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Concierge (AI Assistant)

The Concierge is the AI-supported assistant in the NOW! App (Companion) and optionally at the kiosk. It answers questions about shops, directions, parking, offers, and events, and can trigger actions (e.g., "Show on map," "Start route"). This section describes the content, technology, and a brief tutorial for editorial and support.

Content: What can the Concierge do?​

  • Directions: "Where is Saturn?", "How do I get to the restroom?" – it names shops/places and can highlight them on the map or suggest a route.
  • Shops and Recommendations: "Stores for gifts," "Where can I get coffee?" – it uses shop data, categories, and possibly the curated Highlights (maintained in the dashboard as Hot Picks).
  • Offers and Events: "What's happening today?", "Any promotions?" – contextual information from events and offers in the center.
  • Parking: "Where did I park?" – if the visitor entered the app via a parking QR code, the Concierge knows the parking spot and can include the return route or "Coffee on the way to the car."
  • Returns/Exchanges: "Can I return something at Saturn?" – it uses the return policies of the shops recorded in the dashboard (claims proxy).
  • Departure Planning: "When should I leave if my bus departs at 5:40 PM?" – it estimates walking time to the exit and recommends a departure time.
  • Language: It recognizes, for example, English, Arabic, or Turkish in the message and responds in the same language.
  • Currently Popular: Upon request, it can use anonymized trends ("what is currently in demand") – data from chatbot interactions over the last 24 hours.
  • Group Mode: If two people share the same session (kiosk "Invite companion" or "Share session" in the app), the Concierge can act in the context of the "shared session" (e.g., meeting point questions).

The Concierge does not store personal profiles; context comes from the current session (center, parking, handoff target, group) and from the data maintained in the dashboard (shops, opening hours, return policies, highlights/hot picks, events, offers).

Technical: Brief Architecture​

  • Frontend: The Companion displays the CompanionChatbar; the user types or speaks (speech recognition in the browser). Messages are sent to the signage app, which forwards them to the dashboard API (proxy, no CORS).
  • Backend (Dashboard): The Visitor Chatbot (e.g., /api/ai/visitor-chatbot) receives the message, loads context (shops, events, parking, trending, return policies, etc.) from the AI-Context library, optionally a semantic intent recognition (intent + slots), and then calls the AI model. The response can contain plain text or structured actions (show_on_map, start_route with targetId/label).
  • Context: Which slices are loaded depends on the recognized intent and configuration: e.g. route_to_place, shop_recommendation, parking_info, events_offers, returnPolicies, trending. In case of low intent confidence, the search query is loaded as a fallback.
  • Actions: The response is parsed by actions; the Companion shows buttons ("Show on map," "Start route") and calls the corresponding handler on click (focus map, minimize chat, highlight target).
  • Structured Shops/Places (Artifact Cards): Mentioned shops are enriched with Items (id, name, category, floor, logo, …). Additionally, the Visitor Chatbot uses semantic intent recognition (e.g., food_drink, shop_recommendation); if assignments from the flowing text are missing, suitable places from the directory are loaded (without list regex on the AI response). The Companion renders artifact cards (grid, logo, floor); duplicate markdown lists are hidden in the flowing text. The field placePresentation (food | shop) controls icon and heading – it comes from the server, not from client-side text heuristics.
  • Analytics: Interactions are logged (e.g., ChatbotInteraction with optional primaryIntent/intentSlots); the dashboard provides evaluations (e.g., top intents, trending, mentions).

Tutorial: Concierge in Practice​

For Editorial / Content​

  1. Shops and Opening Hours: Maintain shop data and opening hours in the dashboard – the Concierge uses them for recommendations and "When is X open?".
  2. Return Policies: You can maintain "Returns & Exchanges" in three places: (1) Content → Shops (Edit shop / New business) in the “Concierge & AI Assistant” area, (2) Content → Shop Chains (Edit chain) – applies to the entire chain, (3) Content → Shop Locations (Edit branch) – branch-specific. When filled, the Concierge (App/Kiosk) and AI Assistant on the center website can respond to questions like “Can I return at [Shop/Branch]?”
  3. Highlights and Events: The contents maintained in the dashboard as Hot Picks (including optional weekly brochures) appear at the kiosk and in the app as Highlights. They flow into the Concierge context; the Concierge can name and link them.
  4. Chatbot Analytics: In the dashboard under Chatbot/Analytics, you can see mentions, top intents, and "Popular in the last 24 hours" – helpful for content and offer planning.

For Support / Users​

  1. "Show on map" does not work: The user should be in the NOW! App (not in an external browser tab). Tapping "Show on map" collapses the chat and highlights the shop on the center map; there is no switch to a separate direction page.
  2. Parking spot not displayed: Parking context comes from scanning a parking QR code. If the user only opened the app via a link, there is no parking. Note: First, scan the parking QR, then use the app.
  3. Language: The Concierge switches the response language based on the user’s last message (e.g., English, Arabic, Turkish). No manual switching is needed.
  4. Group Mode: "Invite companion" at the kiosk or "Share session" in the app – the second person scans a QR code or enters a code. Both see "In group" in the app; the Concierge knows the group context.

For Developers​

  • New Intents/Slices: Intent taxonomy and context slices are defined in the AI-Context library and in the Visitor Chatbot. New intents may require adjustments in intent mapping, prompts, and context loading.
  • Expand Actions: Action types (e.g., show_on_map, start_route) and their parsing are described in the Concierge agent package and in the Visitor Chatbot; the Companion maps them to UI handlers.
  • Dashboard API: The Visitor Chatbot is located in the dashboard; the signage app provides a proxy. CORS needs to match only between signage and its own backend, not between browser and dashboard.

Concierge vs. AI Assistant on the Center Website​

The AI Assistant on the Center Website (and in the embed) uses the same data basis as the Concierge. On the website, it is meaningfully implemented to include:

  • Shops, recommendations, opening hours, services – the same context as the Concierge
  • Returns/Exchanges (claims proxy) – “Can I return at [Shop]?”
  • Offers & Events – “What's happening today?”
  • Directions – text-based (“Where is Saturn?”, “How do I get to the restroom?”), without map/route
  • Departure Planning – “When should I leave if my bus departs at 5:40 PM?” (walking time + buffer)
  • Currently Popular – when users ask about “what's trending?” etc., and the context includes trending data

Not on the website: Parking (“Where is my car?”), map, “Show on map,” “Start route,” group mode. A detailed technical comparison (API, intents, actions) can be found in the project documentation in the repository.

See also​

Nutzungsstatistik: Seitenaufrufe werden anonymisiert erfasst. Im Umami-Dashboard nach diesem Pfad filtern: /en/digital-signage/concierge