Webex Assistant — Aida Voice Skill
The Aida Webex Assistant Skill brings building control and intelligent assistance to Cisco Webex Board, Desk, Room, and Room Kit devices. Room occupants speak to Webex Assistant; Aida executes the same actions as tapping buttons on the Aida Platform Controls panel — or answers broader questions about the building using the same AI assistant available in the Aida Platform.
Overview
Webex devices already support touch-based building control through the Webex Workspace Integration. The Aida skill adds a voice layer on top of that integration:
- Hands-free room control — lights, shades, and more without touching the screen
- Same automation path — voice triggers the same controller commands as panel taps
- Room-aware — the device you speak to determines which room and controller respond
- Conversational AI (Phase 2) — energy questions, comfort requests, and compound commands
How to invoke the skill
Webex Assistant skills use a dedicated invocation pattern:
Ok Webex, tell Aida to toggle the lights
Ok Webex, ask Aida to close the shades
Ok Webex, tell Aida how much energy we used this week
You must include the skill name (Aida) so Webex routes the request to our skill rather than native Assistant commands.
Relationship to Workspace Integration
:::important Not a second Aida integration The voice skill extends your existing Webex Workspace Integration. You do not create a new integration in the Aida Platform or upload a second manifest for voice. Devices, controllers, panels, and automation all come from the workspace integration you already configured. :::
Cisco treats touch control and voice as two different integration types. You need both enabled for the full experience:
| Workspace Integration | Aida Voice Skill | |
|---|---|---|
| What it does | Touch panels, webhooks, device xAPI | Voice commands via Webex Assistant |
| Required for voice? | Yes — foundation | Add-on after workspace integration works |
| Configured in Aida | Site → Webex Integration (manifest, devices, panels) | Same site — shared device/controller data |
| Enabled in Control Hub | Workspaces → Integrations | Workspace → Assistant Skills |
| Path to controller | Panel tap → webhook → MQTT | Voice → Aida API → same MQTT |
Workspace Integration (required) Assistant Skill (voice add-on)
│ │
├─ Devices discovered ├─ "Ok Webex, tell Aida …"
├─ Controller assigned ├─ Enable Aida in Control Hub
├─ Panel deployed └─ Uses same room/controller mapping
└─ Touch controls work
What customers do vs what Aida does
| Who | Workspace Integration | Voice skill |
|---|---|---|
| Customer Webex admin | Upload manifest, activate integration | Enable Aida under Assistant Skills |
| Customer Aida admin | Client ID/secret, devices, panels, controllers | Nothing extra in Aida UI (Phase 1) |
| Aida (vendor) | Platform webhook + xAPI handlers | Host /parse endpoint; register skill in Cisco Developer Portal per deployment model |
Voice without workspace integration will fail — there is no device-to-controller mapping. Touch without the voice skill still works normally.
Multi-organization deployments
If you are an Aida customer with your own Webex organization, your admin enables the Aida skill in your Control Hub after workspace integration is complete. Aida may register the skill in the Cisco Developer Portal on your behalf or guide your team through a one-time registration that points to Aida's shared skill endpoint. You do not need a separate Aida Platform site or manifest for voice.
Benefits
For room occupants
| Benefit | Description |
|---|---|
| Hands-free control | Adjust lights and shades while presenting, on a call, or away from the touchscreen |
| Natural language | Say what you want instead of navigating panel widgets |
| Spoken confirmation | Aida replies on the room speakers and shows a short message on screen |
| No extra apps | Works on the Webex device already in the room — no phone app required |
| Intelligent answers | Ask about energy, comfort, or building status and get spoken responses (Phase 2) |
For facility and IT teams
| Benefit | Description |
|---|---|
| No duplicate automation | Voice reuses the same Aida Controller logic as panel buttons — one ruleset, multiple input methods |
| Room-scoped by device | Each Webex endpoint controls its assigned room; no manual room selection in voice commands |
| Central management | Panels, controller assignment, and integration stay in the Aida Platform Webex UI |
| Auditable | Voice-triggered actions flow through the same MQTT event path as touch events |
| Extensible | Start with lights and shades; expand to LLM-powered building queries and multi-step commands |
Compared to touch-only control
| Touch panel | Voice skill | |
|---|---|---|
| Input | Tap widgets on screen | Speak to Webex Assistant |
| Controller path | Webhook → MQTT → Controller | Same MQTT → Controller path |
| Aida setup | Webex Integration per site | Same integration — no second site setup |
| Cisco setup | Integrations (manifest) | Also Assistant Skills (enable Aida) |
| Best for | Precise slider adjustments, visual feedback | Quick commands, hands-busy scenarios |
How it works
High-level flow
Room identification
The skill does not require users to say which site or room they are in. Webex includes the device ID of the endpoint where the user spoke. Aida maps that device to:
- The Aida Controller assigned in the Webex integration UI
- The site linked to that device's integration
- The control panel deployed on that device
As long as the Webex device is discovered, has a controller assigned, and has the Aida panel installed, voice commands apply to that room automatically.
Event equivalence
Voice control is designed to be functionally identical to tapping the panel:
- User speaks a command (e.g. "toggle lights")
- Aida translates it to the same widget event a panel tap would produce
- The event is delivered to the assigned controller over MQTT
- The controller runs the same automation as for a physical button press
This means existing controller configuration does not need a separate voice ruleset.
