Task and session identification is a key element of system evaluation and user behavior modeling in Intelligent Assistant (IA) systems. However, identifying task and sessions for IAs is challenging due to the multi-task nature of IAs and the differences in the ways they are used on different platforms, such as smart-phones, cars, and smart speakers. Furthermore, usage behavior may differ among users depending on their expertise with the system and the tasks they are interested in performing. In this study, we investigate how to identify tasks and sessions in IAs given these differences. To do this, we analyze data based on the interaction logs of two IAs integrated with smart-speakers. We fit Gaussian Mixture Models to estimate task and session boundaries and show how a model with 3 components models user interactivity time better than a model with 2 components. We then show how session boundaries differ for users depending on whether they are in a learning-phase or not. Finally, we study how user inter-activity times differs depending on the task that the user is trying to perform. Our findings show that there is no single task or session boundary that can be used for IA evaluation. Instead, these boundaries are influenced by the experience of the user and the task they are trying to perform. Our findings have implications for the study and evaluation of Intelligent Agent Systems.
