Alan AI iOS SDK


Alan AI can be integrated with iOS apps developed in Swift and Objective-C.

Integrating with Alan AI

To add a conversational experience to an iOS app, you need to do the following:

  1. Get the Alan iOS SDK framework

  2. Integrate with the app: Swift or Objective-C. As part of this process, you will:

    1. Add the Alan AI Config object to your app

    2. Add the Alan AI button to your app

Step 1. Get the Alan AI iOS SDK framework

First, you need to get the Alan AI iOS SDK framework and set up your XCode project to be used with Alan AI. You can do it in two ways:

  • Set up an XCode project with CocoaPods

  • Set up an XCode project manually

Do the following:

  1. On the machine, open Terminal and install CocoaPods:

    Terminal
    sudo gem install cocoapods
    
  2. Go to the project folder and create a Podfile for the project:

    Terminal
    pod init
    
  3. Open the Podfile and edit it:

    Podfile
    use_frameworks!
    platform :ios, '11.0'
    target '<Your Target Name>' do
    pod 'AlanSDK-iOS'
    end
    
  4. In the project folder, install the dependencies for the project:

    Terminal
    pod install
    pod update
    
  5. In iOS, the user must explicitly grant permission for an app to access the user’s data and resources. An app with the Alan AI button requires access to:

    • User’s device microphone for voice interactions

    • User’s device camera for testing Alan AI projects on mobile

    To comply with this requirement, you must add NSMicrophoneUsageDescription and NSCameraUsageDescription keys to the Info.plist file of your app and provide a message why your app requires access to the microphone and camera. The message will be displayed only when Alan AI needs to activate the microphone or camera.

    To add the key:

    1. In the Xcode project, go to the Info tab.

    2. In the Custom iOS Target Properties section, hover over any key in the list and click the plus icon to the right.

    3. From the list, select Privacy - Microphone Usage Description.

    4. In the Value field to the right, provide a description for the added key. This description will be displayed to the user when the app is launched.

    5. Repeat the steps above to add the Privacy - Camera Usage Description key.

    ../../../_images/pods-mic.png
  6. To allow the background mode for the iOS app, go to the Signing and Capabilities tab. In the top left corner, click + Capability and in the capabilities list, double-click Background Modes. In the Modes list, select the Audio, AirPlay, and Picture in Picture check box.

    ../../../_images/pods-background.png
  7. The background mode must also be turned on in the Alan AI Studio project. In Alan AI Studio, at the top of the code editor, click Integrations, go to the iOS tab and enable the Keep active while the app is in the background option.

Do the following:

  1. Open the Alan AI iOS SDK release page on Alan AI GitHub.

  2. Download the AlanSDK.xcframework_<x.x.x>.zip file from the latest release and extract AlanSDK.xcframework from the ZIP archive.

../../../_images/download.png
  1. Drag AlanSDK.xcframework and drop it onto the root node of the Xcode project.

  2. Select the Copy items if needed check box if it is not selected.

    ../../../_images/copy-2.png
  3. In the project tree, select the XCode project file and go to the General tab. Under the Frameworks, Libraries, and Embedded Content section, find AlanSDK.xcframework and select Embed & Sign from the list.

    ../../../_images/embedded.png
  4. In iOS, the user must explicitly grant permission for an app to access the user’s data and resources. An app with the Alan AI button requires access to:

    • User’s device microphone for voice interactions

    • User’s device camera for testing Alan AI projects on mobile

    To comply with this requirement, you must add NSMicrophoneUsageDescription and NSCameraUsageDescription keys to the Info.plist file of your app and provide a message why your app requires access to the microphone and camera. The message will be displayed only when Alan AI needs to activate the microphone or camera. To add the key:

    1. In the Xcode project, go to the Info tab.

    2. In the Custom iOS Target Properties section, hover over any key in the list and click the plus icon to the right.

    3. From the list, select Privacy - Microphone Usage Description.

    4. In the Value field to the right, provide a description for the added key. This description will be displayed to the user when the app is launched.

    5. Repeat the steps above to add the Privacy - Camera Usage Description key.

    ../../../_images/mic.png
  5. To allow the background mode for the iOS app, go to the Signing and Capabilities tab. In the top left corner, click +Capability and in the capabilities list, double-click Background Modes. In the Modes list, select the Audio, AirPlay, and Picture in Picture check box.

