Microsoft LUIS: unable to set time zone (datetimeReference) for datetimeV2 entities

Question

I am using the V3 API to get predictions from a LUIS endpoint and I need a way to tell LUIS my time zone, so that relative time expressions (e.g. "in the past two hours", "in 10 minutes") are resolved properly by the datetimeV2 entity.

Everything works perfectly if I use the V2 API with the timezoneOffset option, but I am unable to make the V3 API work with the new option datetimeReference (which is supposed to replace timezoneOffset). Actually, I could not even figure out which value I should set for datetimeReference (an integer number? A datetime?).

Here are my attempts with Python. Can anyone tell me if there is anything wrong?

from datetime import datetime
import requests

appId           = # my app id
subscriptionKey = # my subscription key

query = "tra 10 minuti" # = "in 10 minutes" (my app speaks Italian)

# ATTEMPT 1
# based on https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cognitive-services/luis/luis-concept-data-alteration?tabs=V2#change-time-zone-of-prebuilt-datetimev2-entity,
# assuming it works the same way as timezoneOffset
endpoint = 'https://westeurope.api.cognitive.microsoft.com/luis/prediction/v3.0/apps/{appId}/slots/staging/predict?datetimeReference=120&subscription-key={subscriptionKey}&query={query}'
endpoint = endpoint.format(appId = appId, subscriptionKey = subscriptionKey, query = query)

response = requests.get(endpoint)

# ATTEMPT 2
# according to https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cognitive-services/luis/luis-migration-api-v3
endpoint = 'https://westeurope.api.cognitive.microsoft.com/luis/prediction/v3.0/apps/{appId}/slots/staging/predict?'
endpoint = endpoint.format(appId = appId)

json = {
    "query" : query,
    "options":{
        "datetimeReference": datetime.now().strftime("%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S"), # e.g. "2020-05-07T13:54:33". Not clear if that's what it wants
        "preferExternalEntities": True
    },
    "externalEntities":[],
    "dynamicLists":[]
}

response = requests.post(endpoint, json, headers = {'Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key' : subscriptionKey})

---

UPDATE: the correct way of sending the request in ATTEMPT 2 is

response = requests.post(endpoint, json = json, headers = {'Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key' : subscriptionKey})

Answer 1

As you've discovered, your JSON should go in the json argument and not the data argument:

response = requests.post(endpoint, json = json, headers = {'Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key' : subscriptionKey})