Configure System Skills and Small Talk

Small Talk and System Skills in Luma Virtual Agent provide organization-specific personality to your Bot. An Administrator can customize the user experience by defining Bot actions and responses based on the user's intent or activity. This article describes the System Skills and Small Talk skills available on Luma Virtual Agent and how the Administrator can configure the Bot as per the requirement.

System Skills

System Skills are out-of-the-box skills that are available to the users when a new tenant is provisioned. The System Skills tab includes the following details:

  • Welcome Skills

  • What Can You Do

  • Abort/Exit

  • Transfer to Agent

  • User Registration

  • Browse Service Catalogue

  • Explore Knowledge

  • Explore Catalog

With each release, Serviceaide may update the out-of-the-box system skills. If you have made changes to the System Skills, your custom System Skills will remain as is and not be updated. If you have not edited the System Skills, they will be updated automatically. 

Welcome Skill

The Welcome Skill creates a welcome experience for users and helps communicate all the requests that the bot can assist with. The Welcome Skill includes User Phrases and Welcome Messages. User Phrases are the various ways the user is expected to converse with the bot when the conversation begins. Welcome Messages are the greetings sent back to the user. Examples of User Phrases include ‘Hi,’ ‘Hello,’ and ‘Welcome.’ While an example of a Welcome Messages is 'Hello and welcome. I'm Luma, your Virtual Support Agent. I'm here to help!'. 

An Administrator can create a welcome experience by defining various phrases and messages as required and can also edit the existing phrases.

  1. To define user phrases and welcome messages, do the following:

    • Click on “+Add User phrase.”

    • Type the phrase in the Enter Possible user Phrases row in the User Phrases section and press the Enter key.

    • Type the welcome message in the Enter Welcome Message row and press the Enter key.

  2. To delete a user phrase or welcome message, hover over the row which you want to delete and click the Delete icon.

  3. Click Save to save the phrases and messages.

The following image shows how the welcome skill appears:

What Can You Do

In this section, you can define a phrase which the user is expected to utter when they ask for help or ask what the bot can do. You can add new phrases and edit existing phrases. During the conversation, when the user enters phrases specified in ‘What can you do,’ the suggested skills are displayed in response.

While Welcome skill is comprised of user phrases and welcome messages, 'What can you do' contains only user phrases. 

  • Click on “+Add User phrase.”

  • Type the required phrase in the Enter Possible User Phrases row.

  • Hover over the row and click the delete icon to delete a row.

  • Click Save to save the phrase.

Abort/Exit

In this section, you can define the Abort/Exit command and Abort messages for your tenant. 

Abort Command: This command allows the user to exit the conversation with the bot or Agent. The command is tenant-specific and set to 'abort' by default. However, it can be customized as required.

Abort Message: You can define the Abort message for two types of exit scenarios (conversation status):

  1. Within a conversation, when the user exits from an ongoing conversation with a bot or Agent.

  2. Outside a conversation,  when the user is not interacting with bot or Agent. 

You can add new messages or edit existing messages.  When the user executes the abort command, an appropriate abort message will appear like a bot response based on the conversation status.

  1. To configure Abort/Exit the command for your tenant,

    • Click on “+Add User phrase.”

    • Add new command 

    • Press the Enter key

  2. To configure the corresponding message in Luma, do the following.

    1. Add messages in Abort Message (Within a conversation) and press the Enter. 

    2. Add message Abort Message (Outside a conversation) and press the Enter.

    3. To delete the message, hover over the row which you want to delete and click the Delete icon.

  3. Click Save to save the new command and messages.

Transfer to Agent

This section is used to define the Transfer to Agent skill for your Tenant. It is an Out-of-the-box (OOTB) skill that is used to transfer the conversation to Support Agents. In addition to skill details, you can define command and phrases which end users are expected to utter when they prefer to talk to an agent, instead of continuing their conversation with Luma. During a conversation, if the user executes the skill using any of the associated phrases or the defined command, the conversation moves from the bot context to the Agent context. The user can now start a conversation with the live agent. You may also define if the skill can be added as a Suggested skill.


