Intermediate Response
Enhancing Caller Engagement during Processing Time
Overview
The Intermediate Response block is designed to enhance caller engagement during processing delays, particularly when interfacing with third-party APIs. This feature is designed to fill silent gaps during call processing, ensuring callers are consistently informed about the status of their requests.
This feature is currently compatible only with the Phone V2 platform.
Mechanism
This block acts as a placeholder in the dialog flow, providing brief, situational messages to inform the caller that their request is being processed. By default, Intermediate Responses are always played to ensure continuous communication and compliance with requirements like GDPR data privacy notices. Intermediate responses can only be used after the LaunchRequest has been processed successfully.
Response Management
Responses are organized within a system queue and will play in the order they are stacked in the bot. The first response ready is the first played. If the conditional Play logic toggle is on, intermediate responses may be skipped if the final response is available. However, if the final response is not available, the intermediate responses will still be played.
Types of Responses
There are two main types of responses:
Intermediate Response (IR): Non-final messages that are queued to play during the call's active processing time. These are always played by default to maintain engagement and meet compliance standards.
Final Response (FR): The definitive answer or solution provided to the caller, marking the end of the interaction.
Designing Dialog Flows
When incorporating Intermediate Response blocks into dialog flows, it's essential to consider their new default behavior and the Conditional Play option:
Typical Scenario: By default, all Intermediate Responses are played before the Final Response, regardless of whether the Final Response is ready.
Conditional Play: If the Conditional Play toggle is enabled on an Intermediate Response, this response may be skipped if the Final Response is ready, thus speeding up the interaction while potentially bypassing non-critical messages.
Key Considerations
Default Play: Intermediate Responses are configured to always play by default to avoid inadvertently skipping important information, such as compliance-related notices.
Conditional Playback: The Conditional Play toggle provides flexibility, allowing these responses to be skipped when the Final Response is ready. This should be used judiciously to balance efficiency with the need to communicate essential information.
Expectation Management: These responses play a critical role in managing caller expectations during wait times and are integral to maintaining a positive caller experience.
Implementation Notes
For bot builders:
Ensure that any use of the Conditional Play toggle is in line with the importance of the messages being potentially skipped. For example, critical notices required for legal compliance should not have the toggle enabled to guarantee their delivery.
For call recipients:
Expect that all necessary information will be conveyed without gaps, regardless of the processing speed of subsequent service blocks, unless the Conditional Play has been specifically activated.
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