Asking the User for Responses in OVOS Skills¶

In a nutshell

Sometimes a skill needs to ask the user something back: "which flavor?", "are you sure?", "pick one of these". This page shows the four built-in ways an OVOS skill does that: an open-ended question, a specific question that captures the reply (get_response), a yes/no question (ask_yesno), and a multiple-choice question (ask_selection). OVOS keeps the microphone open and parses the answer for you. For the design side, when to ask versus just tell the user, see the Skill Design Guidelines.

📐 Formal specification

Asking the user back is the spec's response mode, defined by OVOS-CONVERSE-1: Active Handlers and Interactive Response. When a handler enters response mode (it sets session.response_mode), the orchestrator suspends normal intent matching and routes the next utterance straight back to that handler as the awaited reply. This is the interactive-response window.

The methods below (get_response, ask_yesno, ask_selection) are the skill-API surface over this one session-resident mechanism. For the full set see the spec index.

OVOS provides several built-in methods for engaging users in interactive conversations. These include asking open-ended questions, confirming yes/no responses, and offering multiple-choice selections, all handled in a natural, voice-first way.

Here we look at how to implement the most common ways of asking the user for input. For more information on conversation design see the Skill Design Guidelines.

Usage Guide¶

Here's how to ask the user for different kinds of input in your OVOS skills:

1. Open-Ended Questions¶

Let the user respond freely, either to trigger another skill or to handle the response with a custom intent.

from ovos_workshop.skills import OVOSSkill
from ovos_workshop.decorators import intent_handler
import random

class AskMeSkill(OVOSSkill):
    @intent_handler('ask_me_something.intent')
    def handle_set_favorite(self, message):
        question = random.choice(self.question_list)
        self.speak(question, expect_response=True)

expect_response=True keeps the mic open after speaking, so the response can be handled by OVOS's intent pipeline.

2. Request Extra Information with `get_response()`¶

Use this to ask a specific question and directly capture the user's reply.

from ovos_workshop.skills import OVOSSkill
from ovos_workshop.decorators import intent_handler

class IceCreamSkill(OVOSSkill):
    @intent_handler('set.favorite.intent')
    def handle_set_favorite(self, message):
        favorite_flavor = self.get_response('what.is.your.favorite.flavor')
        self.speak_dialog('confirm.favorite.flavor', {'flavor': favorite_flavor})

Optional get_response() arguments:

data: Dictionary to format the dialog file (default None)
validator: A function (str) -> bool to check if the user response is valid
on_fail: A fallback string, or a (str) -> str callable, to say if validation fails
num_retries: How many times to retry if the response isn't valid (default -1, retry until valid)

get_response() returns the matched utterance as a str, or None if no valid response was captured. The first argument is the dialog to speak.

get_response() suspends the converse channel for this skill until the user responds or a timeout is hit. Raise AbortQuestion to cancel gracefully.

A stop cancels a pending get_response()

Calling get_response() sets session.response_mode for this skill, the same field Stop checks. If the user says "stop" while a question is pending and the skill's stop() (or stop_session()) reports it handled the stop, get_response() returns None right away instead of waiting out its timeout or retry count. Treat a None return as "no answer", whether it came from a stop, a timeout, or the user asking to cancel — the three are not distinguishable from the return value alone, and a handler that only expects a timeout will otherwise treat a stop as an empty reply and keep going with a flavor, a confirmation, or a slot it was never given.

3. Yes/No Questions with `ask_yesno()`¶

Detects affirmations or negations from user responses.

from ovos_workshop.skills import OVOSSkill
from ovos_workshop.decorators import intent_handler

class IceCreamSkill(OVOSSkill):
    @intent_handler('do.you.like.intent')
    def handle_do_you_like(self, message):
        likes_ice_cream = self.ask_yesno('do.you.like.ice.cream')
        if likes_ice_cream == 'yes':
            self.speak_dialog('does.like')
        elif likes_ice_cream == 'no':
            self.speak_dialog('does.not.like')
        else:
            self.speak_dialog('could.not.understand')

Behavior:

Returns "yes" or "no" for matching phrases.
Returns the full utterance if unclear.
Returns None if no valid response is detected.

Yes/No detection is a pluggable OPM agent plugin (group opm.agents.yesno). Override it per skill via the ask_yesno_plugin setting. OVOSSkill._get_yesno_engine uses the default plugin name ovos-solver-yes-no-plugin, but no registered opm.agents.yesno entry point uses that name. The shipped plugin registers as ovos-yes-no-plugin. In practice, loading falls back to the bundled HeuristicYesNoEngine, a heuristic engine that understands complex affirmations and denials, even double negations.

Example mappings:

User Says	Detected As
"yes"	yes
"no"	no
"don't think so"	no
"that's affirmative"	yes
"no, but actually, yes"	yes
"yes, but actually, no"	no
"correct, he is lying"	yes
"beans"	None

More mappings: the plugin handles double negatives, sarcasm cues, and indirection

User Says	Detected As
"yes, yes, yes, but actually, no"	no
"please"	yes
"please don't"	no
"no! please! I beg you"	no
"yes, i don't want it for sure"	no
"please! I beg you"	yes
"i want it for sure"	yes
"obviously"	yes
"indeed"	yes
"no, I obviously hate it"	no
"that's certainly undesirable"	no
"yes, it's a lie"	yes
"no, it's a lie"	no
"he is lying"	no
"it's a lie"	no
"you are mistaken"	no
"that's a mistake"	no
"wrong answer"	no
"it's not a lie"	yes
"he is not lying"	yes
"you are not mistaken"	yes
"you are not wrong"	yes

4. Multiple-Choice Questions with `ask_selection()`¶

Let users choose from a list of options, by name or number.

from ovos_workshop.skills import OVOSSkill
from ovos_workshop.decorators import intent_handler

class IceCreamSkill(OVOSSkill):
    def initialize(self):
        self.flavors = ['vanilla', 'chocolate', 'mint']

    @intent_handler('request.icecream.intent')
    def handle_request_icecream(self, message):
        self.speak_dialog('welcome')
        selection = self.ask_selection(self.flavors, 'what.flavor')
        self.speak_dialog('coming_right_up', {'flavor': selection})

Optional arguments:

min_conf (float): Minimum confidence threshold for fuzzy matching (default 0.65)
numeric (bool): If True, speak the list with numbered options (default False)
num_retries (int): How many times to re-ask on no match (default -1)

Returns the selected list element, or None if nothing matched. User responses like "chocolate", "the second one", or "option three" are all supported.

Technical Notes¶

All methods handle microphone activation and parsing behind the scenes.
OVOS automatically integrates with the intent pipeline to resolve follow-up responses.
These interactions are designed to support natural dialogue flows, validating and re-asking as needed.

Tips¶

Always confirm user input when using get_response() or ask_selection() for clarity.
Use validator with get_response() to catch unclear or unwanted input.
Use ask_yesno() for quick binary decisions, but gracefully handle unexpected answers.

Read next: Continuous Conversation Related: Intent Design · Converse · Session Aware Skills · Statements

Asking the User for Responses in OVOS Skills¶

Usage Guide¶

1. Open-Ended Questions¶

2. Request Extra Information with get_response()¶

3. Yes/No Questions with ask_yesno()¶

4. Multiple-Choice Questions with ask_selection()¶

Technical Notes¶

Tips¶

2. Request Extra Information with `get_response()`¶

3. Yes/No Questions with `ask_yesno()`¶

4. Multiple-Choice Questions with `ask_selection()`¶