Guides

Intents

Overview

Zowie Intents functions as an intelligent router that recognizes customer intentions from their messages and directs the conversation flow to appropriate pre-defined process automations. It serves as the critical connection point between incoming customer queries and your automated business processes in the Decision Engine.

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This product is currently being rolled out across different customer environments. Access to specific features might vary depending on your implementation. Please contact Customer Success for more information or to request access.

Core Concepts

Intent Definition

An intent represents a specific customer goal or request. Each intent consists of:

  • Title: Identifier for the intent (e.g., "Order Status")
  • Description: Semantic explanation of what customer messages this intent should capture
  • Reference phrases: Sample messages that express this intent
  • Target process: The Decision Engine process to handle this intent

Intent Recognition Process

Zowie uses a three-step approach to recognize intents:

  1. Initial Matching: System analyzes incoming message and identifies multiple potential intent candidates
  2. Semantic Disambiguation: LLM evaluates message against semantic intent descriptions
  3. Clarification: If needed, system asks customer for additional information

Configuration Guide

Accessing Intents Router

  1. Navigate to Engine in the left navigation menu
  2. Select Intents router

Creating a New Intent

  1. From the Intents router list view, click Create new
  2. Fill in the required fields:
    • Title: Name your intent with normal capitalization such as "Return Policy"
    • Description: Define what customer messages should trigger this intent
    • Target Process: Select the Decision Engine process to handle this intent
  3. Add reference phrases
  4. Click Save

Defining Intent Elements

Title

  • Use a clear, descriptive name with normal capitalization
  • Example: Order Status, Return Process, Shipping Status

Description

Semantic description should:

  • Clearly define what customer scenarios this intent covers
  • Explain what types of queries should match
  • Specify any edge cases or exclusions
  • Be 60-240 characters (recommended)

Example:

The customer wants to change details of an order that has not been shipped yet. This includes modifying size, color, quantity, or delivery address. Does not include cancellation requests.

Reference Phrases

Add examples of actual customer messages that should trigger this intent:

  • Enter phrases directly in the interface, or
  • Import via CSV (click Import button to download template)
  • Recommended minimum: 20 reference phrases per intent

Example phrases for "Modify Order":

I need to change my order Can I change the delivery address for my order? I ordered the wrong size I want to add another item to my order How do I update my shipping information?

Target Process

Select the Decision Engine process that will handle conversations matching this intent:

  1. Click the dropdown under Target Process
  2. Select from available Decision Engine processes
  3. Note: Only one process can be selected per intent

Managing Reference Phrases

Adding Individual Phrases

  1. In the intent edit view, scroll to Reference phrases
  2. Type a new phrase in the text field (e.g., "I need to change my order size")
  3. Press Enter or click the "+" icon
  4. Repeat for each phrase

Importing Multiple Phrases

  1. Click Import in the Reference phrases section
  2. Download the CSV template if needed
  3. Prepare your CSV with one phrase per row (e.g., "Can I modify my shipping address?", "I ordered the wrong color")
  4. Upload the completed CSV

Deleting Phrases

  • Click the delete icon next to any phrase you wish to remove

Training the Model

After adding or modifying reference phrases, you must train the intent model for changes to take effect:

  1. Save your changes to the intent
  2. Return to the Intents list view
  3. Click the Train button for the specific intent or use the batch training option
  4. Wait for the training process to complete (indicated by the "Ready" status)
  5. Only after successful training will the changes be applied in production

Enabling/Disabling Intents

New intents are disabled by default. To enable:

  1. From the Intents list view, locate the intent
  2. Click the toggle in the Status column to change to Enabled

To disable an active intent:

  1. Click the toggle in the Status column to change to Disabled

Managing Intent List

The Intents list view displays:

  • Intent names
  • Description
  • Number of reference phrases
  • Target process
  • Status (Enabled/Disabled)
  • Training status

Details

Channel Compatibility

Intents function across all channels:

  • Chat
  • Email
  • Voice

The same intent definitions work across channels, but:

  • Reference phrases may vary slightly between channels
  • Decision Engine processes adapt responses to channel format

Context Preservation

Context captured during conversations persists:

  1. Decision Engine processes store relevant information (e.g., order numbers, customer details)
  2. This context is available for follow-up questions
  3. Context can be used by both Decision Engine and reasoning processes
  4. Context can be maintained at interaction or customer level depending on configuration

Troubleshooting

Intent Not Recognized

If an intent is not being recognized correctly:

  1. Check that the intent is enabled
  2. Review reference phrases - add more variations
  3. Ensure description clearly defines the intent
  4. Check for overlap with other intents
  5. Verify there are sufficient reference phrases (20+ recommended)

Similar Intents Confusion

If the system confuses similar intents:

  1. Review intent descriptions to make distinctions clearer
  2. Add more diverse reference phrases
  3. Consider merging very similar intents
  4. Ensure reference phrases don't overlap between intents

Example: If you have both "Return Request" and "Refund Request" intents that are getting confused, you might:

  • Clarify in the description that "Return Request" is specifically about sending products back
  • Specify that "Refund Request" is about getting money back without necessarily returning items
  • Add more specific reference phrases to each intent

Best Practices

Intent Structure

  • Limit to 10-20 core intents covering primary contact reasons
  • Create distinct intents with minimal overlap
  • Use consistent naming convention with normal capitalization (e.g., "Track Shipment", "Order Status")
  • Focus on customer goals rather than internal processes

Reference Phrases

  • Use real customer language from actual conversations
  • Include spelling variations and common typos (e.g., "shiping" and "shipping")
  • Mix short phrases ("Where's my order?") and long phrasings ("I ordered something last week and haven't received it yet")
  • Include 20+ phrases per intent for optimal performance
  • Avoid using identical phrases across different intents

Descriptions

  • Be specific about what the intent includes and excludes
  • Focus on customer's goal or problem
  • Use technically precise language
  • Include edge cases and boundary conditions

Example:

The customer wants to know when their order will arrive. This includes delivery timeframe questions, tracking requests, and inquiries about shipping delays. Does not include questions about order status prior to shipping or delivery problems after attempted delivery.