--- name: watson-assistant-actions-global-settings title: Global settings for actions description: Use **Global settings** to configure features across all actions. last-updated: 2025-07-09 --- > ## Documentation Index > The table of contents for this documentation set is at https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/watson-assistant?format=markdown > The index for all IBM Cloud docs is at: https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/llms.txt > Use these files to discover more information as needed. # Global settings for actions {: #actions-global-settings} **Autolearning feature in watsonx Assistant** Effective 16 June 2025, the autolearning feature is withdrawn for watsonx Assistant. After this date, autolearning settings are removed from the **Actions global settings** page, and all autolearning capabilities are disabled. {: withdrawn} Use **Global settings** to configure features across all actions. {: shortdesc} On the **Actions** page, click **Global settings** ![Gear icon](images/gear-icon-black.png). Global settings provide options, configurations, and tasks for: - [Conversation routing](#convo-routing) - [Generative AI](#generative-ai) - [Autocorrection](#actions-global-settings-autocorrection) - [Display formats](#actions-global-settings-display-formats) - [Algorithm version](#actions-global-settings-algorithms-versions) - [Upload/Download](#actions-global-settings-upload-download) - Autolearning {: withdrawn} ## Conversation routing {: #convo-routing} In the **Conversation routing** tab, you have the following settings: - [Ask clarifying questions](#actions-global-settings-clarify-questions) - [Customize modes](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/watson-assistant?topic=watson-assistant-action-response-modes&format=markdown) - [Change conversation topic](#actions-global-settings-change-conversation-topic) - [No matches](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/watson-assistant?topic=watson-assistant-handle-errors&format=markdown#no-action-matches) **Search routing** functionality is moved to [Generative AI](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/watson-assistant?topic=watson-assistant-base-llm-wxa&format=markdown) page of the assistant home screen. {: note} ### Clarifying questions {: #actions-global-settings-clarify-questions} On the **Clarifying questions** tab, you can customize how an action asks clarifying questions. In the **Ask clarifying questions** section, you can: - Enable or disable if your assistant disambiguates (asks a clarifying question). - Modify the text that your assistant uses to introduce the clarification list or when no action matches. - Enable or disable response modes, and modify the text that your assistant uses with a response mode. If you enable response modes, you can use the **Customize modes** section to choose a response mode for each action to set how it behaves. In the **No matches** section, you can affect how often your assistant routes customers to the **No matches** action when input is unrecognized. For more information, see: - [Customizing clarifying questions](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/watson-assistant?topic=watson-assistant-understand-questions&format=markdown#understand-questions-disambiguation-config) - [Response modes](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/watson-assistant?topic=watson-assistant-action-response-modes&format=markdown) - [When the assistant can't understand your customer's request](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/watson-assistant?topic=watson-assistant-handle-errors&format=markdown#no-action-matches) ### Change conversation topic {: #actions-global-settings-change-conversation-topic} The **Change conversation topic** feature enables your assistant to handle digressions, dynamically responding to the user by changing the conversation topic as needed. For more information, see [Allowing your customers to change the topic of the conversation](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/watson-assistant?topic=watson-assistant-change-topic&format=markdown). If necessary, you can disable changing the topic for all actions: 1. On the **Change conversation topic** tab, set the switch to **Off**. 1. Click **Save**, and then click **Close**. ### Allow change of topic between actions and dialog {: #actions-global-settings-change-topic-action-to-dialog} If you are using actions and dialog, you can ensure that customers can change topics between an action and a dialog node. This setting is available if you activate dialog in Assistant settings. For more information, see [Activating dialog and migrating skills](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/watson-assistant?topic=watson-assistant-activate-dialog&format=markdown). {: note} 1. Set the toggle **Change topics from actions to dialog** to **On**. 1. Click **Save**, and then click **Close**. ## Generative AI {: #generative-ai} On the **Generative AI** tab, you can enable or disable the generative AI capabilities of the assistant such as *information gathering*. When you enable the *[information gathering](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/watson-assistant?topic=watson-assistant-information-gathering&format=markdown)* feature, your assistant uses a large language model (LLM) in [watsonx.ai](https://www.ibm.com/products/watsonx-ai) to intelligently recognize multiple pieces of information in the customer responses and fill the corresponding steps to avoid multiple prompts in a session. For more information, see [Using watsonx.ai for generative AI capabilities](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/watson-assistant?topic=watson-assistant-using-watsonxai-for-generative-ai-capabilities&format=markdown). ## Confirmation to return to previous topic {: #actions-global-settings-change-topic-confirmation} By default, new assistants are set to ask a `yes or no` question to confirm that the customers want to return to the previous action. You can modify these settings in the Confirmation section. For more information, see [Confirmation to return to previous topic](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/watson-assistant?topic=watson-assistant-change-topic&format=markdown#change-topic-confirmation). ## Autocorrection {: #actions-global-settings-autocorrection} *Autocorrection* fixes misspellings that users make in their requests. The corrected words are used to match to an action. Autocorrection is enabled automatically for all English-language assistants. It is also available in French-language assistants, but is disabled by default. The autocorrection setting isn't available for any other languages. For more information, see [Autocorrecting user input](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/watson-assistant?topic=watson-assistant-autocorrection&format=markdown). ## Display formats {: #actions-global-settings-display-formats} Use display formats for variables that use date, time, numbers, currency, or percentages. You can also choose a default locale to use if one isn't provided by the client application. You can ensure that the format of a variable in the web chat is what you want for your assistant. For example, you can choose to have the output of a time variable appear in HH:MM format instead of HH:MM:SS. Variables are formatted by using a system default unless you specify otherwise. | Display format setting | Description | English - United States (en-US) examples | | ---- | ---- | ---- | | Locale | Choose a default locale for the assistant if one can't be determined. The locale that you choose uses formats specific to that country and language. If you choose a locale, the date, time, number, currency, and percentage format fields change to show choices specific to that locale. The system default is `English - United States (en-US)`. | | | Date | For calendar dates, choose short, medium, long, full, YY/MM/DD, or YYYY/MM/DD | | | Time | For times, choose short or medium | | | Number fraction digits | Use the system default (up to 14 digits) or two digits | `10.12` | | Number delimiter | Use the system default, none, comma, or period | | | Currency fraction digits | Use the system default (up to 14 digits) or two digits | `10.99` | | Currency symbol | Use the system default or choose a global symbol | `$10.99` | | Percentage fraction digits | Use the system default (up to 14 digits) or two digits | `10.75%` | {: caption="Display format settings" caption-side="bottom"} ## Algorithm version {: #actions-global-settings-algorithms-versions} Choose which watsonx Assistant algorithm to apply to your future trainings. For more information, see [Algorithm version](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/watson-assistant?topic=watson-assistant-algorithm-version&format=markdown). ## Upload/Download {: #actions-global-settings-upload-download} You can upload or download actions. ### Downloading {: #actions-global-settings-download} To back up actions, download a JSON file and store it. On the **Upload/Download** tab, click the **Download** button. ### Uploading {: #actions-global-settings-upload} To reinstate a backup copy of actions that you exported from another service instance or environment, import the JSON file of the actions you exported. If the watsonx Assistant service changes between the time you export the actions and import it, due to functional updates that are regularly applied to instances in cloud-hosted continuous delivery environments, your imported actions might function differently than before. {: important} On the **Upload/Download** tab, drag a JSON file onto the tab or click to select a file from your local system, then click **Upload**. The imported JSON file must use UTF-8 encoding, without byte order mark (BOM) encoding. The JSON file cannot contain tabs, newlines, or carriage returns. {: important}