Phased capabilities
| Phase | What users get |
|---|---|
| Phase 1 | Fast voice commands for lights and shades on the default Aida control panel |
| Phase 2 | Full Aida AI assistant — energy usage, comfort, maintenance questions, and compound requests ("close the shades and dim the lights to thirty percent") |
| Phase 3+ | Custom panels per device, richer on-screen feedback, and admin tooling |
Supported voice commands (Phase 1)
These commands map to the Aida Platform Controls panel (aidaPlatformControls):
| Say something like… | Action |
|---|---|
| "Toggle the lights" / "Turn the lights on" / "Turn the lights off" | Light on/off toggle |
| "Set the lights to fifty percent" / "Dim the lights" | Light brightness slider |
| "Open the shades" / "Close the shades" | Shade position |
| "Shades one third" / "Shades two thirds" | Shade preset position |
| "Show controls" / "Open Aida panel" | Opens the touch panel on screen |
:::tip Natural phrasing You do not need exact wording. Aida matches common variations of these intents. For example, "it's too bright" may map to closing shades or dimming lights in Phase 2. :::
AI assistant on the room display (Phase 2)
Beyond panel commands, the skill connects to the same multi-agent Aida assistant used in the platform web UI and public API:
| Agent | Example voice questions |
|---|---|
| Energy Savings | "How much energy did we use this week?" |
| Comfort Control | "It's too cold in here" |
| Site Asset | "Which lights are on in this building?" |
| Predictive Maintenance | "Does anything need maintenance?" |
Responses are spoken on the room speakers (speak) with more detail shown on the device screen (reply). When a spoken request requires a physical change, the assistant triggers the same room control events as the fast path.
Prerequisites
Voice is Step 6 of Webex setup — not a standalone integration. Complete steps 1–5 in Webex Workspace Integration first.
Before enabling the Aida voice skill:
- Webex Workspace Integration active for your Aida site — see Webex Workspace Integration
- Touch controls verified — panel buttons successfully control the room (webhook → MQTT → controller)
- Webex devices discovered and controllers assigned in the integration UI
- Aida Platform Controls panel deployed to target devices
- Webex Assistant supported on the device (Board, Desk, Room, Room Kit series)
Additional for voice only:
- Aida Assistant skill registered and enabled in Control Hub → Assistant Skills
- Assistant Skills Developer Portal allowed in Control Hub (if your org restricts integrations)
Setup overview
Voice setup assumes workspace integration is already complete and working.
Step 6 — Enable voice (after workspace integration)
For Aida administrators (vendor / platform)
- Confirm customer workspace integration is active and touch controls work
- Register or verify the Aida skill in the Webex Assistant Skills Developer Portal (per customer Webex org or agreed deployment model)
- Configure skill endpoint and security credentials on the Aida Platform (
WEBEX_ASSISTANT_SKILL_*)
For customer Webex administrators
- Allow the Assistant Skills Developer Portal integration in Control Hub (if your org restricts integrations)
- Navigate to Workspace → Assistant Skills (not Integrations)
- Locate Aida and set status to Enabled
- Confirm target devices have Webex Assistant enabled
For customer Aida administrators
- No separate Aida integration — continue managing devices, panels, and controllers in the existing Webex Integration UI
- Optional: verify voice using
Ok Webex, tell Aida to toggle lightsafter Webex admin enables the skill
:::info Private skill The Aida skill is registered as a private skill in the customer's Webex organization (or Aida's org for internal demos). It is not automatically available to all Webex customers worldwide unless Cisco approves a public listing. Your Webex admin must enable it for your organization. :::
Example experience
Scenario: A presenter in a conference room wants to lower the shades without interrupting a Webex meeting.
- User says: "Ok Webex, tell Aida to close the shades"
- Webex Assistant confirms: "Closing the shades."
- The room shades move via the assigned Aida Controller
- The action is logged through the same event path as a panel tap
Scenario (Phase 2): A facilities manager wants a quick energy summary during a walkthrough.
- User says: "Ok Webex, ask Aida how much energy this building used last week"
- Aida queries the Energy Savings agent
- Assistant speaks a short summary and shows details on the Board screen
Troubleshooting
| Issue | What to check |
|---|---|
| "This room is not set up with Aida yet" | Device not discovered in Webex integration — refresh devices and assign a controller |
| "No controller is assigned to this room" | Assign an Aida Controller to the device in Panel/Device Management |
| Skill not recognized | Say "tell Aida" or "ask Aida to"; confirm Aida is Enabled under Control Hub → Assistant Skills (not Integrations) |
| Command works on panel but not voice | Workspace integration OK — check Assistant Skill enabled separately in Control Hub |
| Wrong room responds | Voice always targets the device you spoke to — verify controller assignment for that device |
For integration-level issues (webhooks, panels, MQTT), see the troubleshooting section in Webex Workspace Integration.
Platform note
Cisco has placed Webex Assistant Skills in maintenance mode. New feature development on the Cisco side is limited, but existing skills continue to work on supported devices. Aida's voice layer is built on this stable skills framework and the Aida Platform's own assistant and integration services.
Next steps
- Webex Workspace Integration — Set up devices, panels, and controller assignment (required first)
- AI Assistant — Learn about the Aida assistant agents used in Phase 2
- Device Control — Understand lighting, shades, and HVAC control capabilities
Ready to add voice to your rooms? Start with the Webex Workspace Integration guide, then ask your Aida administrator to enable the Aida Assistant skill in Control Hub.