An intent is the intention behind the message the AI service receives from the person speaking.
For example, a user says, ‘Hello, thanks for coming in today.’ The intent behind the message is to greet the person/character they are speaking to.
An intent-based agent, then, works by detecting this user intent. So, instead of relying on specific input or set of key words, the agent can identify the meaning the message is trying to convey. (And then offer a relevant, tailored response.)
How is an Intent Created?
An intent is manually generated by the scenario author by supplying “training phrases” or different ways to convey the meaning of the intent. The more examples you include in an intent, the more likely the AI will be successful in identifying the intent and returning the expected response.
For example - as an author creating the training “Greeting” intent you could use the following training phrases:
Hello, thanks for coming in today.
Hi, how are you?
Hello, good to see you, thanks for joining me
Hi, thank you for making the time, have a seat
Great to see you, I’m glad you could join me
Good morning, thanks for coming in
Good afternoon, [Name], come on it
etc.
When creating intents, it can be helpful to canvas colleagues and friends on how they would say things to convey the meaning of the intent. The more varied examples you can provide the better the intent will be.