Defining how to interact with a skill in a conversation

Users interact with skill-based actions in the chat through AI assistants or with skills added directly to the AI chat. When a user triggers a skill, the request for inputs and the response can appear as a form or as a multi-turn conversation. In multi-turn conversations, each turn gathers information about a specific input parameter that the skill needs. Skills added directly to the AI chat validate inputs and outputs separately, allowing the skill to use multi-turn conversations for inputs while outputs return as forms or vice versa.

Criteria to fallback to forms over multi-turn conversations

Note: Skill flows and most of the prebuilt apps and skills do not support multi-turn conversation and render skills' inputs and outputs as form-based.

Custom skills use forms instead of multi-turn conversations based on specific criteria. The criteria depend on how the system validates inputs and outputs and how users trigger the skill:

AI assistants

Skill-based actions evaluate inputs and outputs together and fallback to forms over multi-turn conversations when the following criteria apply:

  • The skill is a skill flow.
  • Input or output fields have UI annotations.
  • Complex objects are used in input or output fields.
  • The number of input fields exceeds the configured threshold.

AI chat

A skill might ask for inputs as a multi-turn conversation but return the output as form-based and vice-versa. Skills added directly to the chat evaluate inputs and outputs separately based on the following criteria:

  • For an input in a single skill

    • Input fields with UI annotations default to forms.
    • Complex annotations result in forms.
    • Slot logic defaults to multi-turn conversations (ignored if the skill is part of a skill flow).
    • Input fields that exceed the configured threshold default to forms.
  • For output in a single skill:

    • Output fields with UI annotations default to forms.
    • Complex outputs result in forms.
    • Output fields that exceed the configured threshold default to forms.

For a skill flow, the respective child skill is also checked.

Details of the criteria applied:

  • Skill input or output has annotations

    If any of the following properties are present in the Request or Response body of the OpenAPI specification that defines the skill:

    • x-ibm-ui-extension
    • x-ibm-operators
    • x-ibm-filter-format
    • x-ibm-pagination
  • Input or output fields use complex objects

    If any of the following complex objects are present in the Request or Response body of the OpenAPI specification that defines the skill:

    • table
    • file
    • password
    • boolean
  • Number of inputs fields exceeds the configured value

    If the number of input fields of the skill exceeds the maximum number of fields that are configured for multi-turn conversations, then the AI assistants use form-based interactions. Check the procedure at the Configuring the number of input fields for multi-turn conversations section to learn how to configure this value.

Information: Review the known issues and limitations for Skill-based actions.

Configuring the number of input fields for multi-turn conversations

Specify the maximum number of input fields (including optional fields) for a skill to be considered for multi-turn conversations. Skills with more than the specified number of input fields are displayed in the form format.

To specify the maximum number of fields for multi-turn conversations:

  1. Click your profile icon on the right side.
  2. Select Settings.
  3. Click Skill configurations.
  4. Specify the maximum number of input fields.

Skill configuration for multi-turn conversations in a tenant.

In the following image, you can see a preview of the Transfer bluepoints skill with two input fields and that receives values as a multi-turn conversation, while the Create an issue skill with seven input fields receives values in a form.

The previous scenario happens because the tenant sets the maximum number of fields to consider the skills' inputs as multi-turn conversations to two. In this case, the Create an issue skill fallback to a form because it receives more than two inputs.

Preview of a skill-based action.


Parent topic:

Building skills