Services

Add services to you dialog

Services in Parloa Dialogs are designed to extend the functionality of your chatbots, allowing for more dynamic and interactive conversations. These services enable tasks like database access, email sending, and API integrations.

The availability and functionality of services vary depending on the version of Parloa you are using. Ensure you are using a compatible version to access the full range of services.

Why Use Services?

Using services in your Parloa Dialogs can greatly enhance the conversational experience. For example, allow you to:

  • Access Data – Retrieve personalized information from databases.

  • Send Notifications – Automate email or notification sending to users.

  • Process Payments – Manage transaction processes during the dialog.

  • Handle Transactions – Manage payment processes within the conversation.

  • Send Email Notifications – Send automated emails based on user interaction.

  • Integrate with APIs – Connect with external services for additional functionalities.

Schematic integration of external backends: An adapter REST service connects to specialized backends. It can convert the request-response format to the required Parloa format, and may be able to access private systems which Parloa cannot access directly.

Adding a Service

Step 1 – Obtain Credentials

Contact Parloa support at [email protected] for a clientID and APIKey.

Step 2 – Add a Service

  1. Navigate to the Services tab in the upper right corner of the Parloa bot interface.

  2. Click + Add New Service.

  3. Enter a service name and click Create:

Step 3 – Configure the Technical Environment

  1. Click the Technical Configuration tab.

  2. Enter the service-specific URL in the Service URL field:

  1. Input the clientID as specified.

Step 4 – Configure Headers

  1. Add a header with the name x-functions-key.

  2. Enter the provided API key as the value for this header.

Step 5 – Configure Branches

  1. Go to the Branches tab.

  2. Add at least one branch for different outcomes of the service call –

    • success – Service call completed.

    • else – Email failed to send. An error branch is added by default.

Step 6 – Add Service Input

The Service Input tab is designed for specifying the input parameters that are passed to the external service or API. This tab is critical for defining the data elements that the service will process. Here is an example of Input parameters that could be used in a service:

  • Utterance – This input parameter should hold the text string that needs spelling processing.

  • Language –This defines the language context in which the spelling processing will take place. For instance, 'en' for English.

  • Letters – Used to specify a subset of the utterance that includes only letter characters. This might be used if the service needs to process letters differently from numbers.

  • Numbers – Used to specify a subset of the utterance that includes only numerical characters. This might be necessary if the service has specialized processing for digits.

To add a service input:

  1. Click the + button:

  2. Add an input name.

Notes:

  • We currently only support input type string.

  • Ensure that each 'Input Name' accurately reflects the expected input for the external service or API.

Step 7 – Add Service Output

The Service Output tab is where you define how the results from the external service or API are mapped back to the conversation flow. For each output that the service will return, you must specify the output name.

The output name is the identifier for the output parameter which will receive data from the external service or API. It should correspond to the name of the output field as defined in the external service.

To add a service output:

  1. Click the + button:

  2. Add an output name.

Note: Ensure that the 'Output Name' matches the expected output field from the service to avoid mismatches and errors.

Removing a Service

  1. Go to the Services tab.

  2. Click the Trash icon next to the service you want to remove:

Alternative Deployment Options

For more control over your services, you can host them on your infrastructure. Contact us for the necessary source code and support.

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