US7305345B2 — Methods, systems, and computer program products f…

Claim 1

Independent Claim 74 words

A method of responding to a customer communication, comprising: receiving an utterance from the customer at an agent executing on a data processing system; generating a response to the utterance received from the customer at the agent based on a knowledge base that comprises information extracted from at least one exemplary conversation, wherein the at least one exemplary conversation comprises an exchange of utterances; and sending the response from the agent to the customer.

Claim 2

Independent Claim 74 words

A method of responding to a customer communication, comprising: receiving an utterance from the customer at an agent executing on a data processing system; generating a response to the utterance received from the customer at the agent based on a knowledge base that comprises information extracted from at least one exemplary conversation, wherein the at least one exemplary conversation comprises an exchange of utterances; and sending the response from the agent to the customer.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 72 words

A method as recited in claim 1 , wherein generating the response to the utterance received from the customer comprises: analyzing the utterance received from the customer based on at least one of the following: at least one prior utterance received from the customer, at least one prior response sent from the agent to the customer, and the knowledge base that comprises the information extracted from the at least one exemplary conversation.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 45 words

A method as recited in claim 2 , wherein the at least one prior utterance received from the customer and the at least one prior response sent from the agent to the customer provide a contextual framework for analyzing the utterance received from the customer.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 73 words

A method as recited in claim 2 , further comprising: maintaining a conversation model having a current state that is representative of the at least one prior utterance received from the customer and the at least one prior response sent from the agent to the customer; and updating the current state of the conversation model based on the utterance received from the customer and the response sent from the agent to the customer.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 75 words

A method as recited in claim 2 , wherein analyzing the utterance received from the customer comprises at least one of the following: recognizing the utterance received from the customer based on the knowledge base that comprises the information extracted from the at least one exemplary conversation; and recognizing a part of the utterance received from the customer based on the knowledge base that comprises the information extracted from the at least one exemplary conversation.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 92 words

A method as recited in claim 5 , wherein the utterance received from the customer comprises a plurality of data strings, and wherein recognizing the part of the utterance received from the customer comprises at least one of the following: recognizing a sub-combination of the plurality of data strings based on the knowledge base that comprises the information extracted from the at least one exemplary conversation; and recognizing one of the plurality of data strings based on the knowledge base that comprises the information extracted from the at least one exemplary conversation.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 44 words

A method as recited in claim 5 , wherein recognizing the utterance received from the customer comprises associating the utterance received from the customer with an information type that corresponds to at least one of a predefined information arrangement and a predefined information meaning.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 50 words

A method as recited in claim 5 , wherein recognizing the part of the utterance received from the customer comprises associating the part of the utterance received from the customer with an information type that corresponds to at least one of a predefined information arrangement and a predefined information meaning.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 32 words

A method as recited in claim 2 , further comprising: sending the utterance received from the customer and the response sent from the agent to the customer to a customer service representative.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 128 words

A method as recited in claim 9 , wherein the at least one prior utterance received from the customer and the at least one prior response sent from the agent to the customer provide a contextual framework for analyzing the utterance received from the customer, the method further comprising: maintaining a conversation model at the agent having a current state that is representative of the at least one prior utterance received from the customer and the at least one prior response sent from the agent to the customer; updating the current state of the conversation model based on the utterance received from the customer and the response sent from the agent to the customer; and sending the current state of the conversation model to the customer service representative.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 25 words

A method as recited in claim 1 , further comprising: receiving a notification from a customer service representative of intent to communicate with the customer.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 110 words

A method as recited in claim 11 , wherein generating the response to the utterance received from the customer comprises: generating at least one response to the utterance received from the customer at the agent based on the knowledge base that comprises information extracted from the at least one exemplary conversation; and wherein sending the response from the agent to the customer comprises: sending the at least one response to the customer service representative; receiving a selection of one of the at least one response from the customer service representative at the agent; and sending the selected one of the at least one response from the agent to the customer.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 69 words

A method as recited in claim 11 , further comprising: receiving a proposed response from the customer service representative at the agent; determining if the proposed response is appropriate to send to the customer; sending the proposed response to a supervisor for approval if the proposed response is determined to be inappropriate; and sending the proposed response to the customer if the proposed response is determined to be appropriate.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 31 words

A method as recited in claim 1 , further comprising: recording the utterance received from the customer and the response sent from the agent to the customer in a conversation log.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 46 words

A method as recited in claim 14 , further comprising: reviewing the conversation log to determine if the agent sent an improper response to the customer; and editing the conversation log to correct the improper response if the agent sent the improper response to the customer.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 107 words

A method as recited in claim 1 , wherein generating the response to the utterance received from the customer comprises: determining if the response to the utterance received from the customer can be generated at the agent based on the knowledge base that comprises information extracted from the at least one exemplary conversation; and sending the utterance received from the customer to a customer service representative if the response cannot be generated at the agent based on the knowledge base that comprises information extracted from the at least one exemplary conversation; and generating the response to the utterance received from the customer at the customer service representative.

