CXone SmartAssist Powered by Amelia

CXone SmartAssist Powered by Amelia provides intelligent virtual agents (IVA) for voice and chat interactions, as well as interactions on certain Digital First Omnichannel channels. SmartAssist virtual agents understand complex interactions and respond to them with human-level comprehension. They can replace live agents to handle customers' questions and solve problems.

CXone SmartAssist uses Amelia, an industry-leading AI bot solution. You can integrate SmartAssist with CXone using Studio scripts and Virtual Agent Hub.

You can use CXone Recording to record SmartAssist voice interactions.

Conversation Flow for Chat

During an interaction, the Studio action used in the script acts like a bridge between CXone and the virtual agent. It passes replies back and forth between the script and the bot.

The virtual agent analyzes the contact's utterances to understand the intent for each one. Intents are the purpose or meaning behind what a person says. When the intent is identified, the virtual agent sends a response to the contact. The script passes it to the contact. When the conversation is complete, or if at any point the contact needs a live agent, Amelia lets the virtual agent action know. The Studio script continues, transferring the contact to a live agent if needed.

The conversation flow has some slight differences depending on the virtual agent A software application that handles customer interactions in place of a live human agent. 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. you use. There are two types of virtual agent Studio actions. Conversation actions handle very simple virtual agents and exchange actions handle complex virtual agents. The differences in conversation flow are found in the role the action plays in the conversation:

• For simple virtual agents that use a conversation action, the action interacts directly with the virtual agent. It passively monitors the conversation, but doesn't handle any part of it.
• When you use an exchange action, you can customize the bot's behavior from turn to turn. This gives you great control over the conversation.

Prerequisites

To use SmartAssist virtual agent bots A software application that handles customer interactions in place of a live human agent. , you need:

• An account with Amelia.
• A fully configured and trained Amelia virtual agent.

Required Components

Using SmartAssist involves the following components: 

• CXone—CXone must be configured to use the voice , digital, or ACD chat channels A way for contacts and agents to interact, such as voice, email, chat, social media, and so on. you want 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.
• Studio scripts—You need at least one script that includes one of the supported Virtual Agent Hub actions. The action you use must be configured with the connection information for your virtual agent provider. If you don't have Studio, you can download and install it.
• SmartAssist—Your SmartAssist virtual agent (Amelia) must be fully configured in the provider's platform. See the prerequisites on this page for any specific requirements.

SmartAssist and Digital Channels

You can use SmartAssist chatbots with Digital First Omnichannel (DFO) channels. Virtual Agent Hub supports messaging in plain text only with most digital channels.

Virtual Agent Hub supports messages that include rich media content on two DFO channels: Apple Messages for Business and DFO chat channels. DFO chat includes live chat Agents and contacts interact on a real-time basis and chat messaging Asynchronous chat in which contacts send a chat message anytime and wait for a reply. Rich media includes content such as buttons, list pickers, and attachments. The types of rich media you can include in messages depends on the DFO channel you're using.

When you want to include rich media content in chatbot responses, follow the JSON schema for the DFO channel. The schemas are different for each channel. Add the code for media content you want to use in the Amelia configuration console.

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 actions Performs a process within a Studio script, such as collecting customer data, playing a message or music, or routing a contact to an agent. that connect the bot to CXone. There are two actions that SmartAssist can use for textbots.

• 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.  You can do this to customize your bot.
  • 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 Scripting Reference Material sections of the online help, or visit the NICE CXone Community site.

Supported Studio Actions for Chatbots

When integrating a SmartAssist chatbot into a script, you can use the Textbot Exchange or Textbot Conversation actions.

Textbot Exchange is the preferred action for use with SmartAssist chatbots. Textbot Conversation is not recommended for use with SmartAssist.

Textbot Exchange Action

This action is for complex bots or for when you need to customize the bot's behavior from turn to turn.

TextBot Exchange monitors the conversation between the contact and the bot 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 bot. The bot 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 returns the bot's response to the contact. When the conversation is complete, the action continues the script.

Textbot Exchange is the preferred action for use with SmartAssist chatbots.

Textbot Conversation Action

This action is only for use with very simple bots. It does not allow for customization of the bot's behavior from turn to turn.

Textbot Conversation interacts directly with the bot and passively monitors the conversation in real time. The bot 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. It returns appropriate responses to the contact. When bot indicates that the conversation is over, the action continues the Studio script. The action passes along relevant information for screenpops, agent routing, and so on.

Textbot Conversation is not recommended for use with SmartAssist chatbots.