Virtual Agent–Voice
• Feature Overview, on page 1
• Onboarding Experience, on page 2
• VAV Onboarding for OEM Users, on page 2
• VAV Onboarding for Non-OEM Users, on page 5
• Documentation Resources, on page 7
Feature Overview
Virtual Agent–Voice (VAV) feature, which was referred to as Customer Virtual Assistant (CVA) in 12.5(1)
release, enables the IVR platform to integrate with cloud-based speech services. This feature supports
human-like interactions that enable customers to resolve issues quickly and more efficiently within the IVR,
thereby, reducing the calls directed towards agents.
The Dialogflow ES GCP project trial version should not be used in a production environment.
Note
In a traditional IVR, customers can interact with the IVR in the following ways:
• VVB Media Services-Based Interaction: Prompts are played locally by VVB by downloading WAV
files. User inputs are captured using DTMF grammar.
• ASR-Based and TTS-Based Interactions: Prompts are played by the external media server over MRCP
Synthesis command for Text-to-Speech (TTS) functionality. The responses are recognized by external
media server based on predefined grammar provided by Asynchronous Speech Recognition (ASR).
VAV-based IVR enables a new mechanism to leverage cloud-based-AI-enabled speech services. VAV provides
the following speech services:
• Text-to-Speech: Integration with cloud-based TTS services in your application for Speech Synthesis
operations. VAV currently supports Google Text to Speech service.
• Speech-to-Text: Integration with cloud-based ASR services in your application for Speech Recognition
operations. VAV currently supports Google Speech to Text service.
• Speech-to-Intent: VAV provides capability of identifying the intent of customer utterances by processing
the text received from Speech-to-Text operations. VAV offers this service by using cloud-based Natural
Language Understanding (NLU) services. VAV currently supports Google Dialogflow service.
Virtual Agent–Voice
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• You can configure the Virtual Agent–Voice (VAV) feature of VVB 12.5(1) keeping the Unified CCE
Controller in 12.0 version (as in multi-stage upgrade). However, in this case, the configuration user
interface for VAV service account will not be available in the Unified CCE Administration. So, System
Administrators can use the Command Execution Pane for such configurations.
For more information, see the Command Execution Pane section in the Cisco Packaged Contact Center
Enterprise Administration and Configuration Guide at https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/
customer-collaboration/packaged-contact-center-enterprise/products-maintenance-guides-list.html.
Note
Onboarding Experience
In 12.6(1) release, the VAV feature provides different onboarding experience for OEM users (who use Cisco's
contract, billing, and support for Google's speech services) via Webex Control Hub. For details, see the Create
a Contact Center AI configuration article. Non-OEM users use NOAMP in Unified CCE solution and CCE
Administration Portal in Packaged CCE solution for onboarding.
The following table lists the onboarding channel and Google APIs used for OEM and non-OEM customers:
Google APIsOnboardingServices BillingRelease
AnalyzeContent (V2)Webex Control HubCisco billed (OEM)12.6(1)
DetectIntent (V2)NOAMP/CCEAdminVendor billed (non-OEM)12.6(1)
VAV Onboarding for OEM Users
Virtual Agent–Voice (VAV) feature provides an enhanced onboarding experience to OEM customers via
Webex Control Hub. All contract, billing, and support are managed through Cisco for OEM customers and
they can use Cisco services coupled with Google’s cloud-based-AI-enabled speech services.
A single config ID generated via Control Hub can be leveraged across all CVP/VVB instances as compared
to the earlier experience where each instance was required to be configured individually.
Prerequisites
The prerequisites for configuring Virtual Agent–Voice for OEM users are:
• OEM users must provision Google Contact Center AI (CCAI) for Cisco Contact Center Enterprise. For
details, see the Create a Contact Center AI configuration article.
• CVP/VVB configuration:
• Enable access to cloud-based services from CVP and VVB directly or via proxy.
For details, see the Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal > Operations Console (NOAMP) >
Integration > Cloud Connect > Configure CVP or VVB Devices for Cloud Connect section in the
Administration Guide for Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal at https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/
Virtual Agent–Voice
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Virtual Agent–Voice
Onboarding Experience
support/customer-collaboration/unified-customer-voice-portal/
products-installation-and-configuration-guides-list.html.
• Synchronize the date/time in CVP, VVB, and proxy with a common NTP server.
• Configure access to DNS server in CVP/VVB.
For more information on NTP and DNS server configurations in CVP, refer to the Microsoft Windows
platform documentation.
For more information on NTP and DNS server configurations in VVB, refer to the Command Line
Interface Reference Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Solutions at https://www.cisco.com/c/en/
us/support/unified-communications/unified-communications-manager-callmanager/
products-maintenance-guides-list.html.