Claim 18

Independent Claim 73 words

A method of training an agent to respond to a customer communication, comprising: compiling at least one exemplary conversation, wherein the at least one exemplary conversation comprises an exchange of utterances; annotating the compiled at least one conversation to categorize information contained therein; processing The annotated at least one conversation using a machine learning engine to populate a knowledge base for use by the agent in generating a response to the customer communication.

Claim 19

Independent Claim 73 words

A method of training an agent to respond to a customer communication, comprising: compiling at least one exemplary conversation, wherein the at least one exemplary conversation comprises an exchange of utterances; annotating the compiled at least one conversation to categorize information contained therein; processing The annotated at least one conversation using a machine learning engine to populate a knowledge base for use by the agent in generating a response to the customer communication.

Claim 20

Dependent Claim 54 words

A method as recited in claim 17 , wherein annotating the compiled at least one conversation comprises: presenting a user with a plurality of categories for annotating the at least one conversation; and associating respective ones of the plurality of categories with respective parts of the at least one conversation based on user input.

Claim 21

Dependent Claim 23 words

A method as recited in claim 18 , wherein parts of the utterances comprising the at least one conversation comprise sentences and words.

Claim 22

Dependent Claim 50 words

A method as recited in claim 19 , wherein presenting the user with the plurality of categories comprises: presenting the user with a plurality of categories based on intent for annotating the sentences; and presenting the user with a plurality of categories based on semantic content for annotating the words.

Claim 23

Dependent Claim 30 words

A method as recited in claim 19 , further comprising: verifying that all words that are determinative to the meaning of utterances comprising The at least one conversation are annotated.

Claim 24

Dependent Claim 24 words

A method as recited in claim 17 , wherein the at least one conversation comprises a conversation in which the agent was a participant.

Claim 25

Independent Claim 80 words

A system for responding to a customer communication, comprising: means for receiving an utterance from the customer at an agent executing on a data processing system; means for generating a response to the utterance received from the customer at the agent based on a knowledge base that comprises information extracted from at least one exemplary conversation, wherein the at least one exemplary conversation comprises an exchange of utterances; and means for sending the response from the agent to the customer.

Claim 26

Independent Claim 80 words

A system for responding to a customer communication, comprising: means for receiving an utterance from the customer at an agent executing on a data processing system; means for generating a response to the utterance received from the customer at the agent based on a knowledge base that comprises information extracted from at least one exemplary conversation, wherein the at least one exemplary conversation comprises an exchange of utterances; and means for sending the response from the agent to the customer.

Claim 27

Dependent Claim 77 words

A system as recited in claim 23 , wherein the means for generating the response to the utterance received from the customer comprises: means for analyzing the utterance received from the customer based on at least one of the following: at least one prior utterance received from the customer, at least one prior response sent from the agent to the customer, and the knowledge base that comprises the information extracted flora the at least one exemplary conversation.

Claim 28

Dependent Claim 45 words

A system as recited in claim 24 , wherein the at least one prior utterance received from the customer and the at least one prior response sent from the agent to the customer provide a contextual framework for analyzing the utterance received from the customer.

Claim 29

Dependent Claim 77 words

A system as recited in claim 24 , further comprising: means for maintaining a conversation model having a current state that is representative of the at least one prior utterance received from the customer and the at least one prior response sent from the agent to the customer; and means for updating the current state of the conversation model based on the utterance received from the customer and the response sent from the agent to the customer.

Claim 30

Dependent Claim 82 words

A system as recited in claim 24 , wherein the means for analyzing the utterance received from the customer comprises at least one of the following: means for recognizing the utterance received from the customer based on the knowledge base that comprises the information extracted from the at least one exemplary conversation; and means for recognizing a part of the utterance received from the customer based on the knowledge base that comprises the information extracted from the at least one exemplary conversation.

Claim 31

Dependent Claim 99 words

A system as recited in claim 27 , wherein the utterance received from the customer comprises a plurality of data strings, and wherein the means for recognizing the part of the utterance received from the customer comprises at least one of the following: means for recognizing a sub-combination of the plurality of data strings based on the knowledge base that comprises the information extracted from the at least one exemplary conversation; and means for recognizing one of the plurality of data strings based on the knowledge base that comprises the information extracted from the at least one exemplary conversation.

