dialogflow returning an empty response, despite having the data

Question

I'm trying to create a chatbot in DialogFlow that checks the status of your insurance claim.

I have set up a call to an external API (mock), and I use a promise to wait for the response and then return it. However, I consistently get [empty response] from DF, despite getting the correct data from the mock API. Is it just taking too long?

Below is the relevant code:


    var callClaimsApi = new Promise((resolve, reject)=>{
      try{
        https.get('https://MOCKAPIURL.COM', (res) => {
            res.setEncoding('utf8');
            let rawData = '';
            res.on('data', (chunk) => { rawData += chunk; });
            res.on('end', () => {
            resolve(JSON.parse(rawData));   
      });
    });} catch(e){reject(e.message);}
  }); 

  function checkClaims(agent){ 
    callClaimsApi
      .then(function(fulfillment){
        console.log("fulfillment name: " + fulfillment.name);
        agent.add("It looks like you want to find a claim for " + fulfillment.name);
      })
      .catch(function(error){console.log(error);});
  }

intentMap.set('checkClaims', checkClaims);

here is the output from the logs:

I think the problem is that the API call is just taking too long, and DialogFlow wants to answer and doesn't wait. So, I think I either need to speed up my call, or find a way to make DialogFlow wait, either in the code or in settings, if that is possible... — Captain Chaos, Jun 11 '20 at 21:47

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Jun 12 '20 at 02:27

1

According to documentation, Dialogflow's wait time is 5 seconds. If you can optimize your code that would be awesome. There are some tricks to make DF wait for longer using Follow-Up events or use one intent to request -> respond to the user with some confirmation (ex. Can you wait for 3 seconds? Yes/No) -> By this time the request will be available so you can send it in the next message.
You can check his post for me info

answered Jun 12 '20 at 02:27

Gray_Rhino

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It looks like the call is taking 2 - 3 seconds, so that's less than the 5 second wait time, not sure why it's failing – Captain Chaos Jun 12 '20 at 03:28

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 13 '20 at 11:42

1

The issue is that, although you're doing all your processing through a Promise, you are not returning that Promise in your Handler. The library needs the Promise so it knows there is an asynchronous operation going on and that it should wait till that operation is completed before sending a reply.

Fortunately, in your case, you may be able to do this by just adding the return statement before callClaimsApi.

You may also wish to look into using a library such as axios to do the http call, since it has promise support built-in.

answered Jun 13 '20 at 11:42

Prisoner

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Great, I will test that out this weekend and let you know if it works. Thanks! – Captain Chaos Jun 13 '20 at 15:32
I had tried Axios, after I posted this question and before you replied, but that didn't work, but your solution above does what I want. – Captain Chaos Jun 13 '20 at 16:40
The important part is returning the context. Axios just makes it easier to do http calls in a promise-based environment. Glad it helps! – Prisoner Jun 13 '20 at 18:47
1

I'll have to check my history, I wonder if I should have had RETURN axios.call(XYZ).then(doThing).catch() – Captain Chaos Jun 14 '20 at 23:46

dialogflow returning an empty response, despite having the data

2 Answers2