Computer messaging bot creation

• US 10,162,817 B2
• Filed: 06/14/2016
• Issued: 12/25/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Schlesinger, Benny, Fitoussi, Hen, Cohen, Avichai, Borsutsky, Yuval Pinchas, Cohen, Eldar, Ramsey, William, Koren, Delia
• Primary Examiner(s): Yen, Eric
• Application Number:
  US15/181,749
• Publication Number:
  US 20170357638A1
• Time in Patent Office: 924 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3344 using natural language analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/30 Semantic analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/35 Discourse or dialogue representation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/40 Processing or translation of natural language natural language analysis G06F40/20; semantic analysis G06F40/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/34 Graphical or visual programming
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/02 using automatic reactions or user delegation, e.g. automatic replies or chatbot-generated messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]

Abstract

Creation data can be received from a computer-readable developer profile, with the creation data including instructions to create a messaging bot. A messaging bot definition can be generated using the instructions, and a messaging bot may be executed using the definition. The instructions may include natural language instructions defining one or more messaging bot characteristics. The natural language instructions can be matched with one or more commands to include one or more characteristics in the messaging bot, and instructions for those characteristic(s) can be included in the messaging bot definition. The instructions can be instructions that are not in a computer programming language, and they can be instructions to create one or more general messaging bot characteristics configured to be implemented with a specific dialog structure that defines one or more specific natural language dialog scripts.

Claims

1. A computer system comprising:

at least one processor; and

memory comprising instructions stored thereon that when executed by at least one processor cause at least one processor to perform acts comprising;

receiving computer-readable creation data from a computer-readable developer profile at a first messaging bot, with the creation data comprising instructions to create a second messaging bot, and with the instructions to create the second messaging bot comprising natural language instructions defining one or more messaging bot characteristics;

analyzing the natural language instructions, with the analyzing of the natural language instructions comprising determining that the natural language instructions match one or more pre-defined commands to include the one or more messaging bot characteristics in the second messaging bot; and

generating a computer-readable definition of the second messaging bot using results of the analyzing of the natural language instructions, the generating of the definition comprising including computer-readable instructions for the one or more characteristics in the definition, with the definition being configured to produce the one or more characteristics when the second messaging bot is executed using the definition.

2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the acts further comprise automatically responding to a portion of the natural language instructions by generating one or more natural language responses and sending the one or more natural language responses to the developer profile.

3. The computer system of claim 2, wherein the one or more natural language responses comprise a natural language request for an additional instruction describing an additional characteristic to be included in the second messaging bot, wherein the natural language instructions comprise the requested additional instruction received following the request, and wherein the one or more characteristics comprise the additional characteristic.

4. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the acts further comprise running the second messaging bot in the computer system, the running of the second messaging bot comprising receiving one or more natural language instructions from a computer-readable user profile and responding to the one or more natural language instructions from the user profile by automatically generating and sending one or more natural language responses to the user profile, wherein the generating and sending the one or more natural language responses are performed in a manner dictated by the computer-readable instructions for the one or more characteristics in the definition of the second messaging bot.

5. The computer system of claim 4, wherein the definition is an initial definition, and the acts further comprise:

while running the second messaging bot, receiving a command from the user profile to modify the definition;

in response to receiving the command, modifying the initial definition as instructed by the command to produce a modified definition; and

saving a record of an initial dialog between the second messaging bot and the user profile, the record reflecting the one or more natural language instructions from a computer-readable user profile and the one or more natural language responses using the initial definition;

generating a modified dialog according to the modified definition using the record, the modified dialog differing from the initial dialog by reflecting the modifying of the definition; and

sending the modified dialog to the user profile.

6. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the computer system is a bot development computer system, wherein receiving of the computer-readable creation data from the computer-readable developer profile comprises receiving of the computer-readable creation data via a communication platform computer system that is separate from the bot development computer system.

7. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the natural language instructions comprise coded audio computer data, and wherein the analyzing of the instructions comprises performing a speech-to-text analysis of the coded audio computer data to produce textual computer data, and analyzing natural language instructions in the textual computer data.

8. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the determining that the natural language instructions match the one or more pre-defined commands comprises performing one or more pattern matching operations on the natural language instructions.

9. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the natural language instructions define one or more general messaging bot characteristics configured to be implemented with a specific dialog structure that defines one or more specific natural language dialog scripts, and wherein the acts further comprise executing the second messaging bot using the definition, with the executing of the second messaging bot comprising producing the one or more general characteristics, with the producing of the one or more general characteristics comprising receiving one or more natural language instructions from a user profile and responding with the one or more specific natural language dialog scripts as dictated by the specific dialog structure.

10. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving computer-readable creation data from a computer-readable developer profile at a first messaging bot, with the creation data comprising instructions to create a second messaging bot, and with the instructions to create the second messaging bot comprising natural language instructions defining one or more messaging bot characteristics;

analyzing the natural language instructions, with the analyzing of the natural language instructions comprising determining that the natural language instructions match one or more pre-defined commands to include the one or more messaging bot characteristics in the second messaging bot; and

generating a computer-readable definition of the second messaging bot using results of the analyzing of the natural language instructions, the generating of the definition comprising including computer-readable instructions for the one or more characteristics in the definition, with the definition being configured to produce the one or more characteristics when the second messaging bot is executed using the definition.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises automatically responding to a portion of the natural language instructions by generating one or more natural language responses and sending the one or more natural language responses to the developer profile.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the one or more natural language responses comprise a natural language request for an additional instruction describing an additional characteristic to be included in the second messaging bot, wherein the natural language instructions comprise the requested additional instruction received following the request, and wherein the one or more characteristics comprise the additional characteristic.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises running the second messaging bot, with the running of the second messaging bot comprising receiving one or more natural language instructions from a computer-readable user profile and responding to the one or more natural language instructions from the user profile by automatically generating and sending one or more natural language responses to the user profile, wherein the generating and sending the one or more natural language responses are performed in a manner dictated by the computer-readable instructions for the one or more characteristics in the definition of the second messaging bot.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the definition is an initial definition, and the method further comprises:

while running the second messaging bot, receiving a command from the user profile to modify the definition;

in response to receiving the command, modifying the initial definition as instructed by the command to produce a modified definition; and

saving a record of an initial dialog between the second messaging bot and the user profile, the record reflecting the one or more natural language instructions from a computer-readable user profile and the one or more natural language responses using the initial definition;

generating a modified dialog according to the modified definition using the record, the modified dialog differing from the initial dialog by reflecting the modifying of the definition; and

sending the modified dialog to the user profile.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein receiving of the computer-readable creation data from the computer-readable developer profile comprises receiving of the computer-readable creation data via a communication platform computer system that is separate from a bot development computer system wherein the generating of the computer-readable definition of the messaging bot occurs.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the natural language instructions comprise coded audio computer data, and wherein the analyzing of the instructions comprises performing a speech-to-text analysis of the coded audio computer data to produce textual computer data, and analyzing natural language instructions in the textual computer data.

17. The method of claim 10, wherein the natural language instructions define one or more general messaging bot characteristics configured to be implemented with a specific dialog structure that defines one or more specific natural language dialog scripts, and wherein the method further comprises executing the second messaging bot using the definition, with the executing of the second messaging bot comprising producing the one or more general characteristics, with the producing of the one or more general characteristics comprising receiving one or more natural language instructions from a user profile and responding with the one or more specific natural language dialog scripts as dictated by the specific dialog structure.

18. A computer system comprising:

at least one processor; and

memory comprising instructions stored thereon that when executed by at least one processor cause at least one processor to perform acts comprising;

receiving computer-readable creation data from a computer-readable developer profile, with the creation data comprising instructions to create a messaging bot, with the instructions not being in a computer programming language, and with the instructions to create the messaging bot defining one or more general messaging bot characteristics configured to be implemented with a specific dialog structure that defines one or more specific natural language dialog scripts;

generating a computer-readable definition of the messaging bot using the instructions to create the messaging bot; and

executing the messaging bot using the definition, the executing of the bot comprising producing the one or more general characteristics, with the producing of the one or more general characteristics comprising receiving one or more natural language instructions from a user profile and responding with the one or more specific natural language dialog scripts, as dictated by the specific dialog structure.

19. The computer system of claim 18, wherein the acts further comprise presenting a visual display with one or more graphical objects representing the one or more general messaging bot characteristics, receiving user input at a computer device selecting the one or more graphical objects, and in response to the user input, generating the computer-readable creation data and sending the computer-readable creation data for use in the generating of the definition of the messaging bot.

20. The computer system of claim 18, wherein the computer system does not receive user input from the computer-readable developer profile specifying the specific natural language dialog scripts.