Claim 32

Dependent Claim 49 words

A system as recited in claim 27 , wherein the means for recognizing the utterance received from the Customer comprises means for associating the utterance received from the customer with an information type that corresponds to at least one of a predefined information arrangement and a predefined information meaning.

Claim 33

Dependent Claim 53 words

A system as recited in claim 27 , wherein the means for recognizing the part of the utterance received from the customer comprises associating the part of the utterance received from the customer with an information type that corresponds to at least one of a predefined information arrangement and a predefined information meaning.

Claim 34

Dependent Claim 34 words

A system as recited in claim 24 , further comprising: means for sending the utterance received from the customer and the response sent from the agent to the customer to a customer service representative.

Claim 35

Dependent Claim 134 words

A system as recited in claim 31 , wherein the at least one prior utterance received from the customer and the at least one prior response sent from the agent to the customer provide a contextual framework for analyzing the utterance received from the customer, the system further comprising: means for maintaining a conversation model at the agent having a current state that is representative of the at least one prior utterance received from the customer and the at least one prior response sent from the agent to the customer; means for updating the current state of the conversation model based on the utterance received from the customer and the response sent from the agent to the customer; and means for sending the current state of the conversation model to the customer service representative.

Claim 36

Dependent Claim 27 words

A system as recited in claim 23 , further comprising: means for receiving a notification from a customer service representative of intent to communicate with the customer.

Claim 37

Dependent Claim 124 words

A system as recited in claim 33 , wherein the means for generating the response to the utterance received from the customer comprises: means for generating at least one response to the utterance received from the customer at the agent based on the knowledge base that comprises information extracted from the at least one exemplary conversation; and wherein the means for sending the response from the agent to the customer comprises: means for sending the at least one response to the customer service representative; means for receiving a selection of one of the at least one response from the customer service representative at the agent; and means for sending the selected one of the at least one response from the agent to the customer.

Claim 38

Dependent Claim 77 words

A system as recited in claim 33 , further comprising: means for receiving a proposed response from the customer service representative at the agent; means for determining if the proposed response is appropriate to send to the customer; means for sending the proposed response to a supervisor for approval if the proposed response is determined to be inappropriate; and means for sending the proposed response to the customer if the proposed response is determined to be appropriate.

Claim 39

Dependent Claim 33 words

A system as recited in claim 23 , further comprising: means for recording the utterance received from the customer and the response sent from the agent to the customer in a conversation log.

Claim 40

Dependent Claim 50 words

A system as recited in claim 36 , further comprising: means for reviewing the conversation log to determine if the agent sent an improper response to the customer; and means for editing the conversation log to correct the improper response if the agent sent the improper response to the customer.

Claim 41

Dependent Claim 116 words

A system as recited in claim 23 , wherein the means for generating the response to the utterance received from the customer comprises: means for determining if the response to the utterance received from the customer can be generated at the agent based on the knowledge base that comprises information extracted from the at least one exemplary conversation; and means for sending the utterance received from the customer to a customer service representative if the response cannot be generated at the agent based on the knowledge base that comprises information extracted from the at least one exemplary conversation; and means for generating the response to the utterance received from the customer at the customer service representative.

Claim 42

Independent Claim 79 words

A system for training an agent to respond to a customer communication, comprising: means for compiling at least one exemplary conversation, wherein the at least one exemplary conversation comprises an exchange of utterances; means for annotating the compiled at least one conversation to categorize information contained therein; means for processing the annotated at least one conversation using a machine learning engine to populate a knowledge base for use by the agent in generating a response to the customer communication.

Claim 43

Independent Claim 79 words

A system for training an agent to respond to a customer communication, comprising: means for compiling at least one exemplary conversation, wherein the at least one exemplary conversation comprises an exchange of utterances; means for annotating the compiled at least one conversation to categorize information contained therein; means for processing the annotated at least one conversation using a machine learning engine to populate a knowledge base for use by the agent in generating a response to the customer communication.

Claim 44

Dependent Claim 61 words

A system as recited in claim 39 , wherein the means for annotating the compiled at least one conversation comprises: means for presenting a user with a plurality of categories for annotating the at least one conversation; and means for associating respective ones of the plurality of categories with respective parts of the at least one conversation based on user input.

Claim 45

Dependent Claim 23 words

A system as recited in claim 40 , wherein parts of the utterances comprising the at least one conversation comprise sentences and words.

Claim 46

Dependent Claim 57 words

A system as recited in claim 41 , wherein the means for presenting the user with the plurality of categories comprises: means for presenting the user with a plurality of categories based on intent for annotating the sentences; and means for presenting the user with a plurality of categories based on semantic content for annotating the words.

