Social Base Package
This package enables you to create a Self Help project containing a set of answers to general questions or socially related questions that users can ask the virtual agent.
- Once the virtual agent is created, the Desktop Studio in edit mode will display a set of procedures, i.e. answers to socially related questions, answers to user-specific behavior (welcome, misunderstanding, help request, etc.).
- Customers can adapt the procedures to the identity and scope of action of the virtual agent in compliance with their corporate style guide.
- A misunderstanding procedure is included in the package and can be adapted. It includes an escalation procedure that creates a ticket when the virtual agent is unable to find an appropriate answer to the request entered by the user.
See the configuration examples.
Examples
Notes
- The installation of this package is vital for the virtual agent to work.
- By default, all procedures in the social base are written to communicate using a male virtual agent with a formal style of language.
- To facilitate the implementation of new Self Help projects, the Starter Pack mission includes an empty Knowledge project. This project is not required for the virtual agent to work. You can therefore delete it from the virtual agent's scope.
- Service Manager project procedures do not need to be published.
Escalation procedure
- If you want the virtual agent to create tickets, you must install the connection package corresponding to the third-party product used, e.g. Service Manager, ServiceNow, etc.
- By default, a ticket will be created once the virtual agent is unable to find any answer to three requests entered by a user.
- The ticket creation functionality can be disabled.
Best Practice
- You can install the package easily using the predefined Starter Pack mission in the virtual agent creation wizard. See the procedure.
- The Self Help Social base project can be shared by several virtual agents within the same domain. In this case, you should import the Social base package into a specific Self Help project that each virtual agent can access.
example Social base project shared by three virtual agents
Characteristics specific to versions prior to Autumn 2020 - Build 2020.2.108.7
- The predefined Starter Pack mission is not available in the virtual agent creation wizard.
See the procedure for installing the package for versions prior to Autumn 2020 - Build 2020.2.108.7.
List of package procedures
Procedures at the root of the Self Help project
The five most commonly used procedures whose adaptation should be prioritized are grouped at the root of the Self Help project.
Note: The way each procedure is run is defined by the ServiceBots - Characteristics of Virtual Agent Procedures Agent Flag metadata specific to each virtual agent.
| Procedure | Agent Flag | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Welcome | welcome | The welcome message is displayed as soon as the conversation panel opens. | ||
| Goodbye | bye | This displays a message at the end of the conversation. | ||
| Samples | hidden | This provides examples of questions that users can enter in the conversation panel. | ||
| Misunderstanding | misunderstanding | This asks the user to rephrase the question and runs the escalation procedure when the virtual agent is unable to find an appropriate answer to the request entered by the user. | ||
| Rephrase | rephrase | This provides a set of answers when the virtual agent is unable to find a single knowledge article that matches the user's request. | ||
| Tag list | hidden | This displays a tag cloud associated with the virtual agent. |
Small Talk
Batch of procedures with answers to everyday questions, outside the scope of the virtual agent. Each question is associated with a short text answer.
example What time is it? Do you speak other languages?
Procedures
How to install the Social base package
From: Self Help versions Autumn 2020 - Build 2020.2.108.7 and later. See the procedure for earlier versions.
Step 1 (optional): Install the connection package used for ticket creation.
Note: The misunderstanding escalation procedure included in the Social base package is used to create tickets in third-party products when the virtual agent is unable to find an appropriate answer to the request entered by the user. If you enable this functionality, you should install the connection package corresponding to your third-party product.
1. Download the connection package to your workstation.
See List of connection packages.
2. Go to the Desktop Studio in edit mode.
3. Import the file into the domain of the virtual agent.
A new Self Help project with the name of the third-party product will be created. All procedures will automatically be imported and added to the tree structure.
Step 2: Create the Social base virtual agent.
Note: The Starter Pack mission includes an empty Knowledge project. This project is not required for the virtual agent to work. You can therefore delete it from the virtual agent's scope by unselecting it in step 5.