    ../../../_images/background.png
  6. The background mode must also be turned on in the Alan AI Studio project. In Alan AI Studio, at the top of the code editor, click Integrations, go to the iOS tab and enable the Keep active while the app is in the background option.

Step 2. Integrate with the app

Note

The instructions below apply to the Storyboard user interface.

You need to integrate Alan AI with your app written in:

  • Swift

  • Objective-C

In the Xcode project, open the ViewController.swift file. You need to add the following Swift snippet to your view controller:

  1. At the top of the file, import AlanSDK:

    Client app
    import AlanSDK
    
  2. In the ViewController class, define the AlanButton variable:

    Client app
    fileprivate var button: AlanButton!
    
  3. In viewDidLoad(), set up AlanButton. For more details, see Alan AI Config object and Alan AI button.

    Client app
    import UIKit
    import AlanSDK
    
    class ViewController: UIViewController {
    
      /// Alan AI button
      fileprivate var button: AlanButton!
      override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
    
        /// Setup the Alan AI button
        self.setupAlan()
      }
    
      fileprivate func setupAlan() {
    
        /// Define the project key
        let config = AlanConfig(key: "", host:"v1.alan.app")
    
        ///  Init the Alan AI button
        self.button = AlanButton(config: config)
    
        /// Add the button to the view
        self.view.addSubview(self.button)
        self.button.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false
    
        /// Align the button on the view
        let views = ["button" : self.button!]
        let verticalButton = NSLayoutConstraint.constraints(withVisualFormat: "V:|-(>=0@299)-[button(64)]-40-|", options: NSLayoutConstraint.FormatOptions(), metrics: nil, views: views)
        let horizontalButton = NSLayoutConstraint.constraints(withVisualFormat: "H:|-(>=0@299)-[button(64)]-20-|", options: NSLayoutConstraint.FormatOptions(), metrics: nil, views: views)
        self.view.addConstraints(verticalButton + horizontalButton)
      }
    }
    
  4. In let config = AlanConfig(key: "", host:"v1.alan.app"), define the Alan AI SDK key for your Alan AI Studio project. To get the key, in Alan AI Studio, at the top of the code editor, click Integrations and copy the value from the Alan SDK Key field.

  5. Run the app and tap the Alan AI button to speak.

Add this Objective-C snippet to your view controller.

  1. Import AlanSDK:

    Client app
    @import AlanSDK;
    
  2. Define the AlanButton variable:

    Client app
    @property (nonatomic) AlanButton* button;
    
  3. In viewDidLoad, set up AlanButton. For more details, see Alan AI Config object and Alan AI button.

    Client app
    AlanConfig* config = [[AlanConfig alloc] initWithKey:@"YOUR_KEY_FROM_ALAN_STUDIO_HERE" host:@"v1.alan.app"]
    self.button = [[AlanButton alloc] initWithConfig:config];
    [self.button setTranslatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints:NO];
    [self.view addSubview:self.button];
    NSLayoutConstraint* b = [NSLayoutConstraint constraintWithItem:self.button attribute:NSLayoutAttributeBottom relatedBy:NSLayoutRelationEqual toItem:self.view attribute:NSLayoutAttributeBottom multiplier:1 constant:-40.0];
    NSLayoutConstraint* r = [NSLayoutConstraint constraintWithItem:self.button attribute:NSLayoutAttributeRight relatedBy:NSLayoutRelationEqual toItem:self.view attribute:NSLayoutAttributeRight multiplier:1 constant:-20];
    NSLayoutConstraint* w = [NSLayoutConstraint constraintWithItem:self.button attribute:NSLayoutAttributeWidth relatedBy:NSLayoutRelationEqual toItem:nil attribute:NSLayoutAttributeNotAnAttribute multiplier:1 constant:64.0];
    NSLayoutConstraint* h = [NSLayoutConstraint constraintWithItem:self.button attribute:NSLayoutAttributeHeight relatedBy:NSLayoutRelationEqual toItem:nil attribute:NSLayoutAttributeNotAnAttribute multiplier:1 constant:64.0];
    [self.view addConstraints:@[b, r, w, h]];
    
  4. Run the app and tap the Alan AI button to speak.

AlanConfig object

The AlanConfig object describes the parameters that are provided for AlanButton.

