How to Interact with your Virtual Assistant on the Phone

 Your virtual assistant sessions start as soon as you login by phone. Your assistant welcomes you and starts interacting with you in the language and dialog mode defined in your user profile. It speaks English and French and understands English and French speech commands. It can also interpret touchtone (DTMF) commands. During your sessions, you will be able to issue speech or touchtone commands to get what you want. As soon as you complete a command or sentence, the assistant interprets what you said using a pre-defined vocabulary. The Quick Reference Card available to you on your Web portal lists the speech and touchtone commands. Review the techniques and tips provided in this page to get the most out of your speech assistant.

When is the Assistant Ready to Take my Commands?

Once you have been identified and authenticated, the assistant greets you by name and prompts you for a command based on your Session Start page and your Speech Interface level. For example, in Expert Mode, you will hear:
"What can I do for you?"
If you have set your phone session preference to automatically download your mail after login, the assistant will first tell you how many new messages and appointments you have that day, before prompting you for a command. For example, you may hear: "You have 5 voice messages, 21 e-mails, 2 faxes and 4 appointments today. What can I do for you?".  The assistant is then ready to take commands for the services in your subscription packages.

As an example, at the main menu level, you can say or enter any command from the Main Menu & Special Commands to have your assistant perform the following tasks for you:

  • Read and send e-mails, voice mail & faxes
  • Review & schedule calendar events
  • Call contacts or send them voice e-mails
  • Set your status and call forwarding for people to reach you
  • Review your call logs and call back people
  • Manage your account settings such as PIN number, call forwarding, etc.
Some of the commands listed above go with the services to which you have subscribed. If a service is not part of your service packages, its commands will not be available to you.

***Click on Quick Ref Card link for a list of the main speech and touchtone commands.

How to Use the Virtual Assistant Speech Commands?

Wait for Silence Before Saying your Command

Your assistant supports barge-in so you can interrupt a system voice prompt or text-to-speech, but for better speech recognition results, it is recommended to wait for a pause before saying your command. When reading e-mails and appointments, the assistant pauses shortly after reading the message header to allow you to say your command.

Use Speech Commands in their Context

Speech commands are spoken words or sentences that are part of a dialog expected by your virtual assistant. Even if the assistant can recognize a large vocabulary, specific commands are expected at specific dialog levels. The speech recognition technology parses the sentences you say and tries to recognize the commands expected at that stage of the dialog. For example, at the main menu level, you can say CALL CONTACT but you cannot say NEXT which applies only while listening to items in a list such as e-mails, appointments or voice mails.

Simple Speech Commands (Directed Dialog)

You can use speech for single action commands such as CALL CONTACT, DIAL NUMBER or SEND NEW MESSAGE. With single action commands, your assistant may initiate a dialog to ask for additional information to complete the command. As an example, if you say CALL CONTACT, it will ask: "What is the name of your contact?", before suggesting the telephone number where it will call the selected contact. These "Directed Dialog" sessions enable the assistant to collect all the information it needs to execute your command.

Complex Speech Commands (Mixed Initiative)

Your assistant supports multi-part speech commands that include more than one information. For example, if you say CALL John Smith on his MOBILE PHONE, your assistant will understand the following set of speech commands and information: CALL+ John Smith+ MOBILE PHONE. This "Mixed Initiative" technology enables users to issue complete multi-part commands that sound like natural speech.

Select Contacts using Speech

Selecting contacts is much easier using speech than DTMF keys. You simply say the name of the contact. Your assistant expects you to say the phonetic nameor the full name starting with the contact's first name than his/her last name. For example, to select John Smith, say "JOHN SMITH". If there are more than one contact that sound like John Smith, you will be asked to confirm/select your contact from the list of possible matches.

Speak at Anytime (BARGE-IN)

You can speak your commands at anytime while messages are being played. The message being played is interrupted to enable the assistant to hear and understand your command. This technology is called "Barge-In" since it allows you to interrupt the assistant simply by speaking.

Speech Navigation Tips

Here are some tips to help you achieve the best speech recognition results over the phone:
  • Speak during silence/pauses between voice prompts for a better barge-in. Your assistant may not be able to understand your commands if it is already reading text or playing audio prompts.
  • Speak at a natural pace (not too fast and not too slow).
  • You don't have to speak loudly. You may achieve better results if you speak normally (not too loud and not too low).
  • Repeat your command if the assistant does not understand you the first time.
  • Switch to DTMF mode if you need privacy or if you are in a noisy environment.
     

How to Use the Virtual Assistant DTMF Commands

Why Offer both Speech and DTMF Commands?

Your assistant accepts both speech commands and DTMF (Touch-tone) commands. Note that some installations support only DTMF commands or only speech commands. Both of these telephone user interfaces (TUI) enable you to perform the same set of functions but using different methods. The DTMF mode is useful in noisy environments or when discretion is needed. The speech interface is more practical for people driving and using hands-free phone sets. Users can switch back and forth between these dialog modes with a single command.

DTMF Commands for Navigation

DTMF commands are entered by pressing keys on the telephone keypad. There are 10 digits (0 to 9) and two special keys: STAR(*)and POUND(#).
  • STAR(*) is commonly used to CANCEL a command or to go back to the previous menu level.
  • POUND(#)is commonly used to CONFIRM something or SKIP an option offered.
  • TYPE-AHEAD is supported for most menus enabling you to enter one, two or three DTMF commands separated by very short pauses without having to wait for prompts to play.
  • BARGE-IN is also supported enabling you to enter your DTMF commands while prompts or messages are being played. The play is interrupted as soon as you press a DTMF key.

Enter your Contact Names using DTMF Keys

Name spelling using DTMF keys is supported. You simply press the DTMF key on which the letter is located. Here is the DTMF mapping to letters of the alphabet:
Press 2 for A, B or C
Press 3 for D, E or F
Press 4 for G, H or I
Press 5 for J, K or L
Press 6 for M, N or O
Press 7 for P, Q, R or S
Press 8 for T, U or V
Press 9 for W, X, Y or Z

Here are some guidelines about the spelling of contact names using DTMF keys:

  1. Do not enter any special characters such as the space between the last and first name or dashes (-) in composed names;
  2. Do not enter any middle name or initial;
  3. Use English-equivalents to any foreign language letters. For example, use Efor