INCORPORATING SELECTABLE APPLICATION LINKS INTO CONVERSATIONS WITH PERSONAL ASSISTANT MODULES

• US 20170339088A1
• Filed: 07/12/2016
• Published: 11/23/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/2016
• Status: Active Application

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Judd, Tilke, Adan, Yariv, Sabur, Zaheed, Behzadi, Behshad, Mirelmann, Lucas, Lamecki, Jan, Bakshi, Dhruv
• Granted Patent: US 10,291,565 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4843 by program, e.g. task dispatcher, supervisor, operating system
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/046 Interoperability with other network applications or services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/18 Commands or executable codes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/216 Handling conversation history, e.g. grouping of messages in sessions or threads
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]

Abstract

Methods, apparatus, systems, and computer-readable media are provided for: operating an instance of a personal assistant module to serve a user while the user operates the client computing device, wherein the instance of the personal assistant module has access to a persistent record of a message exchange thread between the user and instance(s) of the personal assistant module; detecting cue(s) emanating from the persistent message exchange thread; identifying candidate application(s) that are installed on a client computing device operated by the user, wherein the candidate application(s) are associated with content of the message exchange thread; and incorporating, into a transcript of the message exchange thread that is displayed in a graphical user interface rendered on the client computing device, selectable link(operable by the user to cause the client computing device to expose to the user an interface associated with a respective candidate application.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

operating, by a client computing device operated by a user, an instance of a personal assistant module to serve the user while operating the client computing device, wherein the instance of the personal assistant module has access to a persistent record of a message exchange thread between the user and one or more instances of the personal assistant module;

detecting, by the instance of the personal assistant module, one or more cues emanating from the persistent message exchange thread, wherein the one or more cues trigger incorporation, into the persistent message exchange thread, of one or more selectable links to one or more applications distinct from the instance of the personal assistant module;

identifying, by the instance of the personal assistant module, one or more candidate applications that are installed on a client computing device operated by the user, wherein the one or more candidate applications are associated with content of the message exchange thread; and

incorporating, by the instance of the personal assistant module, into a transcript of the message exchange thread that is displayed in a graphical user interface rendered on the client computing device, one or more selectable links, wherein each selectable link is operable by the user to cause the client computing device to expose to the user an interface associated with a respective candidate application.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the client computing device is one of a plurality of client computing devices operated by the user, and wherein each of the plurality of client computing devices is configured to operate a separate instance of the personal assistant module with access to the persistent message exchange thread.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the one or more cues comprise multiple messages incorporated into the persistent message exchange thread by different client computing devices of the plurality of client computing devices.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the identifying is performed one or more of the processors that is remote from the client computing device, and data indicative of the one or more selectable links is downloaded to the client computing device.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, further comprising selecting, by the instance of personal assistant module, a subset of the downloaded one or more selectable links for display based on one or more information signals.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein the one or more information signals comprise a frequency of use of the one or more candidate applications.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the identifying is performed by one or more of the processors that is integral with the client computing device.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the one or more cues emanate from the content of the message exchange thread.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the one or more cues include a keyword or phrase associated with a particular application.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the identifying comprises identifying, as a candidate application, a web browser installed on the client computing device in response to a determination that a given application associated with content of the message exchange thread is not installed on the client computing device;

and

wherein the incorporating comprises incorporating, into the transcript, a selectable link to an interactive webpage, wherein the interactive webpage includes functionality that corresponds to functionality of the given application that is not installed on the client computing device.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the identifying comprises identifying, as a candidate application, a web browser installed on the client computing device in response to a determination that a given application associated with content of the message exchange thread is not installed on the client computing device;

and

wherein the incorporating comprises incorporating, into the transcript, a selectable link to a webpage associated with downloading an installer of the given application.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the graphical user interface includes an operable portion and a persistent portion, wherein the transcript is rendered in the persistent portion and the operable portion includes one or more graphical elements that are operable to incorporate content into the message exchange thread, and wherein the method further comprises:

selectively incorporating, by one or more of the processors based on one or more signals, at least one non-persistent selectable link into the operable portion of the graphical user interface, wherein the at least one non-persistent selectable link is operable by the user to cause the client computing device to expose to the user an interface associated with a particular candidate application.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein the one or more signals comprises a history of interaction between the user and the particular candidate application.

14. A system comprising one or more processors and memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

operate an instance of a personal assistant module to serve a user while the user operates a client computing device, wherein the instance of the personal assistant module has access to a persistent record of a message exchange thread between the user and one or more instances of the personal assistant module;

detect one or more cues emanating from the persistent message exchange thread, wherein the one or more cues trigger incorporation, into the persistent message exchange thread, of one or more selectable links to one or more applications distinct from the instance of the personal assistant module;

identify one or more candidate applications that are installed on the client computing device operated by the user, wherein the one or more candidate applications are associated with content of the message exchange thread; and

incorporating, into a transcript of the message exchange thread that is displayed in a graphical user interface rendered on the client computing device, one or more selectable links, wherein each selectable link is operable by the user to cause the client computing device to expose to the user an interface associated with a respective candidate application.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the client computing device is one of a plurality of client computing devices operated by the user, and wherein each of the plurality of client computing devices is configured to operate a separate instance of the personal assistant module with access to the persistent message exchange thread.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the one or more cues comprise multiple messages incorporated into the persistent message exchange thread by different client computing devices of the plurality of client computing devices.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the identification is performed one or more of the processors that is remote from the given client computing device, and data indicative of the one or more selectable links is downloaded to the given client computing device.

18. The system of claim 17, further comprising instructions to select a subset of the downloaded one or more selectable links for display based on one or more information signals.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the one or more information signals comprise a frequency of use of the one or more candidate applications.

20. The system of claim 14, wherein the identification is performed by one or more of the processors that is integral with the given client computing device.

21. The system of claim 14, wherein the one or more cues emanate from the content of the message exchange thread.

22. The system of claim 14, wherein the identification comprises identification, as a candidate application, of a web browser installed on the given client computing device in response to a determination that a given application associated with content of the message exchange thread is not installed on the given client computing device;

and

wherein the incorporation comprises incorporation, into the transcript, of a selectable link to an interactive webpage, wherein the interactive webpage includes functionality that corresponds to functionality of the given application that is not installed on the given client computing device.

23. At least one non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, in response to execution of the instructions by a client computing device operated by a user, cause the client computing device to perform the following operations:

operating an instance of a personal assistant module to serve the user while the user operates the client computing device, wherein the instance of the personal assistant module has access to a persistent record of a message exchange thread between the user and one or more instances of the personal assistant module;

detecting, by the instance of the personal assistant module, one or more cues emanating from the persistent message exchange thread, wherein the one or more cues trigger incorporation, into the persistent message exchange thread, of one or more selectable links to one or more applications distinct from the instance of the personal assistant module;

identifying, by the instance of the personal assistant module, one or more candidate applications that are installed on a client computing device operated by the user, wherein the one or more candidate applications are associated with content of the message exchange thread; and

incorporating, by the instance of the personal assistant module, into a transcript of the message exchange thread that is displayed in a graphical user interface rendered on the client computing device, one or more selectable links, wherein each selectable link is operable by the user to cause the client computing device to expose to the user an interface associated with a respective candidate application.