  1. Create a new AlanConfig instance with your Alan AI SDK key:

    Client app
    - (instancetype)initWithKey:(NSString *)key;
    

    Name

    Type

    Description

    key

    NSString

    The Alan AI SDK key for your project in Alan AI Studio.

    host

    NSString

    The Alan AI Studio host to which the AI assistant button must connect, for example: 'v1.alan.app'.

  2. Create a new AlanConfig instance with your Alan AI SDK key and custom data object:

    Client app
    - (instancetype)initWithKey:(NSString *)key dataObject:(NSDictionary *)dataObject;
    

    Name

    Type

    Description

    key

    NSString

    The Alan AI SDK key for a project in Alan AI Studio.

    host

    NSString

    The Alan AI Studio host to which the AI assistant must connect, for example: 'v1.alan.app'.

    dataObject

    NSDictionary

    (Optional) A valid JSON string or JSON object with authentication or configuration data to be sent to the dialog script. For details, see authData.

    For example:

    Client app
    AlanConfig *config = [[AlanConfig alloc] initWithKey:@"YOUR_KEY_FROM_ALAN_STUDIO_HERE"];
    

Alan AI button

To add the Alan AI button to your app, use the AlanButton class. This class provides a view with the AI agent button and instance methods to communicate with Alan AI Studio.

Сreate a new AlanButton instance with the config object:

Client app
- (instancetype)initWithConfig:(AlanConfig *)config;

Name

Type

Description

config

AlanConfig

The AlanConfig object for configuration which is described above

For example:

Client app
@interface ViewController ()
@property (nonatomic) AlanButton *button;
@end

@implementation ViewController
- (void)viewDidLoad
{
  [super viewDidLoad];
  AlanConfig *config = [[AlanConfig alloc] initWithKey:@"YOUR_KEY_FROM_ALAN_STUDIO_HERE"];
  self.button = [[AlanButton alloc] initWithConfig:config];
  [self.button setTranslatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints:NO];
  [self.view addSubview:self.button];

  NSLayoutConstraint *right = [NSLayoutConstraint constraintWithItem:self.button attribute:NSLayoutAttributeRight relatedBy:NSLayoutRelationEqual toItem:self.view attribute:NSLayoutAttributeRight multiplier:1 constant:-20.0];
  NSLayoutConstraint *bottom = [NSLayoutConstraint constraintWithItem:self.button attribute:NSLayoutAttributeBottom relatedBy:NSLayoutRelationEqual toItem:self.view attribute:NSLayoutAttributeBottom multiplier:1 constant:-20.0];
  NSLayoutConstraint *width = [NSLayoutConstraint constraintWithItem:self.button attribute:NSLayoutAttributeWidth relatedBy:NSLayoutRelationEqual toItem:nil attribute:NSLayoutAttributeNotAnAttribute multiplier:1 constant:64.0];
  NSLayoutConstraint *height = [NSLayoutConstraint constraintWithItem:self.button attribute:NSLayoutAttributeHeight relatedBy:NSLayoutRelationEqual toItem:nil attribute:NSLayoutAttributeNotAnAttribute multiplier:1 constant:64.0];
  [self.view addConstraints:@[right, bottom, width, height]];
}
@end

Using client API methods

You can use the following client API methods in your app:

setVisualState()

Use the setVisualState() method to inform the AI agent about the app’s visual context. For details, see setVisualState().

Client app
- (void)setVisualState {
  /// Providing any params
  [self.button setVisualState:@{@"data":@"your data"}];
}
Client app
func setVisualState() {
  /// Providing any params
  self.button.setVisualState(["data":"your data"])
}

callProjectApi()

Use the callProjectApi() method to send data from the client app to the dialog script and trigger activities without voice and text commands. For details, see callProjectApi().

Dialog script
projectAPI.setClientData = function(p, param, callback) {
  console.log(param);
};
Client app
- (void)callProjectApi {
  /// Providing any params
  [self.button callProjectApi:@"script::funcName" withData:@{@"data":@"your data"} callback:nil];
}
Client app
func callProjectApi() {
  /// Providing any params
  self.button.callProjectApi("script::funcName", withData: ["data":"your data"], callback: nil)
}

playText()

Use the playText() method to play specific text in the client app. For details, see playText().

