Bixby Developer Center

Key Takeaway: Create a more natural-sounding conversation by writing several response variations for common user prompts and intentions.

You can also review the Dialog Affirmations sample capsule for an example of dialog variations.

Bixby should sound natural when speaking with users. One way to do this is by writing several different responses for common user prompts. This makes the experience less robotic and keeps the user engaged.

Create multiple response variations for commonly used utterances. Write enough variations to avoid repetition, but don’t sacrifice the voice for variety. We recommend two to four variations for most responses.

User: "Hi Bixby, set an alarm for 7:00am."

• Do: Done. Your alarm is set for 7:00am.

• Do: I’ll ring you at 7:00am.

• Do: Okay, it’s set for 7:00am.

Vary sentence structure and words. Try not to parrot back the same words and structure as the user just stated in the prompt.

User: "Hi Bixby, I need a ride to the airport."

• Do: Finding you a car from Uber…

• Do: Uber is connecting you with drivers…

• Do: Okay, finding you an Uber...

• Do: Got it, Uber is finding you a car…

• Don't: Okay, I will get you a ride to the airport.

Do use acknowledgments (Okay, Alright, etc.) so the user knows you heard them. Aim for no more than half of the variations to contain acknowledgments and use a variety of words.

User: "Hi Bixby, play Robyn radio."

• Do: Playing Robyn radio on iHeartRadio.

• Do: Here’s the Robyn station on iHeartRadio.

• Do: Sure, now listening to the Robyn station on iHeartRadio.

• Do: You got it, playing Robyn radio on iHeartRadio.

User: "Hi Bixby, set the thermostat to 68 degrees."

• Do: I turned it down to 68 degrees.

• Do: It’s now set to 68 degrees.

• Do: Of course, it’s now set to 68 degrees.

• Do: No problem, I turned the thermostat to 68 degrees.

Acknowledgment Word Bank

Here is a list of commonly used acknowledgement words and phrases for Bixby:

- Okay
- Alright
- No problem
- Sure
- Of course
- Certainly
- Sure thing
- On it
- You got it

Don’t overuse acknowledgements, which can sound robotic. Avoid repeating the same acknowledgment multiple times in a row, like in the following example:

User: "Hi Bixby, book me a table at Fleming's Steakhouse."
Okay, for what day?
User: "Tomorrow."
Okay, for what time?
User: "6:00pm."
Okay, for how many people?
User: "Four."
Okay, booking a table for 4 people at Fleming's Steakhouse tomorrow at 6:00pm.

Don’t use acknowledgements for simple fact responses.

User: "What is the capital of the USA?"

• Do: Washington, DC is the capital of the USA.

• Don't: Okay, Washington, DC is the capital of the USA.

Don’t compromise on clarity or voice, or create awkward sentence structures. Write as many great utterances as you can, but don’t add variations just for the sake of adding them. If you only have only two strong responses, use them.

User: "Hi Bixby, find the Yankees game on TV."

• Do: I found 2 results for "Yankees game."

• Do: Here are 2 matches for "Yankees game."

• Don't: "Yankees game" returned 2 options.