Develop Conversational Agents on Google Cloud (DCAGC)

Module 01: Introduction to Conversational Agents

Topics:

• Google’s goals for virtual agents
• Virtual agent product suites

Objectives:

• Describe the goals of virtual agent development and product suites.

Activities:

• Lab: Exploring the Conversational Agents User Interface

Module 02: Introduction to conversational design

Topics:

• Convergent and divergent approaches
• Conversation design strategy

Objectives:

• Understand virtual agent design.

Module 03: Steering bot design basics

Topics:

• Use cases
• Virtual agents
• Start pages
• Routes
• Pages

Objectives:

• Design a basic steering bot using Conversational Agents.

Module 04: Implementing bot design

Topics:

• Use case review
• Agent architecture
• Creating the virtual agent
• Creating the route
• Testing the route

Objectives:

• Create an agent, a route, intents, and pages.
• Implement routes without parameters.
• Use test agent for testing.

Activities:

• Lab: Conversational Agents: Bot Building Basics

Module 05: Entities

Topics:

• Introduction to entities
• System entity types
• Custom entity types
• Managing entities in an agent

Objectives:

• Access entity parameters.
• Create custom regular expression (RegEx) entities.
• Create custom list entities.
• Use current recommended practices for extending a system entity class.

Module 06: Parameters

Topics:

• Introduction to parameters
• Parameters from intents
• Preset parameters
• Parameters from webhooks

Objectives:

• Manipulate parameters using various methods.

Activities:

• Lab: Conversational Agents: Parameter Manipulation

Module 07: Event handlers

Topics:

• Definition of event handlers
• Page, flow event handler, and scope rules
• Form event handler and scope rules

Objectives:

• Understand event handlers and how they are used in Conversational Agents.

Module 08: Versions and environments

Topics:

• Version management in Conversational Agents
• Environment management in Conversational Agents

Objectives:

• Use version testing.
• Use environments for different audiences.

Activities:

• Lab: Conversational Agents: Managing Environments

Module 09: Testing

Topics:

• Validation
• Publication
• Simulation

Objectives:

• Validate for static analysis.
• Publish to pretest user acceptance testing (UAT).
• Simulate for unit testing.

Activities:

• Lab: Debugging the Agent Using Test Agent

Module 10: Fulfillment

Topics:

• Introduction to fulfillment
• Examples of static fulfillment

Objectives:

• Use text, conditional, and custom fulfillment.

Module 11: Integrations

Topics:

• Google Messenger
• Conversational Phone Gateway

Objectives:

• Configure Google Messenger and Conversational Phone Gateway.

Module 12: Webhooks

Topics:

• Why have a webhook?
• Types of webhooks
• Setting up a fulfillment webhook
• Modifications for a JSON response webhook

Objectives:

• Recognize the different types of webhooks.
• Set up a webhook with fulfillment response.
• Set up a webhook JSON response.

Module 13: Route groups

Topics:

• Introduction to route groups
• Managing a route group

Objectives:

• Set up a flow route group.
• Set up a session route group.

Activities:

• Lab: Configuring a Route Group for Your Virtual Agent

Module 14: Design techniques

Topics:

• The concept of a flow
• Steering bot designs
• The concept of guardrails
• Design principle

Objectives:

• Use flows to speed the development of an agent.
• Use guardrails to prevent problems in agent design.

Module 15: Generators and generative fallback

Topics:

• Overview of generators
• Overview of generative fallback

Objectives:

• Use generators and generative fallback in virtual agents.

Activities:

• Lab: Conversational Agents with Generative Fallbacks