SOCIAL MEDIA CONTACT CENTER DIALOG SYSTEM

• US 20110125697A1
• Filed: 02/11/2010
• Published: 05/26/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Inventors: SKIBA, David, MATULA, Valentine C., ERHART, George
• Application Number:
  US12/704,244
• Publication Number:
  US 20110125697A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 706/47
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0204 Market segmentation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0256 User search
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0264 based upon schedule
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/005 Language recognition
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/655 Combination of telephone service and social networking messaging within social networks H04L51/52
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42068 where the identifier is used to access a profile
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5191 interacting with the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5233 Operator skill based call distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/0024 Services and arrangements where telephone services are combined with data services arrangements which combine a telephonic equipment and a computer H04M7/0012
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications

Abstract

A communication system for conducting an interaction with customers using social media is provided. The communication system can include a social media gateway and a dialog system. The social media gateway can receive messages from social media networks and translate those messages into a form readable and usable by the dialog system. The dialog system, in turn, accepts the social media messages and associates those messages with one or more dialog structures. A dialog structure includes a set of executable rules that allow the dialog system to automatically respond to the social media message or refer that message to an appropriate human agent. With the social media gateway and the dialog system, the communication system is operable to interact with customers across different social media networks.

Claims

1. A method for the method comprising:

a processor in a contact center receiving a first message from a social media network;

the processor processing the first message;

based on the processing of the first message, the processor determining a set of rules to be applied to the first message; and

the processor executing the set of rules.

2. The method as defined in claim 1, further comprising:

before receiving the first message, filtering a second message from a group of message including the first message and the second message.

3. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein in the determining step, the processor identifying a dialog data structure associated with the first message, the dialog data structure mapping the set of rules against an input parameter identified during the processing step and, further comprising:

in response to executing the dialog data structure, the processor determining if agent action is required; and

the processor referring the first message to an agent.

4. The method as defined in claim 3, further comprising:

the processor receiving a response to the first message from the agent;

the processor processing the response;

the processor determining the social media network associated with the first message;

the processor formatting the response for the determined social media network; and

the processor posting the formatted response to the social media network.

5. The method as defined in claim 4, wherein in the determining step, the processor identifying a dialog data structure associated with the first message, the dialog data structure mapping the set of rules against an input parameter identified during the processing step and further comprising:

the processor employing information, in the response from the agent, to further complete the dialog data structure.

6. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the processing the first message comprises at least one of a group consisting of filtering the first message, parsing the first message, interrelating the first message, aggregating the first message, and referring the first message.

7. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein in the determining step, the processor identifying a dialog data structure associated with the first message, the dialog data structure mapping the set of rules against an input parameter identified during the processing step and further comprising:

the processor receiving a second message;

the processor determining that the first message and the second message are part of a trend; and

the processor determining a second dialog data structure associated with the trend.

8. The method as defined in claim 7, wherein the dialog data structure includes an automated response to the first message.

9. A computer readable medium having stored thereon instructions that cause a computing system to execute a method for conducting an interaction between a social media network and a contact center, the instructions comprising:

instructions to receive a first message from the social media network;

instructions to process the first corresponding message;

instructions to determine based on at least one characteristic in the first message identified during the first message processing, a set of rules to serve and/or further process the first message; and

instructions to execute the set of rules;

in response to executing the set of rules, instructions to invoke at least one of the following;

instructions to refer the first message to an agent.

instructions to receive a response to the first message from the agent;

instructions to process further the response;

instructions to determine a social media network associated with the first message;

instructions to format the response for the determined social media network; and

instructions to post the formatted response to the social media network.

10. The computer readable medium as defined in claim 9, wherein the instructions to process the first message comprises at least one of a group consisting of filtering the first message, parsing the first message, interrelating the first message, aggregating the first message, and referring the first message.

11. The computer readable medium as defined in claim 9, further comprising:

instructions to receive a second message;

instructions to determine that the first message and the second message are part of a trend; and

instructions to determine a dialog associated with the trend.

12. The computer readable medium as defined in claim 9, wherein the dialog includes an automated response to the first message.

13. The computer readable medium as defined in claim 9, further comprising:

instructions to analyze the response; and

in response to analyzing the response, instructions to correct the dialog.

14. The computer readable medium as defined in claim 9, further comprising:

before receiving the first message, instructions to filter a second message from a group of messages including the first message and the second message.

15. A communication system comprising:

a social media gateway in communication with a social media network, the social media gateway operable to receive a first message from the social media network and send a first response to the social media network;

a dialog system in communication with the social media gateway, the dialog system to process the first message and determine a set of rules based on content of the first message, operable to execute the set of rules, and, in response to executing the dialog, operable to create the first response; and

a contact center in communication with the dialog system, the contact center operable to provide an agent to assist in formulating the first response.

16. The communication system as defined in claim 15, wherein the social media gateway and the dialog system are part of the contact center.

17. The communication system as defined in claim 15, wherein the social media gateway comprises:

a social media network API in communication with a social media network, the social media network API operable to receive the first message from the social media network and operable to send the first response to the social media network;

a message filter in communication with the social media network API, the message filter operable to filter the first message before sending the first message to the dialog system; and

a message aggregator in communication with the message filter, the message aggregator operable to combine the first message with a second message as a group for processing by the dialog system.

18. The communication system as defined in claim 17, further comprising a content filter in communication with a social media network, the content filter operable to prevent the first message from being received by the social media network API.

19. The communication system as defined in claim 15, wherein the dialog system comprises:

a dialog core in communication with the social media gateway, the dialog core operable to process the first message according to the dialog and operable to process the first response;

a heuristic rules and dialogs database in communication with the dialog core, the heuristic rules and dialogs database operable to store the dialog;

a dialog creator in communication with the heuristic rules and dialogs database, the dialog creator operable to create a dialog and operable to store the dialog into the heuristic rules and dialogs database;

a message history database in communication with the dialog core, the message history database operable to store an interaction history associated with the first message; and

an agent interface in communication with the dialog core and an agent associate with the contact center, the agent interface operable to send the first message to an agent and operable to receive the first response to the first message from the agent.

20. The communication system as defined in claim 19, wherein the dialog core comprises:

a trend analysis component operable to analyze a trend associated with the first message and a second message;

a text processing component operable to determine automatically text associated with the dialog and operable to retrieve automatically the dialog associated with the text; and

an analysis tools component operable to analyze the first response and operable to modify the dialog in response to the analysis.