CVG 1.38.0 (27-Feb-2024)

We are pleased to announce the latest round of updates and new features in CVG 1.38.0. This release underscores our relentless commitment to improving the security, flexibility and overall experience of the CVG platform for you and your customers.

Key new features include our comprehensive improvements to user login security, including strong password policies and mandatory two-factor authentication (2FA), designed to secure our platform against evolving cybersecurity threats. In addition, we are introducing an important enhancement for our reseller community with the Bring-Your-Own-Carrier (BYOC) trunking feature and significantly improving our Smart Dialog bots and Assistants. In addition, we have solved the integration issues with OpenAI’s TTS by introducing SSML stripping and extended the availability of OpenAI Whisper to ensure the widest possible use of this STT technology.

Let’s dive into what CVG 1.38.0 has to offer by taking the steps towards a more secure, flexible and innovative voicebot future.

Enhanced Security Features for User Logins

In our ongoing efforts to bolster the security and reliability of CVG, we are excited to announce a significant update aimed at enhancing the security protocols for user logins. This update introduces a more robust password policy and mandates Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) for all users, alongside improvements to session management. These changes underscore our commitment to safeguarding your customers and your data and ensuring the integrity of our system against emerging cybersecurity threats.

Stricter Password Policy

To fortify our defenses against unauthorized access, we have revised our password policy to necessitate stronger, more complex passwords for all users. Effective immediately, the requirements for password creation and updates are as follows:

• Minimum Length: Passwords must be at least 10 characters long.

• Character Complexity: Passwords must include at least one uppercase character, one lowercase character, one digit, and one special character.

Applicability of new Password Policy

The revised policy applies to new users at the time of account creation and to existing users when changing their passwords. Furthermore, we reserve the right to prompt individual users to update their passwords to comply with the new policy, thereby enhancing the security of all user accounts.

Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

Recognizing the importance of 2FA in contemporary cybersecurity, we have implemented this additional layer of security for accessing the CVG UI. With the activation of 2FA, users will be required to set up a link with an Authenticator app (such as Microsoft or Google Authenticator) which will generate the necessary One-Time Passwords (OTPs) for login.

• Activation: 2FA is now mandatory for all users. Upon your next login, you will be guided through the simple process of configuring your Authenticator app.

• Session Management Enhancements: To balance security with user convenience, we’ve optimized session management as follows:

  • Without “Remember Me”: Sessions will expire after 1 hour of inactivity or after a maximum of 10 hours, requiring a new login.

  • With “Remember Me” Activated: Sessions will last up to 3 days of inactivity, catering to typical weekend durations, or up to a maximum of 30 days, post which a new login is necessary.

These updates are a testament to our unwavering commitment to elevating user security without significantly impacting user experience. We believe that by enforcing these new measures, we can offer a safer, more secure environment for our users.

As always, we value your feedback and are here to assist with any questions or concerns regarding these new security enhancements. Your cooperation and understanding are greatly appreciated as we strive to maintain the highest level of security and service quality.

Bring-Your-Own-Carrier (BYOC) Trunking for Resellers

We are pleased to announce an important update to the CVG platform, designed to enhance flexibility and control for our growing community of resellers, some of whom also operate as telecommunications network providers.

Reseller-specific SIP Trunk Utilization for Voice Traffic: As CVG continues to be embraced by a diverse array of resellers to deliver unparalleled services to their customers, we’re excited to introduce the capability for these resellers to specifically utilize their own SIP trunks for both inbound and outbound voice traffic. This expansion is aligned with our ongoing commitment to facilitate a Bring Your Own Carrier (BYOC) approach, providing our resellers with the freedom and flexibility to leverage their existing telephony infrastructure while using CVG’s advanced telephony, voice and AI functionalities.

Outbound Call Transition “at the Press of a Button”: With the activation of this feature by our support team, the transition of outbound voice traffic to a newly configured SIP trunk is effortless, ensuring uninterrupted and seamless continuation of services.

Inbound Call Transition: It’s important for resellers to be aware that inbound calls will require the use of trunk-specific phone numbers. In line with our dedicated BYOC trunking capability, please note that number porting is explicitly unsupported. Resellers are encouraged to plan accordingly to ensure a smooth integration and utilization of this feature.

For any questions or further information regarding this update, please reach out to our support team.

Smart Dialog Assistants Enhancements

File Management

In our ongoing effort to enable more dynamic and intelligent voice interactions, we have enhanced the Smart Dialog Assistants with file management capabilities. Users can now easily upload and delete documents directly within the platform. These documents serve as a comprehensive knowledge base for the Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) feature, empowering the Smart Dialog Assistant to deliver more accurate and contextually relevant responses.

Important: All uploaded Documents are stored in the US

Please note, the storage location for these files continues to be hosted by OpenAI in the United States.

20MB is maximum File Size

The maximum size of files that can be uploaded via the file manager is currently 20MB.

Date and Time Support

Building upon our existing features, Smart Dialog Assistants now boast improved date and time functionality. By incorporating the placeholder {time, [timezone]} within prompts (e.g., {time, Europe/Berlin} or {time, +01:00}), users can seamlessly integrate local time information into their Smart Dialog Assistant interactions, enhancing the conversational experience with timely relevant responses.

