Method and system for timed interaction with an interactive voice response
First Claim
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1. An interactive voice response system comprising:
- a communication interface for engaging in voice-band communications with a user via a telephone connection;
data storage;
navigation logic stored in the data storage and defining a navigation structure through which the user can navigate to various navigation points by providing voice-band commands to the interactive voice response system via the communication interface; and
timer logic stored in the data storage and executable by a processor (i) for determining that the user has been interacting with the interactive voice response system for a threshold period and (ii) for responsively switching the user over to a predefined destination,wherein the timer logic is further executable to select the threshold period based on an identity of the user.
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Abstract
Provided are methods and systems associated with interactive voice response (“IVR”) systems that control the amount of time a user interacts with the system. According to the invention, an IVR system utilizes a timer or series of timers to determine how long a user has been interacting with the IVR system. When threshold events occur, the IVR system will analyze the status of the call and may switch the user to a predefined destination, such as to an operator queue, directly to a live operator, or to another designated navigation point in the IVR navigation structure. In this manner increasing the efficiency of manner in which the IVR system interacts with a caller.
38 Citations
19 Claims
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1. An interactive voice response system comprising:
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a communication interface for engaging in voice-band communications with a user via a telephone connection; data storage; navigation logic stored in the data storage and defining a navigation structure through which the user can navigate to various navigation points by providing voice-band commands to the interactive voice response system via the communication interface; and timer logic stored in the data storage and executable by a processor (i) for determining that the user has been interacting with the interactive voice response system for a threshold period and (ii) for responsively switching the user over to a predefined destination, wherein the timer logic is further executable to select the threshold period based on an identity of the user. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. An interactive voice response system comprising:
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a communication interface for engaging in voice-band communications with a user via a telephone connection; data storage; navigation logic stored in the data storage and defining a navigation structure through which the user can navigate to various navigation points by providing voice-band commands to the interactive voice response system via the communication interface; and timer logic stored in the data storage and executable by a processor (i) for malting a determination that the user has been interacting with the interactive voice response system for a threshold period and (ii) using the determination as a basis to switch the user over to a predefined destination, wherein the timer logic is further executable to select the threshold period based on an identity of the user.
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15. In an interactive voice response system including navigation logic stored in data storage and defining a navigation structure through which a user can navigate to various navigation points by providing voice-band commands to the interactive voice response system via a communication interface, a method comprising:
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determining at an interactive voice response system that the user has been interacting with the interactive voice response system for a threshold period; and responsively switching the user to a predefined communication destination, wherein the timer logic is further executable to select the threshold period based on an identity of the user. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification