The Gather Element

You can use the Gather XML element to collect user input through automatic speech recognition or DTMF "digit press" inputs.

When collecting speech as input, Vobiz transcribes and relays a user's speech to the specified action URL in real time.

When collecting input through digit press, Vobiz relays the digits entered to the specified action URL.

The Gather XML element supports simultaneous detection of both speech and digit press inputs.

Nesting elements

You can nest Speak XML (text-to-speech) and Play XML elements inside Gather XML to prompt users for inputs. This is useful for building interactive voice response (IVR) experiences.

Attributes

Attribute	Description
`action` (required) String Callback-retry configurable	The input is sent to a specific URL. See the "parameters sent to the action URL" table below for more information. Allowed values: a fully qualified URL
`method` String	The HTTP method to use when invoking the action URL. Allowed values: GET, POST Defaults to POST.
`inputType` String	The type of input(s) you expect to receive. Allowed values: dtmf, speech, dtmf speech When set to dtmf speech, Vobiz listens for both speech and digit inputs. The input that's detected first is relayed to the action URL.
`executionTimeout` integer	Maximum execution time, in seconds, for which input detection is carried out. If the user fails to provide input within the timeout period, the next element in the response will be processed. This duration is counted after nested Play/Speak elements have ended. Allowed values: 5 to 60 Defaults to 15.
`digitEndTimeout` String	Time, in seconds, allowed between consecutive digit inputs. If no new digit input is provided within the digitEndTimeout period, digits entered until then will be processed. Allowed values: 2 to 10, or auto Defaults to auto. This attribute is applicable to input types dtmf and dtmf speech.
`speechEndTimeout` String	Time, in seconds, that Vobiz waits for more speech once silence is detected before it stops speech recognition. At that point, a transcription of the collected speech is relayed to the action URL. Allowed values: 2 to 10, or auto Defaults to auto. This attribute is applicable to input types speech and dtmf speech.
`finishOnKey` String	A digit that the user can press to submit digits. Allowed values: One and only one of 0–9, *, #, <empty string>, none Defaults to #. If set to <empty string> or none, input capture will end based on a timeout or the numDigits attribute. This attribute is applicable to input types dtmf and dtmf speech.
`numDigits` integer	The maximum number of digits to be processed in the current operation. Vobiz relays the digits to the action URL as soon as the maximum number of digits specified is collected. Allowed values: 1 to 32 Default: 32 This attribute is applicable to input types dtmf and dtmf speech.
`speechModel` String	The automatic speech recognition (ASR) model to use for transcribing the speech. Allowed values: default, command_and_search, phone_call Default: default This attribute is applicable to input types speech and dtmf speech. command_and_search: Optimized for short queries such as voice commands and voice search. phone_call: Optimized for transcribing audio from a phone call where the quality of the audio is slightly inconsistent. telephony: telephony is an enhanced version of the phone_call model, optimized for audio typically originating from phone calls. default: Optimized for audio that is not one of the specific audio models such as long-form audio.
`hints` String	A list of phrases to act as "hints" to the speech recognition model; these phrases can boost the probability that such words or phrases will be recognized. Phrases may be provided both as small groups of words or as single words. Allowed values: a non-empty string of comma-separated phrases Limits: Phrases per request: 500 Characters per request: 10,000 Characters per phrase: 100 This attribute is applicable to input types speech and dtmf speech.
`language` String	Specifies the language Vobiz should recognize from the user. Allowed values: See list of supported languages Defaults to en-US. This attribute is applicable to input types speech and dtmf speech.
`interimSpeechResultsCallback` String Callback-retry configurable	If interimSpeechResultsCallback URL is specified, requests to this URL are made in real-time as Vobiz recognizes speech. See the "parameters sent to the interimSpeechResultsCallback URL" table below for more information. Allowed values: a fully qualified URL This attribute is applicable to input types speech and dtmf speech.
`interimSpeechResultsCallbackMethod` String	The HTTP method to use when invoking the interimSpeechResultsCallback URL. Allowed values: GET, POST Defaults to POST. This attribute is applicable to input types speech and dtmf speech.
`log` boolean	If true, Vobiz will log digits or recognized speech from the caller. If false, logging will be disabled while processing the Gather element. Allowed values: true, false Defaults to true.
`redirect` boolean	If true, redirect to action URL. If false, only request the URL and continue to the next element. Allowed values: true, false Defaults to true.
`profanityFilter` boolean	If true, filters out profane words. Words filtered out are transcribed with their first letter and asterisks for the remaining characters (e.g. f*). The profanity filter operates on single words; it doesn't detect abusive or offensive speech that's a phrase or a combination of words. Allowed values:** true, false Defaults to false. This attribute is applicable to input types speech and dtmf speech.

Parameters sent to the action URL

In addition to the standard action URL request parameters, these parameters are sent to the action URL specified.

Parameter	Description
`InputType`	The type of input detected. Allowed values: dtmf, speech
`Digits`	The digits entered by the caller, excluding the finishOnKey input, if used. This parameter will be empty if inputType is speech.
`Speech`	The transcribed result of the caller's speech. This parameter will be empty if inputType is dtmf.
`SpeechConfidenceScore`	A confidence score between 0.0 and 1.0. The higher the confidence score, the more likely that the transcription is accurate.
`BilledAmount`	The total amount billed for speech input transcription.

Parameters sent to the interimSpeechResultsCallback URL

In addition to the standard callback URL request parameters, these parameters are sent to the interim speech results callback URL.

Parameter	Description
`StableSpeech`	The stable transcribed result of the user's speech.
`UnstableSpeech`	The newer unstable transcribed result of the user's speech. This is an interim result and may change as more speech is gathered from the caller.
`Stability`	An estimate of the likelihood that the recognizer will not change its guess about the interim result. Values range from 0.0 (completely unstable) to 1.0 (completely stable). This field only applies to unstable speech.
`SequenceNumber`	Contains a sequence number of the interim speech callback, to help with ordering incoming callback requests.

DTMF

Hangup

The Gather Element

Nesting elements

Attributes

Parameters sent to the action URL

Parameters sent to the interimSpeechResultsCallback URL

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