IBM Watson

IBM Watson is a third-party platform that provides voice and chat virtual agents. Virtual agents interpret what your contacts say or type in the chat window 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.

CXone Mpower supports using IBM Watson with voice and digital chat-based channels. For voice channels, IBM Watson virtual agents require a SIP Protocol used for signaling and controlling multimedia communication sessions such as voice and video calls. backchannel connection. Setting up this integration requires assistance from a CXone Mpower Account Representative. If you're using IBM Watson with a text virtual agent, you can set up the integration yourself.

Conversation Flow for Voice and Text Virtual Agents

The beginning of the conversation is different for voice and text virtual agents: 

• 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. 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 use them.

• For text virtual agents, contacts start a conversation using a chat window. The location of the chat window varies depending on the digital channel A way for contacts to interact with agents or bots. A channel can be voice, email, chat, social media, and so on. you use. For example, it might be located on your website or the contact could start the conversation using a third-party service, such as Apple Messages for Business. The contact's utterances What a contact says or types. are already in text format, so they don't need to be transcribed Also called STT, this process converts spoken language to text.. They're passed on directly to the virtual agent.

The virtual agent analyzes the contact's utterances to understand the purpose or meaning behind the words. This is known as the contact's intent. The virtual agent sends an appropriate response as text. The virtual agent's response is synthesized into audio by a text-to-speech Allows users to enter recorded prompts as text and use a computer-generated voice to speak the content. service. Transcription and speech synthesis can happen in CXone Mpower or, in some cases, in the provider's platform

The method of sending a response depends on whether it's a text or a voice virtual agent: 

• Voice: Requests and responses are sent back and forth between the virtual agent and the contact. CXone Mpower stays connected to the virtual agent service throughout the conversation, but does not participate in it. CXone Mpower waits for the signal that the conversation is complete or that the contact needs transferred to a live agent. This is the SIP Protocol used for signaling and controlling multimedia communication sessions such as voice and video calls. backchannel method of connection.
• Text: Requests and responses are sent via Virtual Agent Hub and the script with each turn. This option allows for customization of the virtual agent'sbehavior from turn to turn.

At the end of the conversation, the virtual agent sends a signal to the 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 ends. If a live agent is needed, the script makes the request. The contact is transferred to an agent when one is available.

When the conversation is complete, the script can perform post-interaction tasks, 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 Mpower, 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 Mpower: CXone Mpower must have a configured voice or digital chat-based 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 Mpower: 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, such as service account credentials. This includes choosing the options you want to use for transcription Written form of a voice or digital interaction, if your integration requires this service.
• 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.

Rich Media Support for Text Virtual Agents

If your channel supports it, you can include rich media Elements in digital messaging such as buttons, images, menus, and option pickers. content in the messages. The type of rich media that can be sent differs from channel to channel, as shown in the following table.

	Adaptive Cards	HTML & Markdown Text	Rich Link	Quick Replies	List Picker	Time Picker	Form message
Apple Messages for Business
Digital Chat
Email				Uses fallback text
Facebook Messenger
WhatsApp
Google Business Messages

Supported:

Not Supported:

Learn more about digital channel support for rich media.

When you want to include rich media content in text virtual agent responses, configure it in your virtual agent's management console. It should go in the configuration for each response that will send the rich media.

Rich media content is sent as JSON. When building your rich media JSON, follow the schema for the digital channel you're using. The schemas are different for each channel. Find the JSON for the media content you want to use, then add it to the response message configurations that you create in the IBM Watson configuration console. Learn more about working with rich media in Studio scripts. You can use the Digital Experience JSON mirror tool to verify your JSON before adding it to your scripts or virtual agent.

Voice Biometric Authentication

You can use voice biometrics to authenticate contacts The person interacting with an agent, IVR, or bot in your contact center. with an IBM Watson voice virtual agent. This method uses voiceprints to authenticate contacts over the phone. Every person has a unique voiceprint, just as they have unique fingerprints. It only takes 0.5 to 3 seconds of normal, conversational speech for a voice biometric service to determine if the caller is who they claim to be.

Contacts need to enroll to use voice biometric authentication. As a part of the enrollment process, they must give your organization permission to record their voice and use it for authentication. When you use this method with a virtual agent, you must configure and train your virtual agent to handle this intent The meaning or purpose behind what a contact says/types; what the contact wants to communicate or accomplish during an interaction.

Using voice biometric authentication with a virtual agent requires that you have a voice biometrics provider set up in Voice Biometrics Hub. You must also customize your Studio script to handle the voice biometrics flow.

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.
• Provider-specific requirements. Autopilot has no provider-specific requirements. For Autopilot Amelia only, the script has the following requirements: 

  • When nesting JavaScript within the JSON payload in Amelia virtual agents, use single quotes instead of escaping double quotes with a backslash ( \" ).

  • JSON structures must be "contentType": "dfoMessage", where the M in Message is capitalized. It won't work with a lower case m.

• 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 Studio action Performs a process within a Studio script, such as collecting customer data, playing a message or music, or routing a contact to an agent. 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. StandardBot behaviors. You can learn more about handling the end of the interaction in the online help about
  • Complete any additional scripting and test the script.

You may be able to obtain template scripts for use with virtual agent integrations from CXone Mpower Expert Services. If you need assistance with scripting in Studio, contact your Account Representative, see the Technical Reference Guide section in the online help, or visit the CXone Mpower Community site.

Supported Studio Actions

Use the following Studio action in your scripts with IBM Watson virtual agents.  For voice scripts, contact your Account Representative.

Textbot Exchange Action

The TextBot Exchange action is for complex virtual agents or for when you need to customize the virtual agent's behavior from turn to turn. It monitors the conversation between the contact and the virtual agent A software application that handles customer interactions in place of a live human agent. turn by turn. It sends each utterance What a contact says or types. to the virtual agent. The virtual agent analyzes the utterance for intent The meaning or purpose behind what a contact says/types; what the contact wants to communicate or accomplish and context and determines which response to give. TextBot Exchange passes the response to the contact. When the conversation is complete, the action continues the script.