Claim 47

Dependent Claim 32 words

A system as recited in claim 41 , further comprising: means for verifying that all words that are determinative to the meaning of utterances comprising the at least one conversation are annotated.

Claim 48

Dependent Claim 24 words

A system as recited in claim 39 , wherein the at least one conversation comprises a conversation in which the agent was a participant.

Claim 49

Dependent Claim 109 words

A computer program product for responding to a customer communication, comprising: a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therein, the computer readable program code comprising: computer readable program code for receiving an utterance from the customer at an agent executing on a data processing system; computer readable program code for generating a response to the utterance received from the customer at the agent based on a knowledge base tat comprises information extracted from at least one exemplary conversation, wherein the at least one exemplary conversation comprises an exchange of utterances; and computer readable program code for sending the response from the agent to the customer.

Claim 50

Dependent Claim 109 words

A computer program product for responding to a customer communication, comprising: a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therein, the computer readable program code comprising: computer readable program code for receiving an utterance from the customer at an agent executing on a data processing system; computer readable program code for generating a response to the utterance received from the customer at the agent based on a knowledge base tat comprises information extracted from at least one exemplary conversation, wherein the at least one exemplary conversation comprises an exchange of utterances; and computer readable program code for sending the response from the agent to the customer.

Claim 51

Dependent Claim 85 words

A computer program product as recited in claim 45 , wherein the computer readable program code for generating the response to the utterance received from the customer comprises: computer readable program code for analyzing the utterance received from the customer based on at least one of the following: at least one prior utterance received from the customer, at least one prior response sent from the agent to the customer, and the knowledge base that comprises the information extracted from the at least one exemplary conversation.

Claim 52

Dependent Claim 47 words

A computer program product as recited in claim 46 , wherein the at least one prior utterance received from the customer and the at least one prior response sent from the agent to the customer provide a contextual framework for analyzing the utterance received from the customer.

Claim 53

Dependent Claim 85 words

A computer program product as recited in claim 46 , further comprising: computer readable program code for maintaining a conversation model having a current state that is representative of the at least one prior utterance received from the customer and the at least one prior response sent from the agent to the customer; and computer readable program code for updating the current state of the conversation model based on the utterance received from the customer and the response sent from the agent to the customer.

Claim 54

Dependent Claim 93 words

A computer program product as recited in claim 46 , wherein the computer readable program code for analyzing the utterance received from the customer comprises at least one of the following: computer readable program code for recognizing the utterance received from the customer based on the knowledge base that comprises the information extracted from the at least one exemplary conversation; and computer readable program code for recognizing a part of the utterance received from the customer based on the knowledge base that comprises the information extracted from the at least one exemplary conversation.

Claim 55

Dependent Claim 110 words

A computer program product as recited in claim 49 , wherein the utterance received from the customer comprises a plurality of data strings, and wherein the computer readable program code for recognizing the part of the utterance received from the customer comprises at least one of the following: computer readable program code for recognizing a sub-combination of the plurality of data strings based on the knowledge base that comprises the information extracted from the at least one exemplary conversation; and computer readable program code for recognizing one of the plurality of data strings based on the knowledge base that comprises the information extracted from the at least one exemplary conversation.

Claim 56

Dependent Claim 57 words

A computer program product as recited in claim 49 , wherein the computer readable program code for recognizing the utterance received from the customer comprises computer readable program code for associating the utterance received from the customer with an information type that corresponds to at least one of a predefined information arrangement and a predefined information meaning.

Claim 57

Dependent Claim 58 words

A computer program product as recited in claim 49 , wherein the computer readable program code for recognizing the part of the utterance received from the customer comprises associating the part of the utterance received from the customer with an information type that corresponds to at least one of a predefined information arrangement and a predefined information meaning.

Claim 58

Dependent Claim 39 words

A computer program product as recited in claim 46 , further comprising: computer readable program code for sending the utterance received from the customer and the response sent from the agent to the customer to a customer service representative.

Claim 59

Dependent Claim 147 words

A computer program product as recited in claim 53 , wherein the at least one prior utterance received from the customer and the at least one prior response sent from the agent to the customer provide a contextual framework for analyzing the utterance received from the customer, the computer program product further comprising: computer readable program code for maintaining a conversation model at the agent having a current state that is representative of the at least one prior utterance received from the customer and the at least one prior response sent from the agent to the customer; computer readable program code for updating the current state of the conversation model based on the utterance received from the customer and the response sent from the agent to the customer; and computer readable program code for sending the current state of the conversation model to the customer service representative.

