From Scratch
With this step-by-step guide, you'll find out how easy and simple it is to create a virtual agent with eva!
reate a new virtual agent
Click on New virtual agent card to start.
If you're assigned as Editor or Viewer, the button won't be visible. Only Admins and Supervisors can create virtual agents. Check out eva profiles table.
You'll be asked if you want to create or import a virtual agent.
Choose the option create to see the page below. Now, fill in the requested information.
Select NLP and Language
To create the virtual agent, you must choose an engine such as NLP or a LLM model. eva allows you to connect with the of the main NLP engines available on the market and also with OpenAI models (learn more).
eva is powered by eva NLP (cognitive engine by NTT DATA) by default.
Then, select the primary language of the virtual agent. Check out the full list of languages supported by each NLP below:
Choose Industry
Choose from a variety of industries the one your agent will be working in.
Choose Main Channel
Select the platform where the virtual agent will interact with users (web, WhatsApp, Facebook, etc.). You can add more channels anytime.
Follow these steps:
Choose one channel from the list (eva allows you to connect with more than 30 channels)
Add a name and a description as seen below. Every channel must have a name, the is description is optional though (it helps guide the team and new members to understand the virtual agent and project more quickly).
Important:
The channel name is unique and cannot be used twice
Your virtual agent might malfunction if you rename the channel
Avoid naming it with the same name of the platform, for example, "Facebook Messenger", "Web", "Google Home", etc. as it may confuse you later when you try to create another virtual agent and want to use the same channel. Tip: give it a name linked to the project and its description.
You can also integrate more channels for the same virtual agent anytime
After choosing the main channel, you will be able to go forward and start creating the dialogs.
Design and Create Dialogs
Now, you can start creating conversational flows. There are four different types of flows that you can start with: Welcome, Not expected, User journey, and Jump flow.
Tip: If this is your first time using eva, you might find it easier to start with a Welcome flow. 😉 This is not a mandatory flow, it will depend on the project strategy.
Welcome flow
The welcome flow is where you create a greeting message. It works especially on channels that allow proactive greeting messages. This flow is not mandatory and allows inserting more than one cell, according to your project needs.
Click on "Welcome" to open the window on the right side of your screen. Type "Welcome" on the field "Name", register the tag Welcome, and click on "Save and view".
Add cell
On the left side, you'll see the plus icon to "Add cell".
Write a welcome message
Write a welcome answer and add a menu if you want. If you use the "Option" field, you can add a menu to your virtual agent. Depending on the channel you're using, it may come in the form of text (such as WhatsApp) or buttons (such as web and Facebook).
On the "Value" field, you can register an Intent example, a Synonym Entity value or an expression predicted by a Pattern Entity. After registering your text and/or buttons, click "Save".
Tip: You can use emojis in eva! 😍 To add an emoji, copy and paste from Get Emoji.
User Journey
Now, it's time to improve the flow. Go back to the tab Flows, click on "Create flow" to see the options and click on "User Journey". Name your flow (remember to use _ or - instead of spaces between words).
Create intents
After that, you will be redirected to the Workspace. Press the plus button to see the Create Intent window on the right side.
Name your intent
Remember to avoid spaces! Instead, you must use _ or - to connect words. For example, Check_Balance.
In the "Add example" lines, you should register utterances that your user would use. For example, in the Check Balance, it could be expressions such as "Check account balance", "How much do I have in my account", "I'd like to ckeck my balance", etc. Press enter to register the Examples.
eva allows you to upload a file with intents and examples. Learn more about Intent Cells
Tip: When registering the utterances examples, remember to anticipate possible typos or grammatical mistakes the user might make.
Next cell
After clicking on "Save", you will be redirected back to the Workspace. Hover the mouse over the cell to access the options: create (plus icon), edit (pen icon), and delete (trash can icon).
The plus icon opens a window for you to choose the next cell. It could be Entity, Answer, or advanced cells, such as Jump, Service, Input, Rule, and Code.
Tip: If this is your first time in eva, it would be easier if you predict an Answer cell to dialog with the newly registered Intent. 😉
Name your answer
If you choose Answer, you'll see a second step asking you if you want to create an answer or choose from a list. If you have just started the flow, click "New" to see a window on the right side. Name your Answer and click "Next".
Write your answer
Write your answer and click "Save". As aforementioned, you can add buttons in the Answer cells.
Tip: It's a good practice to use the exact same name for Intents and Answers
Continue your flow
You can continue your flow, adding cells such as Entities, Answers, or the advanced cells Input, Rule, Code, Service, and Jump.
Important: Flows with less than 100 cells perform better.
For a better performance, we recommend to not exceed 100 cells in a single flow. If you need to add more cells, you can either create new flows such as User Journey or Jump.
The Jump flow is a complementary flow. It can be a common journey that appears in more than one flow, like for example when you need to validate a user, which may be needed in different flows such as open a ticket, follow its status, to cancel it, or even to leave a suggestion or a complaint.
So, using this same example, instead of repeating the same cells in all these flows, you can simplify it by just adding a Jump cell in these flows that will lead to a Jump flow for “user_validation”.
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