Efficiently routing customer inquiries created with a self-service application
First Claim
1. A computer readable medium storing a program for determining a goal of an electronic customer inquiry when a plurality of salient terms are included in the electronic inquiry, the medium comprising:
- an Action-Object code segment that links each salient term, of the plurality of salient terms, with at least one Action-Object and a rating that reflects how well the Action-Object matches the goal of the electronic inquiry;
an analyzing code segment that analyzes, for each Action-Object, the ratings linked with the salient terms;
a selecting code segment that selects a best Action-Object that best matches the goal, based upon the ratings; and
an assigning code segment that assigns the selected best Action-Object to the electronic inquiry.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An electronic customer inquiry is properly routed, even when multiple salient terms are included in the electronic inquiry. Initially salient terms aee extracted from the electronic inquiry. Then each salient term is linked with at least one Action-Object and a probability that the Action-Object matches a purpose of the electronic inquiry. For each Action-Object, the probabilities linked with the salient terms are summed and an Action-Object with the highest summed probability is selected. The best Action-Object is assigned to the electronic inquiry, and the electronic inquiry is routed in accordance with the assigned Action-Object. Thus, correct routing occurs when multiple salient terms are found, and/or multiple Action-Objects are linked to the salient terms.
48 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A computer readable medium storing a program for determining a goal of an electronic customer inquiry when a plurality of salient terms are included in the electronic inquiry, the medium comprising:
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an Action-Object code segment that links each salient term, of the plurality of salient terms, with at least one Action-Object and a rating that reflects how well the Action-Object matches the goal of the electronic inquiry;
an analyzing code segment that analyzes, for each Action-Object, the ratings linked with the salient terms;
a selecting code segment that selects a best Action-Object that best matches the goal, based upon the ratings; and
an assigning code segment that assigns the selected best Action-Object to the electronic inquiry. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method for routing an electronic customer inquiry when multiple salient terms are included in the electronic inquiry, the method comprising:
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locating salient terms from the electronic inquiry;
linking each salient term with at least one Action-Object and a probability that the Action-Object matches a purpose of the electronic inquiry;
summing, for each Action-Object, the probabilities linked with the salient terms;
selecting a best Action-Object with the highest summed probability;
assigning the best Action-Object to the electronic inquiry; and
routing the electronic inquiry in accordance with the assigned Action-Object, wherein when multiple salient terms are found, and/or multiple Action-Objects are linked to the salient terms, correct routing occurs. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method for correctly routing a written electronic customer inquiry when the inquiry does not include enough information for correct routing, the method comprising:
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defining vague Action-Objects;
associating each vague Action-Object with at least one follow-up question to help clarify a customer'"'"'s intent; and
presenting the clarifying question to the customer when the inquiry is linked with a vague Action-Object. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A computer readable medium storing a program for elucidating a purpose of an electronic customer inquiry when the inquiry does not include enough information for correct routing within an enterprise, the medium comprising:
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a vague Action-Object table that links each vague Action-Object with at least one follow-up question to help clarify the purpose of the electronic customer inquiry; and
an assignment code segment that assigns a vague Action-Object to the electronic customer inquiry based upon analysis of terminology included in the inquiry and a look-up in the vague Action-Object table. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22)
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23. A system for routing an electronic customer inquiry when multiple salient terms are included in the electronic inquiry, the system comprising:
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an inquiry processor that extracts salient terms from the electronic inquiry;
an Action-Object processor that links each salient term with at least one Action-Object and a probability that the Action-Object matches a purpose of the electronic inquiry;
an adder that sums, for each Action-Object, the probabilities linked with the salient terms;
a selector that selects a best Action-Object with the highest summed probability;
a designator that assigns the best Action-Object to the electronic inquiry; and
a router that routes the electronic inquiry in accordance with the assigned Action-Object, wherein when multiple salient terms are found, and/or multiple Action-Objects are linked to the salient terms, correct routing occurs.
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Specification