• The following table lists the required versions for Cisco Unified CVP, Cisco VVB, Cloud Connect, CCE
components (Router, Logger, AW, and PG), and ICM.
ICMCCE ComponentsCloud ConnectVVBCVP
12.0 and higher12.0 and higher12.612.612.6
VAV Onboarding for OEM Users Task Flow
Follow this procedure to provision Google CCAI with Cisco Unified Contact Center Enterprise. A single
configuration created via Control Hub can be used for accessing multiple AI services, such as VAV and Agent
Answers on multiple devices.
Procedure
Step 1 Create a CCAI configuration in Cisco Webex Control Hub at https://admin.webex.com. A CCAI configuration
leverages CCAI Connectors to invoke the CCAI services.
For details, see the Create a Contact Center AI configuration article. This default config can be used for
accessing multiple AI services on multiple devices.
While creating a CCAI configuration (explained in the article Cr eate a Contact Center AI configur ation):
• Skip the creation of conversation profile.
• Select the Apply as default for Virtual Agent configuration, because it is mandatory for ASR
and TTS.
Note
Step 2 Ensure that the Cloud Connect publisher and subscriber are installed.
For more information, see the Create VM for Cloud Connect Publisher and Create VM for Cloud Connect
Subscriber sections in Cisco Packaged Contact Center Enterprise Installation and Upgrade Guide at
https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/customer-collaboration/packaged-contact-center-enterprise/
products-installation-guides-list.html.
Step 3 Register Cloud Connect in the Unified CCE Administration console to establish a secure and trusted
communication channel between the Cisco Contact Center on-premises deployment and cloud services.
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Virtual Agent–Voice
VAV Onboarding for OEM Users Task Flow
For details, see the Cloud Connect Administration section in the Cisco Packaged Contact Center Enterprise
Administration and Configuration Guide https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/customer-collaboration/
packaged-contact-center-enterprise/products-maintenance-guides-list.html..
Step 4 Configure Cloud Connect with CVP and VVB devices in Unified CCE Administration. For details, see
Configure Cloud Connect section in the Cisco Packaged Contact Center Enterprise Administration and
Configuration Guide at https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/customer-collaboration/
packaged-contact-center-enterprise/products-maintenance-guides-list.html.
Step 5 Import the Cloud Connect certificate to the CVP server.
For details, see the Unified CVP Security > Import Cloud Connect Certificate to Unified CVP Keystoresection
in the Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal at https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/
customer-collaboration/unified-customer-voice-portal/products-installation-and-configuration-guides-list.html.
Step 6 View the default CCAI configuration (created in step 1). If required, synchronize the configuration (using
Sync option) in Unified CCE Administration.
For details, see the Manage Features > Contact Center AI Configuration section in the Cisco Packaged
Contact Center Enterprise Administration and Configuration Guide at https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/
customer-collaboration/packaged-contact-center-enterprise/products-maintenance-guides-list.html.
To change or override the default config (created in step 1), configure the CCAI.configId property of the
Dialogflow element in Call Studio.
For details, see the Dialogflow Element > Custom VoiceXML Properties section in the Element Specifications
for Cisco Unified CVP VXML Server and Call Studio at https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/
customer-collaboration/unified-customer-voice-portal/products-programming-reference-guides-list.html.
Note
Migration for OEM Users
OEM users migrating from 12.5(1) or 12.5(1a) to 12.6(1) must onboard via Webex Control Hub for better
experience and enhanced security. They can continue to use the old method of key generation by retaining
their old configurations until their onboarding via Webex Control Hub is complete.
Important Considerations
VVB periodically refreshes the CCAI configurations. Whenever these configurations are changed in the
Control Hub, it may take upto 10 minutes for the changes to reflect in VVB. For applying the changes instantly,
you need to restart the VVB speech server service.
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Virtual Agent–Voice
Migration for OEM Users
VAV Onboarding for Non-OEM Users
Prerequisites
Ensure that the VVB components have access to Google services to use the Virtual Agent-Voice for Dialogflow
ES via VVB (non OEM users).
Note
• Enable access to cloud-based services from CVP and VVB directly or via proxy. For details, see
the Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal > Operations Console (NOAMP) > Integration > Cloud
•
Connect > Configure CVP or VVB Devices for Cloud Connect section in the Administration Guide
for Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal at https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/
customer-collaboration/unified-customer-voice-portal/
products-installation-and-configuration-guides-list.html.
• Synchronize the date/time in CVP, VVB, and proxy with a common NTP server.
• Configure access to DNS server in CVP/VVB.
For more information on NTP and DNS server configurations in CVP, refer to the Microsoft Windows
platform documentation.
