Using a computerized agent external to an instant messaging (IM) service for enhancing an IM session managed by the IM service

• US 10,643,197 B2
• Filed: 09/22/2016
• Issued: 05/05/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Roy S. Melzer
• Original Assignee: Roy S. Melzer
• Inventors: Melzer, Roy S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Hitesh
• Application Number:
  US15/272,642
• Publication Number:
  US 20170011383A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,321 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/02 involving a neutral party, e.g. certification authority, notary or trusted third party [TTP]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/223 based on the use of peer-to-peer networks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3255 using mobile network messaging services for payment, e.g. SMS
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/386 using messaging services or messaging apps using mobile network messaging services for payment, e.g. SMS G06Q20/3255
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/046 Interoperability with other network applications or services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]

Abstract

A method of adding a computerized agent to an instant messaging (IM) session managed by an IM service for identifying automatically textual instructions to perform a transaction related to participant(s) of the IM session, comprising: using a computerized agent subscribed to an IM service by a telephone number and participates in an IM session managed by an IM service to acquire text content in an IM session and analyzing at least the text content of the IM session to identify automatically textual instructions to perform a transaction from the user which uses the IM client module, automatically instructing an operation of the transaction and submitting by the computerized agent at least one IM message in the IM session.

Claims

1. A method of enhancing an instant messaging (IM) session managed by an IM service by executing a computerized agent separately from the IM service and adding the computerized agent to the IM session for identifying automatically textual instructions, comprising:

using at least one processor of at least one server separated from the IM service for executing a code for;

associating the computerized agent with a unique identifier (ID);

using the identifier ID to subscribe the computerized agent to the IM service;

establishing a communication with an IM service through a network;

using the computerized agent for receiving a plurality of IM messages inputted to the IM service using an IM client module running on a client terminal, said plurality of IM messages are addressed to the computerized agent and received after the computerized agent is added to said IM session as a participant of said IM session by a user which is also a participant of said IM session, said IM session is managed by said IM service, the computerized agent is added using said IM client module;

analyzing at least text content of said plurality of IM messages to identify automatically textual instructions to perform a transaction with at least one additional participant of said IM session from said user which uses said IM client module, said textual instructions include a transfer amount, wherein the additional computerized agent is representing a retailer and added as at least one additional participant to said IM session;

analyzing at least text content of one or more other messages provided by said at least one additional participant in said IM session to identify an approval to perform the transaction;

in response to the approval, forwarding said transfer amount and at least one identifier of said at least one additional participant to a credit provider system;

receiving over said network a transaction approval from a credit provider system; and

in response to receiving said transaction approval, using said computerized agent for submitting at least one additional IM message that includes additional text content in said IM session, said additional text content is;

     1) presented as an IM message in said IM session to said at least one additional participant and to said user and

     2) is indicative of a completion of said transaction;

wherein said additional computerized agent analyzes another IM message in said IM session which is received from said user to identify automatically a request to purchase a product or a service from said retailer;

wherein said additional computerized agent approves or denies said request by adding a further IM message to said IM session;

wherein the computerized agent is added to said IM session as a participant of said IM session by a selection of a contact associated with the identifier ID of the computerized agent from a contact list accessed via said client terminal, the selection is an outcome of a user action made using said IM client module by said user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said computerized agent is registered in said IM service using an agent identifier, said agent identifier is a telephone number of a contact;

said user adds said computerized agent to said IM session by selecting said contact from a contact list in response to a user action of said user using said client terminal.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said user action comprises at least one of scanning a barcode using a camera of said client terminal and inputting said agent identifier in a user interface rendered by a browser.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein said user action comprises establishing a group session between said user, the at least one additional participant and said computerized agent.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating a link to a web document having credential user interface that allows said user to input credentials for performing said transaction directly to a transaction performing entity when a web document is displayed on a screen using a browser.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said generating comprises acquiring a token from a transaction performing entity and generating said link according to said token.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising instructing said computerized agent to leave said IM session after said completion said transaction.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said analyzing at least said text content is performed analyzing said text content by natural language processing (NLP).

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said IM session is a group discussion between said user, said computerized agent, and said at least one participant;

wherein said at least one participant is added to said IM session by said user.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said analyzing comprises extracting from said IM session details of said at least one participant to perform said transaction.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising establishing an additional IM session using said IM service between said computerized agent and said at least one participant to acquire payment data;

wherein said operation is performed using said payment data.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising establishing an additional IM session between said computerized agent and said user to authenticate said user;

wherein said operation is performed when said user is authenticated.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising performing at least one of instructing said IM service to delete or mask at least some of said additional IM session and sending said user a reminder to delete at least some of said additional IM session.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein said IM session is held between a plurality of human participants including said user, a retailer agent and said computerized agent;

wherein said textual instructions define a split of payment for a product sold by a retailer represented by said retailer agent to said plurality of human participants;

further comprising separately authenticating said split or said transaction by an additional IM session separately held between said computerized agent and each of said plurality of human participants.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein said transaction is between said user and said retailer.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising acquiring payment data in a direct communication with said additional computerized agent;

wherein said operation is performed using said payment data.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein said textual instructions are encoded using at least one emoticon.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one additional IM message and the one or more other IM messages are presented on the same time by the graphical user interface (GUI) of the IM client module.