To update Transfer to Agent skill for your tenant, follow the below steps:

  1. In the Skill Details section, update the below fields as required:

    1. Skill Name: This defines the name of the skill.

    2. Description: This is the description of the skill.

    3. Skill Image URL: This is the URL to the Image assigned to the skill. The image appears when the skill is recommended to the End User as a Suggested Skills.

    4. Transfer to Agent Command: This command is used to trigger the Support Agent transfer process.  It transfers the conversation to a Support Agent. This command is tenant-specific and set to 'transfertoagent' by default. However, this command can be customized as required.

    5. Display as Suggested Skill: This defines if the 'Transfer to Agent' skill can be added as a Suggested skill for your bot. For more information Suggested Skill refer, Customize System Skills behavior

    6. Status: This indicates the current Active/Inactive status of the skill.

  2. In the User Phrases section, add the phrases that could be used to transfer the user request to a Support Agent. 

    1. To add a new phrase, type the required text in the User Phrases section and press Enter.

    2. To delete a phrase, hover over the row which you want to delete and click the Delete icon.

  3. Click Save to save the updates. 

Using ‘Transfer to Agent’ Skill

A user can request to talk to a support team by using one of the phrases configured, such as Transfer to an Agent, or can directly use the skill command. On receiving the request, Luma identifies the available Support groups (Custom groups with Purpose set as Support Group) and prompts the user to select Support Agent group, which the user requires to talk to. The available Support groups are identified based on the Business Hours defined in Tenant Settings → Users Administration→ Groups. The available support groups are classified as :

  • Online Group:  These are the Support groups operating within Business Hours, and at least one Support Agent is logged in. Such groups appear as Online and are available to support the users with their request.

  • Offline Group: These are the Support groups operating within Business Hours, but there are no Support Agents online to assist with the user requests. Such groups appear as selectable options but are marked Offline. If an Offline Group is selected, Luma prompts an alert message indicating that no agents are available to accept the request. A suffix “(Offline)” is displayed against all the Offline groups for the user to distinguish between Online and Offline groups.

    Refer to Manage Agent Chat Console Settings for more information on alert messages.

The user can now select the required support group. On a successful transfer, the conversation starts appearing in the Agent Chat Console. The request is listed in the Waiting queue of all the Support Agents who are associated with the selected Support Group. The conversation is maintained in the Waiting queue for the configured Waiting Queue time out. The Support Agents can now accept the conversation and resolve the user's query. Once the chat is accepted, it is moved to Agent's Ongoing queue. The conversation is now in the Support Agent context, i.e., the subsequent communication in the chat will be between the end-user and the support agent. For more information, refer to Agent Chat Console.

The End-user may also exit the conversation with the Agent using the Abort/Exit command. 

Trigger ‘Transfer to Agent’ Skill through a Skill

‘Transfer to Agent’ Skill can also be triggered from another skill based on a specific condition. A Skill developer can add ‘Transfer to Agent’ as a branching skill. This eliminates the additional user steps of ending the current conversation and initiating Transfer to Support Agent. When triggered through a skill, a user request can also be routed directly to a specific Support group.

To use ‘Transfer to Agent’ in your skill,

  1. Add 'Add Condition' in Conversation flow.

  2. Define the rule that should be evaluted as ‘true’ to trigger ‘Transfer to Agent’.

  3. Configure a message to be displayed to the end-user.

  4. To redirect the user request to specific Support group, Set Attribute global context variable OOTB Support group name to the Support group’s name.

  5. Set Execute to Skill and select 'Transfer to Agent' skill.

In the below example, if the IssueCategory is Luma, user request is redirected to Support group named ‘Luma Support.’

User Registration

This section is used to define the ‘User Registration’ skill for your Tenant. This is an out-of-the-box skill that is used to register an anonymous user in Luma Virtual Agent. In addition to skill details, you can define a command and phrases which the users are expected to utter when they prefer to request user registration. When a new user executes the registration skill using any of the associated phrases or the defined command, then the user registration process in Luma Virtual Agent is triggered, and the user becomes a registered user. You may also define if the skill can be added as a Suggested skill.

To update the User Registration skill for your tenant, follow the below steps:

  1. In the Skill Details section, update the below fields as required:

    1. Skill Name: This defines the name of the skill.

    2. Description: This is the description of the skill.

    3. Skill Image URL: This is the URL to the Image assigned to the skill. The image appears when the skill is recommended to the End User as a Suggested Skills.

