Hints parameter

To improve post-processing accuracy and better align with user intent, the Smart Formatter now supports a new hints parameter. The hints parameter helps guide formatting by indicating the expected attribute type. This parameter allows the formatter to interpret and structure data more effectively, especially when user input is ambiguous or loosely structured.

Supported values

The hints parameter supports the following values:

Supported values for hints parameter
Hint	Description	Resolves Ambiguity In	Example
`date`	Formats input as a date.	Differentiates between numeric expressions and date references. For example, spoken input like `six twenty seven twenty fourteen` might be interpreted either as a number or a date. When the `date` hint is specified, it is correctly formatted as a date.	`six twenty seven twenty fourteen` is formatted as `06/27/2014`.
`alphanum`	Formats input as an alphanumeric string (letters and numbers combined).	In an audio input, when a speaker says `o`, it might refer to either the letter `o` or the digit `0`. By specifying the `alphanum` hint, the Smart Formatter preserves `o` as a letter instead of converting it to zero.	`A o 5 B` is formatted as `Ao5B`.

In addition to date and alphanum, hints parameter also supports the following values:

number – Interprets numeric sequences correctly in ambiguous contexts.
email – Resolves ambiguities in spoken email addresses.
phonenumber - Distinguishes phone numbers from other numeric expressions.

By specifying a hint, developers can enhance the formatter’s ability to deliver results that more closely match user expectations. For more information on smart formatter, see Smart Formatter.

Using the hints parameter

The hints parameter works only when Smart Formatting is enabled with version 2.0. To use it, include the following parameters in your request:

smart_formatting=true
smart_formatting_version=2.0

Currently, date and alphanum are the supported hints.

Example request:

curl -X POST -u "apikey:<apikey>"
-H "Content-Type: audio/wav"
--data-binary @{path}New_Recording.wav  
"{URL}/v1/recognize?model=en-US&hints=date&smart_formatting=true&smart_formatting_version=2.0"

Example response:

text msg received %s { 
   "result_index": 0, 
   "results": [ 
      { 
         "final": true, 
         "alternatives": [ 
            { 
               "transcript": "9/9/88 ", 
               "confidence": 0.93 
            } 
         ] 
      } 
   ] 
}

Strict attribute

The strict attribute can be used along with any hint to remove unwanted or extra context from the output. It helps produce a more concise and precise result when the user input contains extra words that are not needed in the formatted output.

Example request:

curl -X POST -u "apikey:<apikey>"  
-H "Content-Type: audio/wav"  
--data-binary @{path}New_Recording.wav  
"{URL}/v1/recognize?model=en-US&hints=date,strict&smart_formatting=true&smart_formatting_version=2.0"

For example, if the input is My Birthday is on June twenty seven two thousand fourteen, the output with date attribute is My Birthday is on 06/27/2014. The output with both date and strict attributes is 06/27/2014. The strict attribute help ensure that only the essential formatted value is returned, removing surrounding context if present.

Supported languages

The hints parameter currently supports English (US) (en-US).