Web response unit including computer network based communication
First Claim
1. A method for providing information in response to a customer request for information, the system using a communication network coupled to a database and coupled to a customer input/output device to convey information to and from the customer, the method comprising steps ofreceiving signals from the input/output device to indicate a customer query to the database;
- retrieving information which is responsive to the query;
forming a response to the query with the retrieved information; and
transmitting at least a portion of the query and response to said input/output device;
reviewing at least a portion of the query and response.
24 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A network-based customer interface allows a customer to receive automated information from a variety of data sources, or databases, including a knowledge base and frequently asked question database. The data sources are updated based on recording ongoing customer queries and transactions with the database. The updates can be reviewed before they are used to update the data sources. Customer authentication is performed so that the customer can be given an elevated level of service and so that any prior customer sessions can be used to help human agents know about the customer'"'"'s situation.
373 Citations
65 Claims
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1. A method for providing information in response to a customer request for information, the system using a communication network coupled to a database and coupled to a customer input/output device to convey information to and from the customer, the method comprising steps of
receiving signals from the input/output device to indicate a customer query to the database; -
retrieving information which is responsive to the query;
forming a response to the query with the retrieved information; and
transmitting at least a portion of the query and response to said input/output device;
reviewing at least a portion of the query and response. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A method of providing information in response to a customer request for information, the system using a communication network coupled to a database and coupled to a customer input/output device to convey information to and from the customer, the method comprising steps of
requiring the customer to enter identification information; -
using the identification information to determine the customer'"'"'s level of service;
if the customer'"'"'s level of service is equal to a predetermined threshold then placing the customer in communication with a human agent, else placing the customer in communication with an automated database.
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38. A method for recording a customer'"'"'s actions, the system using a communication network coupled to a database and coupled to a customer input/output device to convey information to and from the customer, the method comprising steps of
receiving signals from the input/output device to indicate a customer request; -
accumulating information about the context and the nature of the customer'"'"'s request in a data wake;
if a predefined condition is met with respect to the accumulated information, then permitting the requested action to proceed; and
storing in the data wake a response to the requested action. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
analyzing the data wake to determine if the customer may require human or automated assistance; displaying an offer of assistance on said customer input/output device; and
if the offer is accepted, then placing the customer in communication with a human agent or with an automated database, else withdrawing the offer.
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45. The method of claim 44, with the additional step that a declined offer is repeated after a preset period of time.
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46. A method for providing information in response to a customer request for information, the system using a communication network coupled to a first database and a second database and coupled to a customer input/output device to convey information to and from the customer, the method comprising steps of
storing information in the first database in association with a first customer; -
receiving signals from the input/output device to indicate a query from the first customer to the second database;
retrieving an information template from the second database in response to the query, wherein the template includes text information and spaces for information to be inserted;
obtaining at least a portion of the stored information from the first database;
combining the obtained information with the information template; and
transmitting the combination of the obtained information and the information template to the first customer. - View Dependent Claims (47, 48, 49, 50, 51)
obtaining a number from the database; - and
combining the number with the information template.
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48. The method of claim 47, wherein the number represents the first customer'"'"'s account balance.
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49. The method of claim 46, further comprising the steps of
obtaining a text string from the database; - and
combining the text string with the information template.
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50. The method of claim 46, further comprising the steps of
obtaining image information from the database; - and
combining the image information with the information template.
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51. The method of claim 46, further comprising the steps of
obtaining audio information from the database; - and
combining the audio information with the information template.
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52. An information exchange system comprising
a communication link between a customer and a call center; -
a database at the call center coupled to the communication link for providing responses to customer queries, the database including multiple answers for a given query, the database including a referral mechanism for providing human agent assistance to generate a response to the query under predetermined conditions and invoking agent assistance to select which of the multiple answers shall be provided to the customer; and
a database update mechanism for storing an agent-assisted response so that subsequent similar customer queries will result in the stored agent-assisted response being provided.
