Google Assistant workshop

Setting up a user-journey with Google Assistant and the conversational platform DigitalCX

Transcript

1. Google Assistant Workshop
2. CX Agenda Introduction Let’s introduce ourselves About Google Assistant Some background information Architecture & Setup Everything we need to get started Adding extra intents To get the most out of Google Assistant Google Assistant Workshop Creating deeplinks To get the most out of Google Assistant Overview of DigitalCX Getting to know our Conversational Platform Building & testing our user journey Let’s get cracking with our conversation What’s next? Getting ready to deploy Drinks! Do we need to say more!?
3. Before we start, let’s introduce ourselves! Tell us your name and the company you work for. Bonus: tell us something non-work related that keeps you busy Introduction
4. “Hey Google, please introduce yourself to the workshop” Introduction
5. About Google Assistant Some background information
6. What are we currently doing with our smart speakers?
7. But if we take a peak at what we can expect, then it’s quite exhilarating.. Voice future?
9. Speech vs. Assistant vs. Home vs. Duplex? What are we talking about?
10. Google Speech The technology which makes it possible to have fully automated conversations. Through Google Speech best-practices like Natural Language Understanding, deep- and machine learning and speech-to-text come together.
11. Google Assistant The assistant that runs on Google Speech, on a variety of devices. The Google Assistant can run for example on a website, a mobile application or hardware.
12. Google Home, Mini or Hub The hardware devices from Google running the Google Assistant, like the one (mini) we currently have in the room.
13. Google Duplex A highly intelligent, next-gen version of Google Speech, with enhanced Artificial Intelligence, improved natural voices and better natural language understanding.
14. Architecture & Setup Everything we need to get started
15. Take a look at a typical Google Assistant integration
16. CX Our setup step-by-step: Google Developer account ✔ Any regular @gmail-address will do. DigitalCX project ✔ To retrieve the content from Create the Google Assistant project To be able to configure settings, update versions and measure analytics Setup the fulfillment server (or proxy) To process the requests from and to the Assistant. This will run on the Actions SDK provided
 by Google to get started. Later we will also add the DigitalCX connector. Build the actions-manifest To define our invocations and tell Google how to route them Google Assistant Workshop
17. Create a new project Step 1
18. Go to https://console.actions.google.com
22. Choose an invocation → Tipsy Tomato → Slice Of Heaven → Twisted Toppings → Luigi’s Pizza → Pizza Paradise → The Funky Anchovy → The Round Triangle → Pizza Peddler → Tower Of Pizza → Slice Of Italy → The Daily Dough → Mama Mia’s Or get creative..
23. CX Three basic trigger phrases Ask “Ask Tipsy Tomato” Speak “Let me speak to Tipsy Tomato”
 “Speak to Tipsy Tomato”
 “Can I speak to Tipsy Tomato” Talk “Let me talk to Tipsy Tomato”
 “I want to speak to Tipsy Tomato”
 “Talk to Tipsy Tomato” Google Assistant Workshop
24. Sidebar: Invocations & naming policies Google is quite picky when it comes to invocations and policies apply. 
 For example, you’re probably unable to select a brandname without going through a brand verification process. Go ahead and try to use Domino’s as invocation. You’ll probably receive an error-message upon saving.
25. And some invocations remain still a mystery
26. Create the fulfillment server Step 2
27. CX Fulfillment server specs Written in Node.js With Express framework as server. We also use the body-parser dependency, so everything is properly encoded in JSON by default “Keep-alive” with Nodemon while developing So we don’t have to manually restart the server every time we make changes to the code Serveo service as localhost tunnel To be able to access our localhost environment from the outside. So Google Assistant can reach it as well. This allows us to quickly test our interactions without having to continuously deploy our code to a server Google Assistant Workshop
28. Sidebar: Serveo There are multiple tools to be able to expose localhost to the outside world. One of the best-known is probably grok. We are using serveo since we don’t need to signup or download anything. We will probably only get a warning about an insecure connection. This is because localhost doesn’t have a certificate. Nothing to worry about though.
29. mkdir <folder-name> && cd <folder-name>
30. npm init -y
31. sudo npm i -g nodemon npm i -S express body-parser
32. ssh -R 80:localhost:<port> serveo.net
33. Create the actions- manifest Step 3
34. Download the ‘Google Actions CLI’ https://developer.google.com/actions/tools/gactions-cli
35. chmod +x gactions
36. ./gactions -V
37. ./gactions init
38. Dutch is available, although still in Bèta!
39. ./gactions update --action_package action.json --project <project-name>
40. echo “creds.data” >> .gitignore
41. Map the intents to the server Step 4
42. CX 3 most important intents actions.intent.MAIN The so-called onLoad intent actions.intent.TEXT The follow-up intents actions.intent.CANCEL The fallback intent for when the user stops interacting with the Google Assistant Google Assistant Workshop
43. npm i -S actions-on-google
45. Sidebar: data-contracts Communication between the Assistant and our fulfillment server basically happens by interchanging a data file. This is essentially just a JSON-file with an agreed-upon structure in terms for keys and values. 