    4. User Registration Command: This command is used to trigger the registration process. It transfers the conversation to the registration page. This command is tenant-specific and set to 'register' by default. However, this command can be customized as required.

    5. Display as Suggested Skill: This defines if the 'User Registration' skill can be added as a Suggested skill for your bot. For more information, Suggested Skill refer, Customize System Skills behavior.

    6. Status: This indicates the current Active/Inactive status of the skill.

  2. In the User Phrases section, add the phrases that could be used to request user registration. 

    1. To add a new phrase, type the required text in the User Phrases section and press Enter.

    2. To delete a phrase, hover over the row which you want to delete and click the Delete icon.

  3. Click Save to save the updates. 

How does the Skill work?

A new user can request to register to a channel by using one of the phrases defined such as ‘Register me’ or the skill command. On receiving the request, Luma VA requests for user’s information such as username, email id, or phone number. Upon receiving details, Luma VA verifies if the user (with the provided details) is available in the tenant. If a matching user profile is found, an email is triggered to the user’s email id with a link to complete the registration process. Upon clicking on the link, a web browser opens with a success message. The registration process is now complete.

The End-user may also exit the skill execution using the Abort/Exit command. 

Browse Service Catalogue

Through this OOTB skill, end-users can browse through the list of skills present in Luma VA. Here, we define how the users can browse all the available services as a catalog.  In addition to skill details, you can define command and phrases which end users are expected to utter when they prefer to trigger the Browse Service Catalogue Skill. When the end-user requests to execute the skill, the bot responds with the available services in a carousel of cards. You may also define if the skill can be added as a Suggested skill.

To update the Browse Service Catalogue skill for your tenant, follow the below steps:

  1. In the Skill Details section, update the below fields as required:

    1. Skill Name: This defines the name of the skill.

    2. Description: This is the description of the skill.

    3. Skill Image URL: This is the URL to the Image assigned to the skill. The image appears when the skill is recommended to the End User as a Suggested Skills.

    4. Browse Service Catalogue Command: This command is used to trigger the skill arranged by category. It helps the user to select and execute a skill from the list of categorized skills. This command is tenant-specific and set to 'browseservicecatalogue' by default. However, this command can be customized as required.

    5. Display as Suggested Skill: This defines if the 'Browse Service Catalogue' skill can be added as a Suggested skill for your bot. For more information, Suggested Skill refer, Customize System Skills behavior

    6. Status: This indicates the current Active/Inactive status of the skill.

  2. In the User Phrases section, add the phrases that could be used to request the skill. 

    1. To add a new phrase, type the required text in the User Phrases section and press the Enter

    2. To delete a phrase, hover over the row which you want to delete and click the Delete icon.

  3. Next, select the display order for the skills in the catalog. Here you define how are the skills presented to the users. You can define different sorting orders for different groups in your tenant. To do so,

    1. Select the User group.

    2. Select the Display Order to sort the skills accordingly.

      1. Name [A-Z]: This is the default displayed order applied on the Skill list. It sorts the Skills by name in ascending order (A-Z).

      2. Name [Z-A]: Sorts the Skills by name in descending order (Z-A).

      3. By Total Executions: Sorts the skills by popularity, i.e., most executed skill.

      4. Last Updated On: Sorts skills by Last updated date

    3. Set the Display Type. Skills can be displayed as Cards or Quick Replies.

  4. Click Save to save the updates. 

Explore Knowledge

This is an OOTB skill that allows the end-user to browse through the Domains and Topics available in Luma Knowledge to find the relevant Knowledge Article. When Explore Knowledge Skill is executed, the Luma Knowledge Explore page opens in a new browser tab. The end-user can now browse through the Domains and related topics to view the underlying Knowledge Articles.
In addition to skill details, you can define command and phrases which end users may use to Explore Knowledge. You may also define if the skill can be added as a Suggested skill.

To update the Explore Knowledge skill for your tenant, follow the below steps:

  1. In the Skill Details section, update the below fields as required:

    1. Skill Name: This defines the name of the skill.

    2. Description: This is the description of the skill.

    3. Skill Image URL: This is the URL to the Image assigned to the skill. The image appears when the skill is recommended to the End User as a Suggested Skills.