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53. An information exchange system comprising
a communication link between a customer and a call center; -
a database at the call center coupled to the communication link for providing responses to customer queries, the database including multiple answers for a given query, the database including a referral mechanism for providing human agent assistance to generate a response to the query under predetermined conditions and invoking agent assistance to set a ranking order for the multiple answers to be used when the multiple responses are displayed to a customer; and
a database update mechanism for storing an agent-assisted response so that subsequent similar customer queries will result in the stored agent-assisted response being provided.
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54. An information exchange system comprising:
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a communication link between a customer and a call center;
a database at the call center coupled to the communication link for providing responses to customer queries, the database including multiple answers for a given query, the database including a referral mechanism for providing human agent assistance to generate a response to the query under predetermined conditions and invoking agent assistance to select which of the multiple answers shall be provided to the customer;
a database update mechanism for storing an agent-assisted response so that subsequent similar customer queries will result in the stored agent-assisted response being provided; and
storage means for saving the selected answer for future presentation to subsequent customers with the same question.
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55. An information exchange system comprising:
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a communication link between a customer and a call center;
a database at the call center coupled to the communication link for providing responses to customer queries, the database including multiple answers for a given query, the database including a referral mechanism for providing human agent assistance to generate a response to the query under predetermined conditions and invoking agent assistance to select which of the multiple answers shall be provided to the customer;
a database update mechanism for storing an agent-assisted response so that subsequent similar customer queries will result in the stored agent-assisted response being provided;
an approval mechanism for allowing a customer to approve an agent'"'"'s selected answer; and
storage means for saving the selected and approved answer for future presentation to subsequent customers with the same question.
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56. A method of providing information to customers in response to customers'"'"' requests via a communication network coupled to a database, comprising:
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receiving via the network a first customer query to the database;
automatically without human intervention retrieving from the database information which is responsive to the received first query;
automatically without human intervention forming a response to the received customer query from the retrieved information;
transmitting the formed response to a first customer via the network;
a human editing at least a portion of the received customer query and the formed response;
receiving via the network a second customer query to the database; and
in response to the received second query, transmitting the edited query and response to a second customer via the network. - View Dependent Claims (57, 58, 59, 60, 61)
receiving from the first customer via the network an evaluation of the transmitted formed response; and
in response to the evaluation being a positive evaluation, editing at least said portion of the received query and the formed response.
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58. The method of claim 57 further comprising:
in response to the evaluation being a negative evaluation, connecting the first customer to a human agent.
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59. The method of claim 57 further comprising:
in response to the evaluation being a negative evaluation, presenting the first customer with a choice of (a) submitting an alternative query, (b) receiving more information off-line, and (c) being connected to a human agent.
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60. The method of claim 56 wherein the step of editing comprises:
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storing the edited received query and formed response in a frequently-asked-questions database; and
the step of transmitting the edited query comprises the step of in response to the received second query, retrieving the edited query and response from the frequently-asked-questions database for transmission to the second customer as a response to the received second query.
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61. The method of claim 56 wherein the step of editing comprises:
storing the edited received query and formed response in a frequently-asked-questions database to make the edited received query and formed response accessible via the network to a plurality of customers.
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62. An information exchange system comprising:
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a communication link between customers and a call center;
a database at the call center coupled to the communication link for automatically without human intervention transmitting formed responses to customer queries from a first customer and a second customer; and
a database mechanism to allow for a human editing at least a portion of the customer queries and the responses. - View Dependent Claims (63, 64, 65)
a referral mechanism for connecting the customer to a human agent in response to a negative evaluation sent by the customer about the formed response sent to the customer.
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64. The information system of claim 63 wherein the referral mechanism allows the customer a choice of (a) submitting an alternative query, (b) receiving more information off-line, and (c) being connected to a human agent.
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65. The information system of claim 62 further comprising:
a storage means for storing the formed responses to make the formed responses available to the customers.
Specification