Client app
/// Playing any text message
- (void)playText {
  /// Providing text as string param
  [self.button playText:@"Hi"];
}
Client app
/// Playing any text message
func playText() {
  /// Providing text as string param
  self.button.playText("Hi")
}

sendText()

Use the sendText() method to send a text message to Alan AI as the user’s input. For details, see sendText().

Client app
/// Sending any text message
- (void)sendText {
  /// Providing text as string param
  [self.button sendText:@"Hello Alan, can you help me?"];
}
Client app
/// Sending any text message
func sendText() {
  /// Providing text as string param
  self.button.sendText("Hello Alan, can you help me?")
}

playCommand()

Use the playCommand() method to execute a specific command in the client app. For details, see playCommand().

Client app
/// Executing a command locally
- (void)playCommand {
  /// Providing any params
  [self.button playCommand:@{@"action":@"openSomePage"}];
}
Client app
/// Executing a command locally
func playCommand() {
  /// Providing any params
  self.button.playCommand(["action":"openSomePage"])
}

activate()

Use the activate() method to activate the Alan AI button programmatically. For details, see activate().

Client app
/// Activating the Alan AI button programmatically
- (void)activate {
  [self.button activate];
}
Client app
/// Activating the Alan AI button programmatically
func activate() {
  self.button.activate()
}

deactivate()

Use the deactivate() method to deactivate the Alan AI button programmatically. For details, see deactivate().

Client app
/// Deactivating the Alan AI button programmatically
- (void)deactivate {
  [self.button deactivate];
}
Client app
/// Deactivating the Alan AI button programmatically
func deactivate() {
  self.button.deactivate()
}

isActive()

Use the isActive() method to check the Alan AI button state: active or not. For details, see isActive().

Client app
[alanBtnInstance isActive];
Client app
alanBtnInstance.isActive()

getWakewordEnabled()

Use the getWakewordEnabled() method to check the state of the wake word for the Alan AI button. For details, see getWakewordEnabled().

Client app
BOOL enabled = [alanButton getWakewordEnabled];
Client app
let enabled = button.getWakewordEnabled()

setWakewordEnabled()

Use the setWakewordEnabled() method to enable or disable the wake word for the Alan AI button. For details, see setWakewordEnabled().

Client app
[alanButton setWakewordEnabled:YES];
Client app
alanButton.setWakewordEnabled(true)

Using handlers

You can use the following Alan AI handlers in your app:

onCommand handler

Use the onCommand handler to handle commands sent from the dialog script. For details, see onCommand handler.

Client app
self.button.onCommand = ^(NSDictionary *command) {
  NSString* commandName = [command objectForKey:@"command"];
  NSLog(@"%@", commandName);
};
Client app
self.button.onCommand = { command in
  guard let commandName = command?["command"] as? String else {
    return
  }
  print(commandName)
}

onButtonState handler

Use the onButtonState handler to capture and handle the Alan AI button state changes. For details, see onButtonState handler.

Client app
self.button.onButtonState = ^(AlanSDKButtonState state) {
  NSLog(@"%ld", (long)state);
};
Client app
self.button.onButtonState = { state in
  print(state.rawValue)
}

onEvent handler

Use the onEvent handler to capture and handle events emitted by Alan AI: get user’s utterances, agent responses and so on. For details, see onEvent handler.

Client app
self.button.onEvent = ^(NSString *payload) {
  NSData* eventData = [payload dataUsingEncoding:NSUTF8StringEncoding];
  NSError* error = nil;
  NSDictionary* eventDict = [NSJSONSerialization JSONObjectWithData:eventData options:0 error:&error];
  if (error != nil) {
    return;
  }
  NSLog(@"%@", eventDict);
};
Client app
self.button.onEvent = { event in
  guard let eventData = event?.data(using: .utf8, allowLossyConversion: false),
    let eventDict = try? JSONSerialization.jsonObject(with: eventData, options: .mutableContainers)
  else {
    return
  }
  print(eventDict)
}

What’s next?

Example apps

Find and explore examples of AI agents in Alan AI GitHub.

Tutorials

Learn how to implement common scenarios and workflows for an AI agent built for an iOS app