Setting the session timeout

Amazon Lex retains context information—slot data and session attributes—until a conversation session ends. To control how long a session lasts for a bot, set the session timeout. By default, session duration is 5 minutes, but you can specify any duration between 0 and 1,440 minutes (24 hours).

For example, suppose that you create a ShoeOrdering bot that supports intents such as OrderShoes and GetOrderStatus. When Amazon Lex detects that the user's intent is to order shoes, it asks for slot data. For example, it asks for shoe size, color, brand, etc. If the user provides some of the slot data but doesn't complete the shoe purchase, Amazon Lex remembers all of the slot data and session attributes for the entire session. If the user returns to the session before it expires, they can provide the remaining slot data, and complete the purchase.

In the Amazon Lex console, you set the session timeout when you create a bot. With the AWS command line interface (AWS CLI) or API, you set the timeout when you create a bot with the CreateBot operation by setting the idleSessionTTLInSeconds field.