For more information on NTP and DNS server configurations in VVB, refer to the Command Line
Interface Reference Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Solutions at https://www.cisco.com/c/en/
us/support/unified-communications/unified-communications-manager-callmanager/
products-maintenance-guides-list.html.
• Non-OEM users must enable speech services and generate JSON key. To know more about enabling
speech services, see Enable Speech Services (For Non-OEM Users), on page 6. To know more about
generating JSON key, see Generate JSON Key (for Non-OEM Users), on page 6.
• The following table lists the required versions for Cisco Unified CVP, Cisco VVB, Cloud Connect, CCE
components (Router, Logger, AW, and PG), and ICM.
ICMCCE ComponentsCloud ConnectVVBCVP
12.5 and higher with
A2Q approval
12.5 and higher with
A2Q approval
NA12.5 and higher12.5 and higher
Trial version of Dialogflow ES GCP project should not be used in production environment.
Note
Virtual Agent–Voice
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Virtual Agent–Voice
VAV Onboarding for Non-OEM Users
VAV Onboarding for Non-OEM Users Task Flow
Procedure
Step 1 Enable speech services for your account.
To know more about enabling speech services, see Enable Speech Services (For Non-OEM Users), on page
6.
Step 2 Generate JSON key for your account.
To know more about generating JSON key, see Generate JSON Key (for Non-OEM Users), on page 6.
Step 3 Configure VVB devices for speech services.
For details, see the Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal > Operations Console (NOAMP) > Contact Center
AI > Configuration for Vendor-Billed AI Services section in the Administration Guide for Cisco Unified
Customer Voice Portal at https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/customer-collaboration/
unified-customer-voice-portal/products-installation-and-configuration-guides-list.html.
Enable Speech Services (For Non-OEM Users)
To enable speech services, follow these steps:
1. Log in to your Dialogflow account at https://dialogflow.cloud.google.com/.
2. Scroll down on the homepage and click Project ID of your Dialogflow agent.
This takes you to the Google Cloud Platform (GCP) homepage.
3. Select APIs & Services from the left pane (through the hamburger menu).
4. Select the API services (such as Cloud Text-to-Speech, Cloud Speech-to-Text, and Dialogflow) to be
enabled.
5. Click Enable to enable the selected API for the given Project ID.
Generate JSON Key (for Non-OEM Users)
To generate the JSON key, follow these steps:
1. In the GCP homepage, select IAM & Admin from the left pane (through the hamburger menu).
2. Select Service accounts which shows the list of your enabled services.
3. Select the service for which the JSON key is to be generated.
4. Click the ellipsis menu on the right and click +Create Key.
5. Select JSON as Key type and then click Create.
The key is downloaded.
For best results:
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Virtual Agent–Voice
VAV Onboarding for Non-OEM Users Task Flow
• Migrate your Dialogflow Agent to Enterprise Essential (Console Left Bar > Migrate from Standard
to Enterprise Essential).
• Enable the enhanced Speech Model in Dialogflow console (Settings > Speech > Enable Enhanced
Speech Model and Data Logging).
If this option is enabled, speech recognition data is shared with Google. For more information see
https://cloud.google.com/speech-to-text/docs/enhanced-models.
Documentation Resources
The following table lists the reference documents for VAV.
ResourceInformation
See https://github.com/CiscoDevNet/cvp-sample-code/tree/
master/CustomerVirtualAssistant.
Sample VAV Application
Design Considerations for Integrated Features > Virtual
Agent–Voice Considerations section in Solution Design Guide
Design Considerations
at https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/
customer-collaboration/unified-contact-center-enterprise/
products-implementation-design-guides-list.html.
Virtual Agent–Voice section in PCCE Administration and
Configur ationGuide at https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/
VAV configuration in PCCE Deployment
customer-collaboration/packaged-contact-center-enterprise/
products-maintenance-guides-list.html.
VVB Operations Guide at https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/
support/customer-collaboration/virtualized-voice-browser/
products-maintenance-guides-list.html.
TTS Prompt Cache Management and proxy
setting for Speech Server
See the VXML Server Configuration > Proxy Settings in VXML
Server for Virtual Agent–Voice section in CVP Configuration
Proxy settings for VXML Server
Guide at https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/
customer-collaboration/unified-customer-voice-portal/
products-installation-and-configuration-guides-list.html.
The following chapters in CVP Element Specification Guide
at https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/
Configuration of Call Studio elements for
VAV
customer-collaboration/unified-customer-voice-portal/
products-programming-reference-guides-list.html:
• Dialogflow Element
• DialogflowIntent Element
• DialogflowParam Element
• Transcribe Element
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Virtual Agent–Voice
Documentation Resources