Claim 60

Dependent Claim 32 words

A computer program product as recited in claim 45 , further comprising: computer readable program code for receiving a notification from a customer service representative of intent to communicate with the customer.

Claim 61

Dependent Claim 144 words

A computer program product as recited in claim 55 , wherein the computer readable program code for generating the response to the utterance received from the customer comprises: computer readable program code for generating at least one response to the utterance received from the customer at the agent based on the knowledge base that comprises information extracted from the at least one exemplary conversation; and wherein the computer readable program code for sending the response from the agent to the customer comprises: computer readable program code for sending the at least one response to the customer service representative; computer readable program code for receiving a selection of one of the at least one response from the customer service representative at the agent; and computer readable program code for sending the selected one of the at least one response from the agent to the customer.

Claim 62

Dependent Claim 91 words

A computer program product as recited in claim 55 , further comprising: computer readable program code for receiving a proposed response from the customer service representative at the agent; computer readable program code for determining if the proposed response is appropriate to send to the customer; computer readable program code for sending the proposed response to a supervisor for approval if the proposed response is determined to be inappropriate; and computer readable program code for sending the proposed response to the customer if the proposed response is determined to be appropriate.

Claim 63

Dependent Claim 38 words

A computer program product as recited in claim 45 , further comprising: computer readable program code for recording the utterance received from the customer and the response sent from the agent to the customer in a conversation log.

Claim 64

Dependent Claim 58 words

A computer program product as recited in claim 58 , further comprising: computer readable program code for reviewing the conversation log to determine if the agent sent an improper response to the customer; and computer readable program code for editing the conversation log to correct the improper response if the agent sent the improper response to the customer.

Claim 65

Dependent Claim 130 words

A computer program product as recited in claim 45 , wherein the computer readable program code for generating the response to the utterance received from the customer comprises: computer readable program code for determining if the response to the utterance received from the customer can be generated at the agent based on the knowledge base that comprises information extracted from the at least one exemplary conversation; and computer readable program code for sending the utterance received from the customer to a customer service representative if the response cannot be generated at the agent based on the knowledge base that comprises information extracted from the at least one exemplary conversation; and computer readable program code for generating the response to the utterance received from the customer at the customer service representative.

Claim 66

Dependent Claim 108 words

A computer program product for training an agent to respond to a customer communication, comprising: a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therein, the computer readable program code comprising: computer readable program code for compiling at least one exemplary conversation, wherein the at least one exemplary conversation comprises an exchange of utterances; computer readable program code for annotating the compiled at least one conversation to categorize information contained therein; computer readable program code for processing the annotated at least one conversation using a machine learning engine to populate a knowledge base for use by the agent in generating a response to the customer communication.

Claim 67

Dependent Claim 108 words

A computer program product for training an agent to respond to a customer communication, comprising: a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therein, the computer readable program code comprising: computer readable program code for compiling at least one exemplary conversation, wherein the at least one exemplary conversation comprises an exchange of utterances; computer readable program code for annotating the compiled at least one conversation to categorize information contained therein; computer readable program code for processing the annotated at least one conversation using a machine learning engine to populate a knowledge base for use by the agent in generating a response to the customer communication.

Claim 68

Dependent Claim 72 words

A computer program product as recited in claim 61 , wherein the computer readable program code for annotating the compiled at least one conversation comprises: computer readable program code for presenting a user with a plurality of categories for annotating the at least one conversation; and computer readable program code for associating respective ones of the plurality of categories with respective parts of the at least one conversation based on user input.

Claim 69

Dependent Claim 25 words

A computer program product as recited in claim 62 , wherein parts of the utterances comprising the at least one conversation comprise sentences and words.

Claim 70

Dependent Claim 68 words

A computer program product as recited in claim 63 , wherein the computer readable program code for presenting the user with the plurality of categories comprises: computer readable program code for presenting the user with a plurality of categories based on intent for annotating the sentences; and computer readable program code for presenting the user with a plurality of categories based on semantic content for annotating the words.

Claim 71

Dependent Claim 37 words

A computer program product as recited in claim 63 , further comprising: computer readable program code for verifying that all words that are determinative to the meaning of utterances comprising the at least one conversation are annotated.

Claim 72

Dependent Claim 26 words

A computer program product as recited in claim 61 , wherein the at least one conversation comprises a conversation in which the agent was a participant.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	2010-12-03	2011-06-04	2011-12-04	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	2014-12-03	2015-06-04	2015-12-04	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	2018-12-03	2019-06-04	2019-12-04	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Methods, systems, and computer program products for providing automated customer service via an intelligent virtual agent that is trained using customer-agent conversations

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