Access to Custom Data and SIP Headers

Further personalizing voicebot interactions, our update now enables access to initially transferred custom data and custom SIP headers within prompts. This means that voicebots can consider additional context and details during conversations, offering more personalized and relevant assistance to callers.

You can now use the placeholder {customDialogData, [keyOfCustomData]} in the prompt to access the various custom data transferred, e.g. with {customDialogData, customerName} to access the customer name that was transferred from the upstream system.

To access custom SIP headers in the prompt, the placeholder {customSipHeader, [SipHeaderName]} is available, e.g. {customSipHeader, X-CorrelationID}.

Sending Custom SIP Headers

To improve call handling and information transfer, Smart Dialog Bots can now send custom SIP headers while forwarding calls. This capability ensures that metadata associated with a call can be seamlessly passed on to downstream systems and human agents, facilitating a smoother handover and more informed interaction.

In order for custom SIP headers to be transmitted, it must be prompted accordingly that customSipHeaders are set when forwarding.

Smart Dialog Enhancements

Configurable Output after Function Calls

We have introduced configurable outputs following function calls within Smart Dialog interactions. This feature allows for customized instructions on whether to end or forward a call based on the outcome of a function call, mirroring the functionality previously available only in Smart Dialog Assistants. This enhancement provides developers with greater control over call flow and user engagement.

Access to Custom Data and SIP Headers

As for Smart Dialog Assistants (see above) also with Smart Dialog bots can easily access initially transferred custom data and custom SIP headers within prompts.

Sending Custom SIP Headers

As for Smart Dialog Assistants (see above) also with Smart Dialog bots can now send custom SIP headers while forwarding calls to facilitate a smoother handover.

SSML stripping for improved OpenAI TTS Integration

If you have encountered problems when using OpenAI TTS in your voicebots, it was probably because the text to be spoken contains SSML (Speech Synthesis Markup Language) tags. In this case, the OpenAI TTS simply remained mute because it does not (yet) support SSML.

To overcome this challenge and optimize the development process, CVG is now introducing an automatic filter mechanism that detects and removes SSML tags from text input when using TTS services such as OpenAI TTS that do not support SSML. This development ensures seamless integration and operation of voicebots without the need for manual intervention to remove SSML tags from your texts.

Key Features:

• Automatic SSML Tag Removal: CVG now automatically identifies and eliminates SSML tags from text inputs destined for TTS engines that do not support SSML. This process is completely transparent to the user, ensuring your voicebot’s functionality remains unaffected by the underlying TTS limitations.

• Comprehensive TTS Engine Support: In scenarios where multiple TTS engines are employed (primary, secondary, etc.), and at least one of those engines lacks SSML support, CVG will proactively remove SSML tags from the text. This guarantees compatibility across various TTS technologies, fortifying your voicebot’s versatility and reliability.

This enhancement paves the way for a more flexible and user-friendly experience when creating voicebots with CVG. By streamlining the compatibility with OpenAI TTS and potentially other TTS services (yes, we have more to come), developers can now focus more on designing engaging voice interactions rather than troubleshooting SSML-related issues.

Improved Availability of OpenAI Whisper

A month ago, we made OpenAI’s STT service, Whisper, available for your bots - but with the limitation that Whisper could only be used hosted by OpenAI in the US and only in our EU environment. We’re thrilled to announce the removal of these geographical restrictions, making Whisper accessible in both Azure in the EU regions and the US, broadening the horizon for our users in creating more versatile and engaging voicebots.

Availability Expanded to Azure EU Regions

Understanding the importance of data residency and compliance for our European users, we’ve facilitated the use of OpenAI Whisper on Azure within the EU region. A dedicated STT profile for Azure’s OpenAI, served directly from the EU, is now available, ensuring compliance with regional data handling regulations.

Azure imposes stringent Rate Limits

We must note that Azure imposes stringent rate limits on the usage of Whisper. We are actively negotiating to ease these restrictions and will keep our users updated on our progress.

In addition, CVG offers the flexibility to create STT profiles for Whisper using your individual Azure subscriptions, in which case the relevant restrictions will apply.

Access for our US Customers

For our user base in the United States, the integration of OpenAI Speech-to-Text (STT) Whisper and OpenAI Text-to-Speech (TTS) has been expanded within the CVG platform.

Whisper and TTS provided by OpenAI are now also available in our US region. In addition we now present a profile option for Whisper through Azure hosted in a US region. This advancement ensures our US customers can leverage the robust capabilities of Whisper, enhancing their voicebots with superior speech recognition and synthesis powered by one of the most advanced technologies in the market.

Smaller Improvements and Fixes

Transcripts in Recordings for Recorded Party only

The transcript attached to the audio recordings now only contains the recorded participant(s).

No Auto-Switch between ChatGPT and Smart Dialog Templates

The bot template for a Smart Dialog bot no longer sometimes changes to a ChatGPT bot template after saving.

Important Note: Adjust your Bot NOW if not yet done

As announced a year ago we’ll send SIP URIs in Call Parties in customer endpoints. With the coming release in March 2024 (which is even 6 months later as announced earlier) the Bot API will get plain SIP URIs if no classic phone number in E.164 format can be derived from the SIP URI. Make sure you adjust your applications (bots) so they can handle SIP URIs in addition to phone numbers in E.164 format.