 You can see the data being sent and received inside the actions console interface. The package is therefore nothing more than a helper to make sure we adhere to the contract.
46. Sidebar: conv.ask() vs. conv.close() Calling the close-method on the conv-parameter, closes the so- called earcon inside Google Assistant
47. CX Conversation Exits “Exit” “Cancel” “Stop” “Nevermind” “Goodbye” Google Assistant Workshop
48. Sidebar: the Conversation exits These Conversation Exits are called In-dialog intents and are defined slightly different from other intents. They are also limited to simple responses with a max of 60 characters.
49. Introduction to voices & SSML Finetuning our speech
50. CX Introduction to voices & SSML Nextgen voices Google is releasing it’s next generation voices, based on wavenet technology, allowing the interaction to sound even more like a real human! Listen to some examples. Speech Synthesis Markup Language Allows the voice to sound more life-like by adding intonation, speed, pitch etc. Even sound effects are supported!
 
 https://developers.google.com/actions/reference/ssml? _ga=2.121910796.683378724.1553509042-19710129.1552383 378 Google Assistant Workshop SIDEBAR
51. There's a pending feature-request to allow SSML-editing and previewing right inside DigitalCX!
52. Adding extra intents To get the most out of Google Assistant
53. Invocation components
54. Add an extra intent to ask about opening hours Create an extra intent
55. Add an extra intent to order a pizza Create an extra intent
56. Lunch time! Let’s have a break
57. Welcome back!
58. CX Rest of the agenda Google Assistant Workshop Creating deeplinks To get the most out of Google Assistant Overview of DigitalCX Getting to know our Conversational Platform Building & testing our user journey Let’s get cracking with our conversation What’s next? Getting ready to deploy Drinks! Do we need to say more!?
59. Creating deeplinks To get the most out of Google Assistant
60. The query patterns can contain parameters Create an extra intent
61. Let’s ask the opening hours for a specific day Create an extra intent
62. Add an extra custom type for pizzas Create an extra intent
63. There is no NLU in the intent mapping. You have to be quite specific. Intent mapping
64. Google uses the query patterns to rank and discover your actions in the directory. Intent mapping
65. Let’s repeat this: Google uses the query patterns to rank and discover your actions in the directory.. Intent mapping
67. From their developer documentation:
68. Google’s Algorithm be like..
69. We could call this a kind of “SEO for Google Assistant” Google Assistant SEO
70. CX Invocation vs. deep-linking Explicit invocation % “Hey Google, talk to Tipsy Tomato" Deep linking Extension on the explicit invocation where the user already has an intent
 % “Hey Google, ask Tipsy Tomato about their opening hours”
 % “Hey Google, ask Tipsy Tomato about their opening hours this friday” Implicit invocation Google uses the actions dictionary to lookup which actions can fulfill this intent
 % “Hey Google, order a pizza” Google Assistant Workshop SIDEBAR
71. CX Best-practices and naming policies apply! ✔ https://developers.google.com/actions/ discovery/checklist ✔ https://developers.google.com/actions/ policies/general-policies#name_requirements Google Assistant Workshop Make sure to check them before publishing your action.
72. Sidebar: Invocations & naming policies Too generic names are not allowed, for example: “My Travel Agent”, “My Insurance Company”. However: exceptions to naming policies are considered on a case- by-case basis by requesting an Action Name Whitelist..
73. Principles of Conversational Design Some pointers and best-practices
74. Google has written an excellent guide in getting started with Conversation Design
75. Steer your conversation by leveraging hardware capabilities #1
76. Use the hardware capabilities of the device you are publishing for to guide the conversation For example on-screen carousels with images, quick replies and suggestion chips
77. Let’s add a picture of the opening hours, so the user can easily read back on what we said
78. You can request the capabilities of the user’s hardware by accessing the following parameter: conv.surface.capabilities.has(capability) conv.surface.capabilities.has(‘actions.capability. SCREEN_OUTPUT’)
79. In DigitalCX you can use contexts to define answers on a per capability basis.
80. Now update the Image to be a BasicCard with a Button
81. There are more Responses: → Simple Response → Basic Card → Browsing Carousel → Suggestion Chips → Media Object → List → Carousel Pick the right one depending on the type and mout of information you want to provide.
82. And.. Giphies are supported too! (I’m a hugh fan, did you notice already? )
83. Apply the Coöperative Principle #2
84. This principle states there is an implication of coöperation between conversational participants
85. Research shows that people respond to technology as they would to another human, so the coöperative principle applies.
86. This principle can be understood in terms of four rules: Maxim of Quality, Maxim of Quantity, Maxim of Relevance and Maxim of Manner.
