Creating and formatting Intent Types

Valid for AI Receptionist.

Intent Types act as the core sorting system for your AI Receptionist. They define the various reasons a customer might reach out—such as asking a general question, scheduling a service, or leaving a message. By establishing these categories, you empower your assistant to understand what the caller wants to achieve and automatically guide the conversation to the right outcome. This article explains how to set up and format your Intent Types.

Note

It is very important to use the correct layout and spelling when typing your intent names and descriptions. If the format is incorrect, the AI might not recognize the caller's request. Additionally, any specific conversational path (or scenario) you tell the bot to trigger must actually exist in your setup, otherwise, the call transfer will fail.

Accessing the widgets area

Log in to your IONOS account.
Click on Menu > AI Receptionist in the title bar. The AI Agent Portal opens.
Click on Customer Portal under Actions for the desired receptionist. The Dashboard opens.

Click on Widgets from the left-side menu.

Setting up your Intent Types

You have a few different ways to build out your bot's conversational capabilities:

Using pre-made templates: Click the + Add from Library button near the top right, pick the Intent Types section, and browse the list. Simply click the plus sign next to any ready-to-use category you want to add to your bot.
Changing a template: If a pre-made item is close to what you need but requires a slight tweak, hover over it and click the view icon (eye). Click the three dots menu and choose the option to clone it. This turns the item into an editable draft (marked with a pencil icon). Make your text changes and click save.
Building from scratch: To make a brand new category specifically for your business, click the plus button at the very top of the Intent Types column. Fill in your chosen title and description, then hit save.

Formatting rules

When creating or editing an intent, you must organize the text into two distinct parts: the Title and the Body.

Title guidelines

Always use this exact layout for your titles: ## **[Tag] <Name of your intent>**

You can use special letter tags to help your team prioritize calls:

[L] (Sales Lead): Include this if the conversation represents a potential sale, new opportunity, or customer conversion.

[T] (Task to do): Include this if a human staff member needs to take manual action after the call is over, such as calling the person back or approving a special request.

Body guidelines

The body text is where you explain the user's goal and give the bot its instructions. Describe what the caller is asking for in a single, clear sentence. Then, tell the bot exactly what to do. For example, you can tell the bot to say a specific phrase or start a certain conversational flow. You can also create different rules based on whether the call happens during your regular operating hours or after you have closed.

Formatting examples

Here is how you might write out a completely customized intent to handle customers wanting to rent out a space.

Event space request (example)

Title section:

## **[L] Event Space Booking**

Body section:

The caller wants to find out about renting the venue for a party or corporate meeting.
During regular hours: The virtual assistant starts the path: **"Book an Event"**.
After hours: The virtual assistant says, "Our event coordinator is currently out of the office, but I will leave them a message," and starts the path: **"Take a Message"**.