Initial response - Amazon Lex

Initial response

The initial response is sent to the user after Amazon Lex V2 determines the intent and before it starts to elicit slot values. You can use this response to inform the user of the intent that was recognized and to prepare them for the information that you collect to fulfill the intent.

For example, if the intent is to schedule a service appointment for a car, the initial response might be:

I can help you schedule an appointment. You'll need to provide the make, model, and year of your car.

An initial response message isn't required. If you don't provide one, Amazon Lex V2 continues to follow the next step of the initial response.

You can configure the following options within the initial response:

  • Configure next step – You can provide the next step in the conversation such as jumping to a specific dialog action, eliciting a particular slot, or jumping to a different intent. For more information, see Configure next steps in the conversation.

  • Set values – You can set values for slots and session attributes. For more information, see Set values during the conversation

  • Add conditional branching – You can apply conditions after playing the initial response. When a condition evaluates to true, the actions that you define are taken. For more information, see Add conditions to branch conversations.

  • Execute dialog code hook – You can define a Lambda code hook to initialize data and execute business logic. For more information, see Invoke dialog code hook. If the option to execute Lambda function is enabled for the intent, the dialog code hook is executed by default. You can disable dialog code hook by toggling the Activebutton.

In the absence of a condition or an explicit next step, Amazon Lex V2 moves to the next slot in priority order.

The advanced options for the initial response to a user's request.
Note

On August 17, 2022, Amazon Lex V2 released a change to the way conversations are managed with the user. This change gives you more control over the path that the user takes through the conversation. For more information, see Changes to conversation flows in Amazon Lex V2. Bots created before August 17, 2022 do not support dialog code hook messages, setting values, configuring next steps, and adding conditions.