Values field are treated as Other.
    Boolean

    Select this type if you want a slot that holds true or false values.

    If you set Influence Dialogue to On, the bot's behavior can change depending on whether the slot is set to True, set to False, or is Empty. An empty slot does not automatically act as a False value. You can train the bot to recognize "yes" as true and "no" as false.
    Any

    Select this type if you want the slot to hold other types of values, including lists or JSON. This type of slot cannot affect the bot's behavior. Any value slots might a good choice if you are gathering data from the contactClosed The person interacting with an agent, IVR, or bot in your contact center. that you want to use in other systems.

    Slots of this type cannot be used to influence the bot's behavior.

  7. When you're finished making changes, click Train and Stage to update your bot modelClosed Version of a bot that has been trained and staged to test this change.