    4. Explore Knowledge Command: This command triggers the Explore Knowledge skill. This tenant-specific command is set to ‘exploreknowledge' by default. However, this command can be customized as required.

    5. Display as Suggested Skill: This defines if the 'Explore Catalog' skill can be added as a Suggested skill for your bot. For more information on Suggested Skill refer to Customize System Skills behavior.

    6. Status: This indicates the current Active/Inactive status of the skill.

  2. In the User Phrases section, add the phrases that could be used to request the skill. 

    1. To add a new phrase, type the required text in the User Phrases section and press the Enter

    2. To delete a phrase, hover over the row which you want to delete and click the Delete icon.

  3. Click Save to save the updates. 

Explore Catalog

This OOTB skill allows end-users to browse through the Catalog Categories in Luma Knowledge. When Explore Catalog is executed, the Luma Knowledge Explore page opens in a new browser tab. The end-user can now browse through the Categories to view the associated Service Catalogs.
In addition to skill details, you can define the command and phrases end users may use to explore the Catalogs. You may also specify if the skill can be added as a Suggested skill.

To update the Explore Catalog skill for your tenant, follow the below steps:

  1. In the Skill Details section, update the below fields as required:

    1. Skill Name: This defines the name of the skill.

    2. Description: This is the description of the skill.

    3. Skill Image URL: This is the URL to the Image assigned to the skill. The image appears when the skill is recommended to the End User as a Suggested Skills.

    4. Explore Catalog Command: This command triggers the Explore Catalog skill. This command is tenant-specific and set to 'exploreCatalog' by default. However, this command can be customized as required.

    5. Display as Suggested Skill: This defines if the 'Explore Knowledge' skill can be added as a Suggested skill for your bot. For more information, Suggested Skill refer, Customize System Skills behavior.

    6. Status: This indicates the current Active/Inactive status of the skill.

  2. In the User Phrases section, add the phrases that could be used to request the skill. 

    1. To add a new phrase, type the required text in the User Phrases section and press the Enter

    2. To delete a phrase, hover over the row which you want to delete and click the Delete icon.

  3. Click Save to save the updates. 

  • While Abort/Exit skill is triggered only using the command, ‘Transfer to Agent', 'User Registration', 'Browse Service Catalogue', and 'Explore Knowledge' can be triggered using the command as well as User phrases. 

  • If OOTB Skill is set to inactive, the skill cannot be triggered by users and will not be available in Suggested skills.

  • To trigger a System skill using command, prefix the skill commands with your tenant-specific command prefix. For more information, refer to Bot Settings | Conversation Settings.

Small Talk

Small Talk is a casual form of conversation that makes your bot seem intelligent and allows an organization to give their bot a personality that aligns with their culture. Small Talk is a set of common phrases that are not related to any skill. Out-of-the-box Small Talk is available for each bot and an Administrator can customize the responses to meet their unique needs. Both the Phrases and responses sections of a small talk question/name are editable.

  • Small Talk is based on the bot's language. An English bot will have different Small Talk questions than a Chinese bot.

To define the phrases and responses for Small Talk, do the following:

  1. Click the Small Talk topic header to expand and view the subsequent questions, phrases, and answers. Each header includes a number of common questions or statements that users say to bots. Each question has a name, the user phrases that trigger it, and the responses that are sent to the user. For example, the Courtesy topic includes responses for 'That's bad', That's great' or 'Thank you'. You can adjust the phrases that trigger this question/statement and the responses that will be communicated.

  2. To edit existing phrases or add your own custom phrases

    • Type your phrases in User Phrases and hit enter

    • Hover over existing rows and click the delete icon to delete a row

    • Click Save to save the phrases

  3. To edit existing responses or add your own custom responses

    • Type your response in the Responses row.

    • Press the Enter key to add another row.

    • Hover over the row and click the delete icon to delete a row.

    • Click Save to save the responses.

  4. You can enable or disable entire topic sections of Small Talk based on your organization's needs.

  • Build and Publish process run is required for Small Talk content changes to take effect.

  • You may set Small Talk or individual Small Talk Categories to Disabled mode to exclude Small talk from the Build and Publish process. This reduces Build and Publish run time.

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