What is Intent Detection?
The process of identifying what a user wants to accomplish from their message, enabling a chatbot to route the conversation to the appropriate response.
Detailed Explanation
Intent detection is a core natural language processing task where the system classifies what a user is trying to do from their message. In a sales context, intents might include 'product inquiry', 'place order', 'check order status', 'request refund', 'ask for price', and 'speak to agent'. Accurately detecting intent allows the chatbot to route each conversation through the right flow, providing relevant responses rather than generic ones. LLM-based intent detection achieves significantly higher accuracy than older rule-based or ML classifier approaches.
FAQs about Intent Detection
- How many intents should a retail sales chatbot handle?
- A well-designed retail chatbot typically covers 10-20 core intents: product search, price inquiry, size guide, order placement, order status, returns, complaints, promotions, store info, and escalation to agent.
- What happens when a chatbot fails to detect the correct intent?
- The chatbot should gracefully acknowledge it didn't understand, ask a clarifying question, or offer a menu of options — rather than returning an irrelevant response or error message.
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