# Virtual Assistant task validation and retries

Help visitors correct task answers and offer configured retry, skip or alternate routes when they need assistance.

*Release 3.3 · admin, operator, visitor*

**Settings › Bots › Virtual Assistant › Settings** · **Settings › Bots › Virtual Assistant › Tasks** · **Settings › Bots › Virtual Assistant › Steps**

## What it is

**Invalid Input Failures** lets a task offer another route after a visitor supplies an invalid answer. Related help controls explain the expected answer and can offer skipping, a human operator or a leave-message task. The choices depend on the task, channel and operator availability.

## Who uses it and why

- Administrators with the **Bot Trainer** role write corrective messages and configure recovery routes.
- Visitors correct their answer or choose an available alternative.
- Operators receive visitors who request help or return from a task.

## Where to find it

Use **Settings › Bots › Virtual Assistant › Tasks** for **Invalid Input Failures** and the alternate routes. Use **Settings › Bots › Virtual Assistant › Steps** for field help, validation messages and skipping.

Shared help wording and visibility are under **Settings › Bots › Virtual Assistant › Settings**. Handover phrases are managed under **Settings › Bots › Virtual Assistant › Handover Phrases**.

## How it works

When a visitor submits an answer, INSIDE checks the field's applicable rules. An invalid answer does not complete the question. The visitor receives the field's **Validation Error Message** when supplied, or an applicable standard error. **Help Message** explains what the question expects.

On supported messaging journeys, enabling **Invalid Input Failures** adds a retry choice and an alternate task or step. The first invalid answer uses the first configured route, the second uses the second, and the third and later failures use the third. The retry choice is **Yes**; the other choice uses **Failure Alternate Step Label**. Starting a new task resets the failure and help state.

Help can offer a human operator when available, a configured leave-message task when no operator is available, a return to the current operator or a skip choice on a step that allows it. Messaging channels can present numbered or labelled choices instead of web-chat buttons.

Where **Check Handover Phrases** is active, a recognised handover request can take priority over normal field validation. Other ordinary chat messages can pause a task rather than answer its question.

## Configure it

1. Set the field's validation rules and write a clear **Help Message** and **Validation Error Message**.
2. In the task, enable **Invalid Input Failures** if you need successive recovery choices. Configure all three alternate task or step routes and their **Failure Alternate Step Label** values.
3. Write **Failure Action Message** to explain the retry choice. Check the wording in every supported language.
4. Enable **Can Skip Step** only where skipping is appropriate, and set **Skip Step Label** if needed.
5. Review the shared help labels, hide switches and leave-message task under **Settings › Bots › Virtual Assistant › Settings**.
6. Preview the task, publish through the normal task process and test invalid answers on each live channel. Test at least three consecutive failures and a later failure.

Also check operator availability and the handover routes. A helpful label needs a working destination behind it.

### Settings

| Setting | Where | Applies to | Default | Who can change it | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Help Title | Settings › Bots › Virtual Assistant › Settings | website | Not set: web chat uses Help in the visitor's language | Bot Trainer role | Overrides the help heading for the selected language. Web chat falls back to Help when no title is supplied. |
| Error Title | Settings › Bots › Virtual Assistant › Settings | website | Not set: web chat uses Oops! in the visitor's language | Bot Trainer role | Overrides the web-chat error heading for the selected language. Web chat falls back to Oops! when no title is supplied. |
| 'Need Help?' Label | Settings › Bots › Virtual Assistant › Settings | website | Not set: web chat uses Having trouble? in the visitor's language | Bot Trainer role | Changes the help prompt for the selected language. Web chat falls back to Having trouble? when no label is supplied. |
| Hide Help Option | Settings › Bots › Virtual Assistant › Settings | website | Off | Bot Trainer role | Hides the web-chat help entry and affects help prompts for the selected language. Available content and operator availability also affect help display. |
| Transfer to Operator Label | Settings › Bots › Virtual Assistant › Settings | website | Not set: uses Talk to Human in the visitor's language | Bot Trainer role | Changes the label for requesting a human operator. The standard fallback is Talk to Human. |
| Hide Transfer To Operator Option | Settings › Bots › Virtual Assistant › Settings | website | Off | Bot Trainer role | Suppresses supported web-chat transfer controls and prevents their transfer action. Check the actual help and error presentation on each channel. |
| Return to Operator Label | Settings › Bots › Virtual Assistant › Settings | website | Not set: web chat uses Ask Operator a Question in the visitor's language | Bot Trainer role | Changes the label for returning to an operator during a task. Web chat falls back to Ask Operator a Question. |
| Hide Return To Operator Option | Settings › Bots › Virtual Assistant › Settings | website | Off | Bot Trainer role | Hides the supported web-chat return-to-operator control for the selected language. |
| Leave a Message Label | Settings › Bots › Virtual Assistant › Settings | website | Not set: uses Leave a Message in the visitor's language | Bot Trainer role | Changes the label for the configured leave-message route. The standard fallback is Leave a Message. |
| Hide Leave A Message Option | Settings › Bots › Virtual Assistant › Settings | website | Off | Bot Trainer role | Hides the supported web-chat leave-message control for the selected language. A leave-message task must also be configured for that route to work. |

