A training sample is one uniquely phrased but always plausible way that your end-users could phrase their request for help with a particular problem or question. Training samples are essential for each intent that natural language processing (NLP) should match against.
  • An intent becomes more valuable to you, and to everyone, after you populate it with training samples.
  • An intent is not optimized for NLP intent-matching until it contains at least 10 training samples.
  • Intent-matching accuracy improves with each new training sample that you add.  
  • When you enter and save new training samples, improvements to intent-matching accuracy might not take effect for 20 minutes.
  • End-users never see your training samples. They merely benefit from your well-trained Helpshift system.
 
EXAMPLE
If the intent label is "Lost password," your manually entered training samples for it could include the following 20 phrases and more, even though the minimum number of samples per intent is 10.  
 
You could also incorporate common errors in spelling, verb tense, singular versus plural, parts of speech, colloquialisms, and more.
  • can't access
  • log in fails
  • need new account
  • account trouble
  • wrong password
  • someone broke in
  • password change
  • how to login?
  • my name
  • sign in
  • where's my account?
  • password no good
  • log in
  • password erased  
  • my settings
  • locked out
  • name and password
  • let me in
  • need my password
  • I want back in
Alternatively, Helpshift can use your retained copies of actual end-user support requests to generate training samples upon request. To learn more about this service, please contact your customer success representative at success@helpshift.com.  
 

TIP       

Individually, each training sample is limited to a maximum of 1,000 characters. Including spaces as characters, this threshold allows statistically for roughly 165 English-length words per training sample.    

If you cannot easily visualize the length of a 1000-character copy block, the following dummy text broadly illustrates the maximum character count per training sample.  

Dummy text

Again, 1,000 characters is the maximum supported length. You are not obligated to reach the maximum.
 
The AI search that helps your users indicate their intent works best when there is a sufficient number of training samples for any intent. When you add an intent that has less than 5 training samples, the UI will guide you to add more as below:
 
AI model training typically takes up to 20 minutes from saving the training samples for an intent or adding intent groups/intent to an intent menu. AI model is created for each intent menu. You might see this message on the intent menu page which indicates the same
While the new AI model is training, preview mode for an intent menu will work with the previous AI model.
 

Languages supported in Smart Intents

Smart Intent AI supports following languages and hence samples can be added in only these languages:

  • Arabic
  • Chinese (Simplified)
  • Chinese (Traditional)
  • English
  • French
  • German
  • Italian
  • Japanese
  • Korean
  • Dutch
  • Polish
  • Portuguese
  • Spanish
  • Thai
  • Turkish
  • Russian
 
E.g. of Helpshift supported language for which training samples can be added = English
E.g. of Helpshift supported language for which training samples cannot be added = Hindi
 
E.g. of Helpshift unsupported language = Liki (one of the 6 rarest languages spoken today!)

If an app/device language is supported and text templates based translation for an intent menu exists in that language, intent menu will be shown:

  • E.g. Intent display name and samples are set in English and the device/app language is English then in this case intent menu will show up in English. If a user then types in any language (e.g. English or Hindi or Liki), Helpshift’s AI model will still attempt to provide suggestions in English. However, if the intent display name is translated to Hindi using text templates, then only intent menu will be shown and no AI suggestions will be shown.

  • If any device/app language is not supported by Helpshift (e.g. Liki) or intent menu does not have text templates supported in that specific language then no intent menu will be shown to the user

  • There is no fall-back to a supported-language menu for non-supported languages or where intents are not translated for requested language. Rather we show pure messaging experience in this case.

    • E.g. intent display name and samples are set in English without translations in other languages but the device/app language is Hindi or Liki then in this case intent menu will not show up.