Built-in Response Reference for Alexa Conversations

Alexa Conversations includes built-in responses that you can use in your skill. For example, there is a welcome response, a bye response, and so on. You can view and edit built-in responses from the Build tab in the developer console.

Responses contain text-to-speech in Alexa Presentation Language for Audio (APLA) format, and optionally, visual content in Alexa Presentation Language (APL) format. The default content within the APLA and APL documents depends on the skill template you choose when you create your skill. For details on APLA and APL, see APL for Audio Reference and Add Visuals and Audio to Your Skill.

bye

The Alexa Conversations built-in bye response returns the following:

  • shouldEndSession equal to true. For details on what the shouldEndSession flag means, see Response Object.
  • the speech (APLA) and visual (APL) content that the bye response template references.

The skill session closes after the skill sends the response.

When it triggers:

The bye response triggers when a user utterance triggers the AMAZON.StopIntent or AMAZON.CancelIntentstandard built-in intent. For details on these intents, see Standard Built-in Intents.

How to change this behavior:

  • To override this behavior, define a custom bye intent, with a unique name, that captures the utterances you want not to trigger AMAZON.StopIntent or AMAZON.CancelIntent. If you use this method, expect the developer console to report an utterance conflict warning.
  • If you just want to change the speech or visual content, edit the built-in APLA and APL templates for AlexaConversationsBye.

out_of_domain

The Alexa Conversations built-in out_of_domain response returns the speech (APLA) and visual (APL) content that the out_of_domain response template references. The session stays open.

When it triggers:

The out_of_domain response triggers when the user utterance doesn't match any of the sample dialogs with sufficient confidence.

How to change this behavior:

  • To change this behavior, add more complete coverage in your sample dialogs.
  • If you just want to change the speech or visual content, edit the built-in APLA and APL templates for AlexaConversationsOutOfDomain.

provide_help

The Alexa Conversations built-in provide_help response returns the speech (APLA) and visual (APL) content that the provide_help response template references. The session stays open.

When it triggers:

The provide_help response triggers when a user utterance triggers the AMAZON.HelpIntent standard built-in intent. For details on the AMAZON.HelpIntent intent, see Standard Built-in Intents.

How to change this behavior:

  • To override this behavior, define a custom help intent, with a unique name, that captures the utterances you want not to trigger AMAZON.HelpIntent. If you use this method, expect the developer console to report an utterance conflict warning.
  • If you just want to change the speech or visual content, edit the built-in APLA and APL templates for AlexaConversationsProvideHelp.

reqmore

The Alexa Conversations built-in reqmore response returns the speech (APLA) and visual (APL) content that the reqmore response template references. The session stays open.

When it's triggered:

The reqmore response is essentially a request for the next user intent. This response typically contains content such as, "What do you want to do?"

How to change this behavior:

To change the speech or visual content, edit the built-in APLA and APL templates for AlexaConversationsRequestMore.

welcome

The Alexa Conversations built-in welcome response returns the speech (APLA) and visual (APL) content that the welcome response template references. The session stays open.

When it triggers:

If you select Use Alexa Conversations as the default dialog manager on the Interfaces page of the developer console, the welcome response triggers when the skill launches.

How to change this behavior:

  • To override the Alexa Conversations welcome response, deselect Use Alexa Conversations as the default dialog manager on the Interfaces page of the developer console, and handle the LaunchRequest in your skill code.
  • If you want to keep Alexa Conversations as the default dialog manager and you just want to change the speech or visual content, edit the built-in APLA and APL templates for AlexaConversationsWelcome.

you_are_welcome

The Alexa Conversations built-in you_are_welcome response returns the speech (APLA) and visual (APL) content that the you_are_welcome response template references. The session stays open.

When it triggers:

The you_are_welcome response triggers when the user says "thank you" or the equivalent (for example, "thanks") to Alexa.

How to change this behavior:

If you just want to change the speech or visual content, edit the built-in APLA and APL templates for AlexaConversationsYouAreWelcome.

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Last updated: Nov 27, 2023