### Fields

| Field | Where | Required | What it is for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Invalid Input Failures | Settings › Bots › Virtual Assistant › Tasks | No | Enables the task's configured successive alternate actions after invalid answers on supported messaging journeys. |
| Failure Action Message | Settings › Bots › Virtual Assistant › Tasks | No | Supplies the retry prompt. Supported messaging journeys fall back to Do you want to try again: when this is blank. |
| Failure Alternate Step Label | Settings › Bots › Virtual Assistant › Tasks | No | Names the alternate route offered beside the retry choice for each of the three failure stages. |
| Skip Step Label | Settings › Bots › Virtual Assistant › Tasks | No | Changes the wording of the skip choice on steps that allow skipping. |
| Help Message | Settings › Bots › Virtual Assistant › Steps | No | Explains how to answer a particular task field. |
| Validation Error Message | Settings › Bots › Virtual Assistant › Steps | No | Replaces the generic invalid-answer message for the field. |
| Can Skip Step | Settings › Bots › Virtual Assistant › Steps | No | Allows a skip route for the step. New steps initially leave this off. |
| Hide Chat Input | Settings › Bots › Virtual Assistant › Steps | No | Suppresses ordinary visitor chat input while this step is active. New steps initially leave this off. |
| Check Handover Phrases | Settings › Bots › Virtual Assistant › Steps | No | Checks configured handover phrases in field answers before ordinary validation, where this option is available. |

### Permissions

| Permission | Lets you |
|---|---|
| Bot Trainer | Configure Virtual Assistant Settings, task failure routes and step help or validation messages. |

## Limits and good to know

- Help and retry presentation differ between web chat and messaging channels. Do not expect identical buttons or the same recovery sequence everywhere.
- The third alternate action is reused for later failures. It is not an automatic three-attempt lockout.
- Hiding a help entry does not remove field validation. Visibility switches can affect the main controls and error help differently.
- A rejected file is not a valid completed answer. When a task is waiting for a file, INSIDE can send an invalid-file response.
- In web chat, exact picklist or Boolean option labels can be recognised as answers. Date and rating steps also support typed answers through this handling. Ordinary text, number and file questions do not use the same automatic chat-answer handling.
- **Hide Chat Input** suppresses ordinary chat while its step runs. Action-only steps in bot conversations can also suppress chat input. Visitors should use the offered field or controls.
- Returning to an operator and transferring to a new operator are different actions. Check both routes if your task uses them.

## Depends on and works with

### This feature uses

- **Requires** [Virtual Assistant task setup](ENG-009.md): Recovery routes need an authored task and its current step configuration.
- **Requires** [Virtual Assistant task steps and branches](ENG-011.md): Recovery applies to the visitor's currently running task and step.
- **Configured in** [Virtual Assistant task drafts and publishing](ENG-010.md): Saved task changes must follow the normal publishing process before affecting live journeys.
- **Configured in** [Virtual Assistant task data fields](ENG-012.md): Field types and validation rules decide whether an answer is valid.
- **Configured in** [Virtual Assistant task messages and identity](ENG-014.md): Help, error and recovery messages can have language versions.
- **Configured in** [Attachment file types and virus scanning](ADM-018.md): Attachment file-type policy can reject a file submitted as a task answer.
- **Works better with** [Virtual Assistant task pauses and handover](ENG-015.md): Help can pause a task, return to the operator or transfer to a human.
- **Works better with** [Virtual Assistant task preview](ENG-018.md): Preview helps check the configured visitor prompts before channel testing.
- **Works better with** [Chat tasks and topics for visitors](VX-017.md): Web chat renders task help, error messages and recovery controls.
- **Works better with** [Custom fields in visitor forms](VX-010.md): Visitor forms display field-specific validation and help.
- **Works better with** [Virtual Assistant tasks in messaging channels](CHN-004.md): Messaging channels render help and retry choices through their supported text or choice controls.

### Used by

- **Configures** [Virtual Assistant task setup](ENG-009.md): Help and invalid-input settings define the recovery choices offered by a task.
- **Configures** [Virtual Assistant task steps and branches](ENG-011.md): Configured help and failure routes determine how execution recovers from invalid input.
- **Configures** [Virtual Assistant tasks in messaging channels](CHN-004.md): Help and invalid-input options control recovery from unrecognised replies.
- **Enhances** [Virtual Assistant task data fields](ENG-012.md): Invalid-input recovery can offer another route after failed answers.
- **Enhances** [Virtual Assistant task pauses and handover](ENG-015.md): Help and invalid-input recovery can offer operator or alternate-task routes.

## FAQ and troubleshooting

**Why does the visitor remain on the same question?**

The answer failed validation or did not use a supported answer control. Check the field type, required format and displayed error message.

**Why is there no option to speak to a human?**

Check operator availability, the shared hide switches and whether the current journey is bot-led. If no operator is available, a leave-message route needs a configured task.

**Why does the same alternative appear after several failures?**

The third configured route is reused for the third and all later failures.

**Why can the visitor not type a normal chat message?**

The current step may use **Hide Chat Input**, or it may be an action-only step in a bot conversation. Check the task and the visitor controls offered for that step.

**Why did a request for help take the visitor away from the field?**

A configured handover phrase can be recognised before ordinary validation. Review **Check Handover Phrases** and the configured handover destination.

**Why do web chat and WhatsApp show different recovery choices?**

Each channel renders supported help and answers differently. Verify both the channel's task handling and the configured task routes.