Visual interactive voice response system

• US 10,270,908 B2
• Filed: 10/10/2016
• Issued: 04/23/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories Incorporated (Genesys Cloud Services Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories Incorporated (Genesys Cloud Services Incorporated)
• Inventors: Kumar, Praphul, Kolman, Scott, Friio, Andrea, Konig, Yochai
• Primary Examiner(s): Elahee, Md S
• Application Number:
  US15/289,932
• Publication Number:
  US 20170118337A1
• Time in Patent Office: 925 Days
• Field of Search: 379 8801- 8804, 37926502, 704270
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1063 Application servers providing network services systems providing special services to telephonic subscribers H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/253 where a visual mode is used instead of a voice mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42136 Administration or customisation of services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4938 comprising a voice browser which renders and interprets, e.g. VoiceXML

Abstract

A request is received from a communications device to execute an interaction site. A request is transmitted to the automated response system. First instructions that provide one or more steps of the multi-step communication flow between the communications device and the automated response system are received from the automated response system. In response to determining that the request is for the voice-interaction with the interaction site, second instructions that provide the one or more steps through a voice interaction with a user of the communications device are determined and transmitted to the communications device. In response to determining that the request is for the visual-interaction with the interaction site, third instructions that provide the one or more steps through a visual interaction with the user of the communications device are determined and transmitted to the communications device.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving, by a server and from a communications device, a request for interaction;

identifying, by the server, a common interaction flow document including first instructions that, when executed, provide one or more steps of a multi-step communication flow between the communications device and an automated response module, wherein the common interaction flow document is for handling interactions received over different channels including voice interactions and visual interactions;

determining, by the server, whether the interaction is for a voice-interaction or a visual-interaction

in response to determining that the interaction is for the voice-interaction;

retrieving the common interaction flow document;

translating, by the server, the first instructions into second instructions, wherein the second instructions, when executed by the communications device, provide the one or more steps through a voice interaction with a user of the communications device; and

transmitting, from the server and to the communications device, the second instructions; and

in response to determining that the interaction is for the visual-interaction;

retrieving the common interaction flow document;

translating, by the server, the first instructions into third instructions, wherein the third instructions, when executed by the communications device, provide the one or more steps through a visual interaction with the user of the communications device; and

transmitting, from the server and to the communications device, the third instructions.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the request for interaction indicates whether the request from the communications device is for the voice-interaction or the visual-interaction.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the request from the communications device is for the voice-interaction or the visual-interaction comprises:

determining whether the request is received from a voice channel or a data channel;

in response to determining that the request is received from the voice channel, determining that the request is for the voice-interaction; and

in response to determining that the request is received from the data channel, determining that the request is for the visual-interaction.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the request from the communications device is for the voice-interaction or the visual-interaction comprises:

determining that the request is based on hypertext markup language (HTML); and

in response to determining that the request is based on HTML, determining that the request from the communications device is for the visual-interaction.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing data representing a communication between the communications device and the automated response system, the data including an indication of whether the communication is visual.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising retrieving, by the server, one or more interaction pages in response to the request, wherein each interaction page represents a respective step of the multi-step communication flow, and wherein the one or more interaction pages are configured by a user of a content provider device through interactions with a development interface to include values for (i) one or more parameters associated with the voice-interaction, (ii) one or more parameters associated with the visual-interaction, and (iii) one or more parameters associated with both the voice-interaction and the visual-interaction.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the second instructions do not include instructions generated using the values for the one or more parameters associated with the visual-interaction, and wherein the third instructions do not include instructions generated using the values for the one or more parameters associated with the voice-interaction.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first instructions are based on state chart extensible markup language (SCXML), wherein the second instructions are based on voice extensible markup language (VoiceXML), and wherein the third instructions are based on HTML5.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first instructions and the second instructions are based on VoiceXML, and wherein the third instructions are based on HTML5.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the automated response system is an interactive voice response system.

11. A system, comprising:

one or more processors and one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage devices storing instructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause the one or more processors to respectively perform operations comprising;

receiving, from a communications device, a request for interaction;

identifying a common interaction flow document including first instructions that, when executed, provide one or more steps of a multi-step communication flow between the communications device and an automated response module, wherein the common interaction flow document is for handling interactions received over different channels including voice interactions and visual interactions;

determining whether the interaction is for a voice-interaction or a visual-interaction;

in response to determining that the interaction is for the voice-interaction;

retrieving the common interaction flow document;

translating the first instructions into second instructions wherein the second instructions, when executed by the communications device, provide the one or more steps through a voice interaction with a user of the communications device; and

transmitting, to the communications device, the second instructions; and

in response to determining that the interaction is for the visual-interaction with the interaction site;

retrieving the common interaction flow document;

translating the first instructions into third instructions, wherein the third instructions, when executed by the communications device, provide the one or more steps through a visual interaction with the user of the communications device; and

transmitting, to the communications device, the third instructions.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the request for interaction indicates whether the request from the communications device is for the voice-interaction or the visual-interaction.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein determining whether the request from the communications device is for the voice-interaction or the visual-interaction-comprises:

determining whether the request is received from a voice channel or a data channel;

in response to determining that the request is received from the voice channel, determining that the request is for the voice-interaction; and

in response to determining that the request is received from the data channel, determining that the request is for the visual-interaction.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein determining whether the request from the communications device is for the voice-interaction or the visual-interaction comprises:

determining that the request is based on hypertext markup language (HTML); and

in response to determining that the request is based on HTML, determining that the request from the communications device is for the visual-interaction.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the operations further comprise storing data representing a communication between the communications device and the automated response system, the data including an indication of whether the communication is visual.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the operations further comprise retrieving one or more interaction pages in response to the request, wherein each interaction page represents a respective step of the multi-step communication flow, and wherein the one or more interaction pages are configured by a user of a content provider device through interactions with a development interface to include values for (i) one or more parameters associated with the voice-interaction, (ii) one or more parameters associated with the visual-interaction, and (iii) one or more parameters associated with both the voice-interaction and the visual-interaction.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the second instructions do not include instructions generated using the values for the one or more parameters associated with the visual-interaction, and wherein the third instructions do not include instructions generated using the values for the one or more parameters associated with the voice-interaction.

18. The system of claim 11, wherein the first instructions are based on state chart extensible markup language (SCXML), wherein the second instructions are based on voice extensible markup language (VoiceXML), and wherein the third instructions are based on HTML5.

19. The system of claim 11, wherein the first instructions and the second instructions are based on VoiceXML, and wherein the third instructions are based on HTML5.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable storage device storing instructions that when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:

receiving, from a communications device, a request for interaction;

identifying a common interaction flow document including first instructions that, when executed, provide one or more steps of a multi-step communication flow between the communications device and an automated response module, wherein the common interaction flow document is for handling interactions received over different channels including voice interactions and visual interactions;

determining whether the interaction is for a voice-interaction or a visual-interaction;

in response to determining that the interaction is for the voice-interaction;

retrieving the common interaction flow document;

translating the first instructions into second instructions, wherein the second instructions, when executed by the communications device, provide the one or more steps through a voice interaction with a user of the communications device; and

transmitting, to the communications device, the second instructions; and

in response to determining that the interaction is for the visual-interaction;

retrieving the common interaction flow document;

translating the first instructions into third instructions wherein the third instructions, when executed by the communications device, provide the one or more steps through a visual interaction with the user of the communications device; and

transmitting, to the communications device, the third instructions.