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Description

Keywords are words and short phrases you tell the speech recogniser to listen out for — names, products, suburbs, jargon it usually mishears. Normally you set them on the script and on individual steps; see Keywords. Keywords | Set replaces that list while the call is running. Use it when the words worth listening for are only known once the call has started. Good fits:
  • A list of product names pulled from a CRM for this particular customer
  • The suburbs served by the branch the caller has just been matched to
  • A policy or reference number the caller is about to read back
Two things to know before you use it:
  • It replaces the list. It never adds to it. Running it a second time throws away the first list.
  • It takes effect at the next speaking step. So place a Keywords | Set step immediately before the step whose wording it is meant to help.

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Manual Inputs

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Keywords

A single comma-separated list. Each term should be one to three words. Longer phrases and very common words are dropped, because the recogniser keeps a limited budget of terms for the call. The field accepts {{...}} variable references, which is the point of the tool — the value is normally built earlier in the call:
Leave the field empty, or pass a variable that resolves to nothing, to clear the list. That drops back to the keywords the script and step already carry.

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Manual Outputs

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Conditions

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Success (true)

The keyword list was updated. This includes clearing it with an empty value.

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Failure (false)

This tool does not fail. It always reports success, so you only need the one route out of the step. There is no need to build a failure path.

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Variables this tool writes

Variables this tool writes: none. Keywords | Set has no variable namespace of its own and writes nothing to any {{...}} variable. It changes how the call listens, not what it has recorded, and its result is always true. The variable that matters is the one you feed into it, which you set yourself: Name your own variable however you like; the pattern is what counts. For the full list of namespaces and fields, see Variables.

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Example Usage

Load a customer’s product names, then ask about them:
Clear the list once that part of the call is over:

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Common Issues

  • The words still get misheard — check the step order. The new list only applies from the next speaking step, so a Keywords | Set step placed after the question does nothing for that question.
  • Earlier keywords have disappeared — that is expected. Each run replaces the list. Include everything you still need in the one value.
  • Long phrases are ignored — keep each term to one to three words.
  • The variable resolves to nothing — an empty value clears the list rather than leaving it alone. Guard it with a condition if that is not what you want.

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Best Practices

  1. Put the step directly before the step that needs it.
  2. Send one complete list rather than several small updates.
  3. Keep terms short — one to three words each.
  4. Skip the everyday words — the recogniser already handles them, and they crowd out the terms that matter.
  5. Clear the list once the specialised part of the call is finished.

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Next Steps

  • Keywords — Script-level and per-step keywords
  • Tool Steps — Learn how to configure tool steps
  • Variables — See all available variables