87. Maxim of Quality Share the right quality of information, i.e. info you believe is true
88. % “Hey Google, is Reno in Mexico?” “Sure, and Philadelphia is in Florida” vs. % “Hey Google, is Reno in Mexico?” “No, Reno is in Nevada in The United States of America” SIDEBAR
89. Maxim of Quantity Share the right amount of information
90. % “Hey Google, do you know time?” “Of course I do” vs. % “Hey Google, do you know the time?” “In your times it’s currently twenty past three” SIDEBAR
91. Maxim of Relevance Share only relevant information
92. % “Hey Google, switch on the kitchen lights” “The temperature in the living room is 20 degrees” vs. % “Hey Google, switch on the kitchen lights” “Alright. Done.” SIDEBAR
93. Maxim of Manner Share information as briefly and orderly as possible, trying to avoid obscurity and ambiguity
94. “Done dealing with your transaction” vs. “Ok, I ordered your Beyoncé tickets. You can find them in your email” SIDEBAR
95. Create a Persona #3
96. A Persona will make your assistant appear more consistent, more likable and more reliable
97. “When people hear a voice, they will automatically address a Persona"
98. Your Persona should: Have personality traits like friendly, helpful, witty, charming etc. Build on a synthesized or recorded voice design Follow a style guide (if existent) Be considered as a real employee of your customer service center
99. Manage expectations #4
100. Always make sure the user knows upfront what kind of effort an action will require
101. “Next, you need to provide a username. Please provide a valid email-address” vs. “Do you want to create an account? It usually takes only one minute”
102. “We’re at question 3 of 10” vs. “Thanks for your patience. I only need 3 more answers and then we’re done”
103. Cater for non-scripted situations #5
104. Sometimes users might want to move the dialog forward by saying something unanticipated. Make sure you’ve got that covered in your recognition as well.
105. “Alright I found two accommodations in Nice, France. One is a hotel the other a camping. Which one would you like?” vs. % “The first one” % “The last one” % “Neither, I want an AirB&B” % “Definitely the hotel!”
106. “Alright I found two accommodations in Nice, France. One is a hotel the other a camping. Which one would you like?” vs. % “The first one” % “The last one” % “Neither, I want an AirB&B” % “Definitely the hotel!”
107. ⚠ Shameless self-promo ⚠ Next week, online magazine Frankwatching (±400.000 unique visitors/ month) will publish our article on successfully creating a use-case for voice- activated devices. We also provide in-company workshops for crafting user journeys and Persona’s.
108. Intro to DigitalCX
109. Want to know more about working with content in DigitalCX? We have an excellent portal (access through a DigitalCX account) with written articles and videos. You can also book a training with one of our experts through your Client Success Manager
110. Building & testing our user-journey Let’s get cracking with our conversation
111. We have a DigitalCX connector available for Google Assistant
112. The connector has two flavors Plug-and-play Simple functionality out-of-the box to support main-, text- and cancel-intent Advanced When deep integrations and customizations are needed. For example with CRM-systems like Salesforce or Hubspot
113. npm i -S @cxco/google-assistant
114. DigitalCX environments CMS environment Make changes and test immediately
 https://dev.digitalcx.com/cxcompany/projects/googleassistant Staging environment Requires an overnight or scheduled publish
 https://cxcompany-googleassistant-stag.digitalcx.com
 Production environment Requires an overnight or scheduled publish
 https://cxcompany-googleassistant.digitalcx.com
115. “Order a pizza”
116. “Order a large pizza”
117. “Order a small pizza”
118. “Pizza, pizza, pizza!”
119. “What are your opening hours?”
120. The connector has two flavors Plug-and-play Simple functionality out-of-the box to support main-, text- and cancel-intent Advanced When deep integrations and customizations are needed. For example with CRM-systems like Salesforce or Hubspot
121. npm i -S @cxco/dcx-connector
122. Deploy the code to a production-ready server. We are going to use Zeit Now for this.
123. npm i -g now
124. touch now.json
125. echo “creds.data” >> .nowignore
126. now
127. Don’t forget to put all your sensitive credentials inside an environment variable. Our apiKey might for example be stored privately if we have an internal knowledge base.
128. Enter the information required for listing your Action in the Actions directory
129. Create an alpha release under “Release”!
130. Overview of the release channels lifecycle
131. Getting ready to deploy If we release to alpha channel first, we don’t need to go through Google’s review process
132. Getting ready to deploy In the simulator we can then switch between versions
133. That’s all folks
134. Do you want to host this workshop at any time or place? Just let me know! In-company workshop
135. One more thing.. Start Doing What did you miss in or expect from the workshop? Stop Doing What wasn’t valuable in your opinion? Or what would you rather skip?
 Keep Doing What did you really like or enjoy?
136. Let’s chat further during drinks in the skybox Thank you!