Aura AI
Aura AI is more than just a chatbot; it’s an intelligent agent capable of understanding user intent, accessing vast knowledge sources, and executing actions autonomously. By deploying Aura, you can offload repetitive queries, provide 24/7 support, and ensure your human agents focus on complex, high-value interactions.
How Aura AI Works
Aura AI operates by continuously learning and drawing information from various sources to provide accurate and relevant replies during a chat session.
1. Knowledge & Context Sources
Aura AI’s intelligence is fueled by the data you provide. It leverages multiple sources to understand and respond to customer queries:
Chat History
Chat History
Aura learns from the ongoing conversation, retaining context from past interactions within the current session. This allows it to personalize responses and avoid asking redundant questions.
Links & Articles (Web Scraping)
Links & Articles (Web Scraping)
Provide Aura with URLs to your website pages, documentation, or public articles. Aura can parse these pages (via web scraping) and use their content as a knowledge base for answering questions.
Q&A Pairs
Q&A Pairs
Define direct question-answer examples for common queries. This provides a precise and reliable way for Aura to respond to frequently asked questions.
Company Settings
Company Settings
Aura integrates key details from your Emplorium workspace settings, such as your business name, timezone, general contact rules, and language preferences, to provide contextually accurate information.
Data Fields
Data Fields
Aura can access all data fields collected via forms in Flows or populated manually by agents. This allows it to reference specific customer information (e.g., “What’s my order status?”) if integrated with external systems.
Data Requests (External API Queries)
Data Requests (External API Queries)
Configure Aura to run external API queries when specific keywords or intents are detected (e.g., “order status,” “shipping update”). This allows Aura to fetch real-time information from your backend systems.
Learn more about setting up these API queries in Data Requests GET
Data Updates (External API Calls)
Data Updates (External API Calls)
Aura can be configured to trigger API calls to update external records or systems. These can be initiated by user actions or Aura’s interpretation of the conversation (e.g., “update my contact info”)
Learn more about setting up these API updates in Data Updates POST/PUT
2. Aura AI in Action During a Chat
When Aura is configured through a Flow** **it’ll be assigned to the visitor every time the flow condition is met. For exmaple:
User Message Received (Flow Condition)
A user sends a message through the Emplorium Chat Widget.
Aura Matches Intent / Keyword
Aura processes the message to understand the user’s intent or detect specific keywords:
- If a direct match is found in your Q&A pairs, Aura provides the defined answer_._
- If a match is found with a keyword-based data request, Aura fetches the external information (e.g., order details).
- If the query is ambiguous, unknown, or not a direct match, Aura applies its fallback logic.
Contextual Memory
Throughout the session, Aura retains context from previously submitted fields, referenced articles, and the message trail, ensuring continuity in the conversation.
Escalation or Follow-Up
If Aura cannot confidently answer after multiple attempts or if specific escalation rules are met, it will tag the message with #fallback and follow configured escalation rules.
Configuring Aura AI
You can personalize Aura AI’s behavior, tone, and escalation rules to align with your brand and support strategy.
General Settings & Persona
- Tone & Style: Define Aura’s conversational tone (e.g., formal, friendly, empathetic).
- Guardrails: Set boundaries and content restrictions to ensure Aura’s responses remain appropriate and on-brand.
- Follow-ups: Configure Aura to ask follow-up questions to clarify intent or gather more information.
- Memory: Ensure Aura maintains context throughout the conversation to provide more personalized and relevant responses.
- Adherence to Content Restrictions & Safe Mode: Aura is designed to respect defined content boundaries and can operate in a “safe mode” to minimize unapproved responses.
Fallback & Escalation Handling
Crucially, Aura AI includes robust mechanisms for when it cannot confidently respond, ensuring customers are never left without assistance.
Unanswered Count Tracking
You can configure Aura to track the number of #fallback-tagged messages that occur within a single session.
Agent Escalation
After a configurable number (X) of fallbacks, Aura can be set to automatically prompt the user with options like: _“That didn’t help? Let me connect you with a person.” _ “Would you like to talk to a support agent?” This can seamlessly integrate with the Escalate to Agent block in your Flows.
The Aura AI Playground
The Playground tab in Aura AI configuration (or a dedicated Playground app) allows your team to test Aura’s responses and behavior in a sandbox environment before deploying it live in a Flow or directly to your widget.
- Test Responses: Input queries and see how Aura replies based on its current knowledge base.
- Debug Data Requests: Verify that Aura correctly triggers and processes external API calls.
- Simulate Scenarios: Test different conversation paths and escalation scenarios.
Key Benefits of Aura AI
- 24/7 Availability: Provide instant support around the clock, even outside business hours.
- Reduced Agent Workload: Automate responses to common questions, freeing up human agents for more complex issues.
- Consistent Information: Ensure customers receive accurate and consistent answers every time.
- Faster Resolution Times: Many queries can be resolved instantly by Aura, leading to higher customer satisfaction.
- Scalability: Effortlessly handle increased conversation volumes without needing to proportionally increase your human support team.
- Data-Driven Improvement: Aura continuously learns from interactions, and its fallback metrics provide valuable insights for refining your knowledge base.
Best Practices for Deploying Aura AI
Maximize Aura AI’s effectiveness with these strategic approaches:
Start with High-Volume FAQs
Begin by training Aura on your most frequently asked questions. This provides immediate value and reduces agent burden.
Provide Diverse Knowledge Sources
Utilize a mix of Q&A pairs for precision, and links/articles for broader contextual understanding.
Clearly Define Fallback Rules
Ensure a clear path to a human agent when Aura can’t help. A frustrated customer is worse than no automation.
Iterate & Monitor
Regularly review Aura’s performance, especially its #fallback rates. Use these insights to identify gaps in its knowledge and continuously refine its training data.
Test in Playground Religiously
Before pushing any major changes to Aura’s knowledge base or integrations, thoroughly test in the Playground to prevent unexpected behavior in live chat.
Educate Your Agents
Train your human agents on how Aura works, when it escalates, and how they can leverage its assistance (e.g., using suggested replies).
Next Steps
- Define your Aura AI’s Knowledge Base (KBAs & Q&A)
- Configure Data Requests & Updates - Integrate Aura with your backend systems.
- Test Aura AI with Virtual Visitor - Ensure your AI agent performs as expected in real-world scenarios.