Listen
The Listen node places the virtual agent into "Listening" mode and waits for user input (text, voice, or DTMF). The agent captures this input as a global parameter value, allowing you to record the user's response and isolate it for later use.
Unlike the Collect Input node, the Listen node does not hold a prompt. Use a Speak node to prompt the user.
When to Use This Node
Use the Listen node when you want to catch everything the user is saying and perform different actions based on that input later, rather than limiting the caller to a specific format.
Handling Flexible Inputs: Use this if you don't want to limit the caller to a specific data type (like a number).
Complex Scenarios: It is ideal for situations where a user might give the requested data (e.g., "My order is 12345") or provide an unexpected response (e.g., "I don't have an order number" or "I want to speak to a human").
Setting up the Listen node
Since the Listen node does not have a prompt, it is typically used in a specific flow sequence:
Node Configurations
No Input
Triggered when the caller doesn't provide any response (stays silent). Use this to define fallback behavior, such as routing to a live agent.
"Skip this node if value is already collected"
If the parameter value has been collected on a previous node (or even the same node in case the caller went back to the same node during the same conversation), you can choose to skip this Listen node and keep the original value collected. If you like to override the value, leave this box unchecked.
Caller's Response Input - Speech vs. DTMF
The caller can decide to respond either via speech or using the keypad (DTMF). You can toggle on both speech and DTMF if you’d like to give the caller the option to respond via both inputs. At least one of these needs to be switched on.
Speech
"Detect Silence" - You can also control how long the system will wait after the user stops speaking to decide whether the input was complete. The default value is one second. The range of possible values is between 0.4 and five seconds.
"No Input" - You can control how long the system will wait for the user's input by adding a number of seconds to the "No Input" field in the node. The range of possible values is between one second and sixty seconds. Once this time frame passes, the agent will trigger the retry logic until it reaches the last retry and moves to the "No Input" flow. You can add as many retries as you see fit.
"Context Keywords" - To improve recognition quality if certain words are expected from the user. The agent will look out for these words in the caller's input, and e.g., help classify them into the proper intent.
"Should Record" - Choose the "Should Record" option to record and generate a short audio file of the value collected in a parameter. Once the recorded parameter has been filled by a caller, the system will generate a unique URL including the voice-recorded value for later use.
DTMF
The caller has the option to respond using the keypad. The following settings are related to the keypad:
"Time Out" - Set how many seconds the caller after the user completes the activity, the result is submitted. The default value is 10, max is 60. The "Time Out" value will be the same as the "No Input" value if both Speech and DTMF are toggled on.
"Max Digits" - The number of digits the user can press. The default is 20 digits, which is also the maximum.
"Submit on Hash" - Choose 'yes' if you'd like the caller's response to be submitted following the # key.
Node Noise Sensitivity
This feature improves transcription performance for short user prompts (e.g., "Yes", "No", or "Cancel") by allowing you to customize sensitivity for specific nodes.
Node Noise Sensitivity addresses potential performance issues regarding short user prompts, which can sometimes result in blank or incomplete transcriptions. For example, short responses like "Yes" or "No" might result in a blank transcription, or a word like "Cancel" might appear as "ancel".
By adjusting sensitivity at the node level, designers can optimize how the Virtual Agent listens for specific types of expected input.
When Switched OFF (Default): The node uses the general agent-level sensitivity settings.
When Switched ON: The node applies the specific sensitivity value set in this field, overriding the agent-level setting.
Enable this feature in your Listen node by scrolling down to the bottom and toggling "Enable Node Noise Sensitivity" to ON.
Pro Tip
The value defaults to 40 when first enabled. You can adjust the slider between Low and High to match the specific requirements of that node.
This feature is available for the Telephony channel across all NLU engines and can be accessed within any Listen or Collect Input node.
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