19. A system for enhancing an instant messaging (IM) session managed by an IM service by executing a computerized agent separately from the IM service and for adding a computerized agent to the IM session for identifying automatically textual instructions, comprising:

at least one processor of at least one server separated from the IM service for executing a code comprising;

code instructions for associating the computerized agent with a unique identifier (ID);

code instructions for using the identifier ID to subscribe the computerized agent to an IM service;

code instructions for establishing a communication with the IM service through a network;

code instructions for using the computerized agent for receiving a plurality of IM messages inputted to the IM service using an IM client module running on a client terminal, said plurality of IM messages are addressed to said computerized agent and received after the computerized agent is added to said IM session as a participant of said IM session by a user which uses said IM client module, the computerized agent is added using said IM client module, code instructions for analyzing textual content of said plurality of IM messages to identify automatically textual instructions to perform a transaction with at least one additional participant of the IM session from said user, said textual instructions includes transfer amount, wherein the additional computerized agent is representing a retailer and added as at least one additional participant to said IM session,

code instructions for analyzing at least text content of one or more other IM messages provided by said at least one additional participant in said IM session to identify an approval to perform the transaction and in response to the approval, forwarding, via a network, said transfer amount and at least one identifier of said at least one additional participant to a credit provider system,

code instructions for receiving, over the network, a transaction approval from the credit provider system, and

code instructions for using said computerized agent for submitting, in response to receiving said transaction approval, at least one additional IM message that includes additional text content in said IM session, said additional text content is;

     1) presented as an IM message in said IM session to said at least one additional participant to said user and

     2) is indicative of a completion of said transaction;

wherein said additional computerized agent analyzes another IM message in said IM session which is received from said user to identify automatically a request to purchase a product or a service from said retailer;

wherein said additional computerized agent approves or denies said request by adding a further IM message to said IM session;

wherein the computerized agent is added to said IM session as a participant of said IM session by a selection of a contact associated with the computerized agent from a contact list accessed via said client terminal, the selection is an outcome of a user action made using said IM client module by said user.

20. A computer program product for enhancing an instant messaging (IM) session managed by an IM service by executing a computerized agent separately from the IM service and for adding a computerized agent to the IM session for identifying automatically textual instructions, said computer program product comprising:

a non transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon;

first program instructions for associating the computerized agent with a unique identifier (ID), using the identifier ID to subscribe the computerized agent to an IM service, and establishing a communication with an IM service through a network;

second program instructions executable by a system separated from the IM service to use the computerized agent for acquiring a plurality of IM messages inputted to an IM service using an IM client module running on a client terminal, said plurality of IM messages are addressed to said computerized agent and received after the computerized agent is added to said IM session as a participant of said IM session by a user which is also a participant of said IM session, said IM session is managed by said IM service and said computerized agent is added to said IM session using said IM client module; and

third program instructions executable by the system to analyze at least textual content of said plurality of IM messages to identify automatically textual instructions from said user which uses said IM client module to perform a transaction with at least one additional participant of said IM session, said textual instructions includes transfer amount, wherein the additional computerized agent is representing a retailer and added as at least one additional participant to said IM session;

fourth program instructions executable by the system to instruct analyzing at least text content of one or more other IM messages provided by said at least one additional participant in said IM session to identify an approval to perform the transaction and in response to the approval, forwarding via a network said transfer amount and at least one identifier of said at least one additional participant to a credit provider system and receiving over said network a transaction approval from said credit provider system; and

fifth program instructions executable by the system to use said computerized agent to submit at least one additional IM message that includes additional text content in said IM session, said additional text content is;

     1) presented as an IM message in said IM session to said at least one additional participant to said user and

     2) is indicative of a completion of said transaction;

wherein said additional computerized agent analyzes another IM message in said IM session which is received from said user to identify automatically a request to purchase a product or a service from said retailer;

wherein said additional computerized agent approves or denies said request by adding a further IM message to said IM session;

wherein the computerized agent is added to said IM session as a participant of said IM session by a selection of a contact associated with the computerized agent from a contact list accessed via said client terminal, the selection is an outcome of a user action made using said IM client module by said user.