EXTENDING APPLICATION FUNCTIONALITY VIA CONVERSATIONAL INTERFACES

• US 20180316634A1
• Filed: 04/26/2017
• Published: 11/01/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/2017
• Status: Active Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Driscoll, Daniel J., Andrews, Anthony D., Alvi, Ali N., Chiu, Yuan-Chun
• Application Number:
  US15/498,223
• Publication Number:
  US 20180316634A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/541 via adapters, e.g. between incompatible applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/141 Setup of application sessions admission control or resource allocation in data switching networks H04L47/70

Abstract

Systems and methods are disclosed for extending application functionality via conversational interfaces. In one implementation, a first communication is received from an interaction engine. The first communication is processed to identify an application that the communication is directed to, The first communication is provided to an application extension engine associated with the first application. A second communication is received from the application extension engine. The second communication is provided to the interaction engine.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a processing device; and

a memory coupled to the processing device and storing instructions that, when executed by the processing device, cause the system to perform operations comprising;

receiving a first communication from an interaction engine;

processing the first communication to identify a first application that the first communication is directed to;

providing the first communication to an application extension engine associated with the first application;

receiving a second communication from the application extension engine; and

providing the second communication to the interaction engine.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein processing the first communication comprises processing the first communication using natural language processing to identify the first application that the first communication is directed to.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein processing the first communication comprises identifying one or more applications that are associated with one or more respective application extension engines.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein processing the first communication comprises processing the first communication to identify a first user that the first communication is associated with.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the second communication is associated with the first user.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the first communication is associated with a first application session of the first application and wherein the second communication is associated with a second application session of the first application.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein providing the first communication comprises:

incorporating supplemental content into the first communication; and

providing the first communication with the supplemental content to the application extension engine.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the supplemental content comprises a state of a device at which the interaction engine executes.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the second communication comprises a first content item, and wherein providing the second communication comprises providing the first content item to the interaction engine based on a determination that a device at which the interaction engine executes can present the first content item.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein receiving a first communication comprises receiving the first communication in accordance with a conversational application programming interface (API).

11. The system of claim I, wherein providing the second communication comprises providing the second communication to the interaction engine in accordance with a conversational API.

12. A method comprising:

receiving a first communication from an interaction engine;

processing the first communication to identify a first application that the first communication is directed to;

providing the first communication to a first application extension engine associated with the first application;

receiving a second communication from a second application extension engine associated with a second application; and

providing the second communication to the interaction engine.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein processing the first communication comprises processing the first communication to identify a first user that the first communication is associated with.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein providing the first communication comprises:

incorporating supplemental content into the first communication; and

providing the first communication with the supplemental content to the first application extension engine.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the second communication comprises a first content item, and wherein providing the second communication comprises providing the first content item to the interaction engine based on a determination that a device at which the interaction engine executes can present the first content item.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein receiving a first communication comprises receiving the first communication in accordance with a conversational API.

17. A non-transitory computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processing device, cause the processing device to perform operations comprising:

receiving a first communication directed to an application;

formatting the first communication in accordance with an API of the application;

providing the first communication, as formatted in accordance with the API, to the application;

receiving, from the application, a second communication; and

providing the second communication in response to le first communication.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the first communication originates from an interaction engine.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the first communication comprises one or more aspects of a device from which the first communication originated.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the second communication comprises content that is compatible with the one or more aspects of the device from which the first communication originated.