Voice response system

• US 20040120476A1
• Filed: 10/16/2003
• Published: 06/24/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 04/19/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: British Telecommunications PLC (BT Group PLC)
• Original Assignee: British Telecommunications PLC (BT Group PLC)
• Inventors: Harrison, Michael A., Popay, Paul I, Watton, Neil L
• Granted Patent: US 7,245,706 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/88.18
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/355 Interactive dialogue design tools, features or methods
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/2218 Call detail recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/36 Statistical metering, e.g. recording occasions when traffic exceeds capacity of trunks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/493 Interactive information services, e.g. directory enquiries ; Arrangements therefor, e.g. interactive voice response [IVR] systems or voice portals

Abstract

With interactive voice response services, it can be frustrating for a user to become stuck in a dialogue where the same question is asked repetitively. In his invention the wording of questions used by the system are varied throughout a dialogue depending upon how many times a user has visited a dialogue state ever in their call history. Furthermore the wording of the question is also varied in dependence upon the way in which the question was asked the last time the user was in a particular dialogue state.

Claims

1. A method of operating a current dialogue with a user of an interactive voice response system having a dialogue model comprising

a plurality of states and a plurality of interconnecting edges;

a current state; and

user dialogue data indicating for a user a total number of visits to a state;

in which a prompt definition, for use by a message generator to generate a message for sending to the user, is selected dependence upon the current state, upon the number of visits made to the current state during the current dialogue and upon the total number of visits said user has made to the current state during one or more previous dialogues.

2. A method according to claim 1 in which the prompt definition is selected in dependence on further data indicating whether the user has visited the current state during the current dialogue and upon data indicating the prompt which was selected for the most recent visit to the current state.

3. An interactive voice response system having a dialogue model comprising:

a plurality of states and a plurality of interconnecting edges;

a current state; and

user dialogue data indicating for a user a total number of visits to a state;

the system further comprising prompt definition selection means, for selecting a prompt definition, for use by a message generator to generate a message for sending to the user, in dependence upon the current state, upon the number of visits made to the current state during the current dialogue and upon the total number of visits said user has made to the current state during one or more previous dialogues.

4. A system according to claim 3, wherein the prompt definition selection means is further operable to select the prompt definition in dependence on further data indicating whether the user has visited the current state during the current dialogue and upon data indicating the prompt which was selected for the most recent visit to the current state.