VirtualAgentCreation_Procedure
1. Go to the Online Studio and select Channels > Agents in the menu.
2. Click + Add.
3. Specify the information of the virtual agent. See the detailed procedure.
- Select the Starter Pack predefined mission.
- Select the Self Help projects that you want to associate with the agent.
- (optional - only when the virtual agent must be integrated within a Web page) Define the virtual agent's visual layout using the visual layout library.
Step 3 (optional): Configure the Service Manager connection package.
Note: Only if your misunderstanding escalation procedure enables you to create tickets via Service Manager.
ServiceManagerPackageConfiguration_Procedure
1. Go to the Desktop Studio in edit mode.
2. Expand the tree structure of the Service Manager project in the virtual agent's domain.
3. Specify the parameters for the oSetup variable found in the project library, which are required to call the Service Manager REST API.
See the detailed procedure.
Step 4: Configure and publish the procedures of the Social base virtual agent.
ProceduresConfigurationPublication_Procedure
1. Adapt the procedures specific to the virtual agent to the identity of your virtual agent in compliance with your corporate style guide.
See:
- Deploying a virtual agent: Adapting procedures
- How to customize the social base
2. Publish all of the virtual agent procedures for the Self Help projects. See the detailed procedure.
How to customize the social base
You can customize all of the procedures in the two folders, Small talk and System in order to adapt them to the identity of your virtual agent and corporate style guide.
Formal or informal style of language
1. Open each procedure where the virtual agent addresses users, e.g. welcome, misunderstanding, etc.
2. Adapt the text to the style of language you want.
Adapt procedures to the virtual agent's identity and scope of action
Welcome procedure
1. Open the procedure.
2. Modify the text:
- (1) Enter the name of your virtual agent.
- (2) Define the virtual agent's scope of action.
Samples procedure
1. Open the procedure.
2. Modify the text by adapting the examples of questions users can ask the virtual agent.
Misunderstanding procedure
1. Open the procedure.
2. Adapt the procedure steps to your specific escalation procedure. See the examples.
3. Adapt the text in every step found in the last level of the procedure.
Customize the misunderstanding procedure
Standard package procedure
- The escalation procedure is defined using a procedure with three branches.
- (1) and (2) The request is not understood by the virtual agent and it contains a ticket number or email address. The virtual agent will ask the user to rephrase the request.
| Ticket number | Email address | |
|---|---|---|
 |  |
- (3) The request is not understood by the virtual agent and it does not contain a ticket number or email address. The sub misunderstanding sub-procedure will be triggered.
- (1) The procedure increments the number of misunderstandings before running the escalation procedure. By default, the escalation procedure is run once there are three misunderstandings.
- (2) If the number of misunderstandings is less than the escalation threshold, the virtual agent will ask the user to rephrase, using three randomly selected phrases.
- (3) If the number of misunderstandings exceeds the escalation threshold, the escalation procedure will be run.
- (1) The procedure increments the number of misunderstandings before running the escalation procedure. By default, the escalation procedure is run once there are three misunderstandings.
Escalation with ticket creation in a third-party product
Note: Default procedure in the Social base package
- The escalation procedure is defined via the ticket creation procedure, called using its alias. This is defined in the third-party connection package.
- Once there are three misunderstandings, the ticket creation procedure will be run.
| Procedure | Result | |
|---|---|---|
 |  |
Escalation with email sent to the Support website
- The ticket creation sub-procedure must be replaced by a step that calls the connector for sending Self Help emails.
- Once there are three misunderstandings, the procedure for sending an email to the Support website will be run.
| Procedure | Result | |
|---|---|---|
 |  |
Escalation displaying Support contact details
- The escalation procedure is defined via a Page step that displays the contact details of the Support team.
- Once there are three misunderstandings, the virtual agent will display the contact details of the Support team.
| Procedure | Result | |
|---|---|---|
 |  |