Escalating online expert help
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of providing a human expert to answer a question from an agent interacting with a customer in real time comprising:
- receiving the question from the customer to the agent;
submitting the question to a search engine and the agent receiving information retrieved by the search engine based upon the question;
activating a second search to indentify in real-time a plurality of human experts best suited to answer the question based upon a subject matter of the question in response to the agent determining that the information retrieved is not sufficient to answer the question;
determining an availability of at least some of the plurality of identified experts; and
selecting an expert of the plurality of experts to answer the question in real-time based upon the subject matter and availability of the selected expert.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for providing a human expert to answer a question from an agent in real time. The method includes the steps of identifying a plurality of human experts based upon a subject matter of the question, determining an availability of at least some of the plurality of identified experts and selecting an expert of the plurality of experts to answer the question in real-time based upon the subject matter and availability of the selected expert.
43 Citations
27 Claims
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1. A method of providing a human expert to answer a question from an agent interacting with a customer in real time comprising:
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receiving the question from the customer to the agent; submitting the question to a search engine and the agent receiving information retrieved by the search engine based upon the question; activating a second search to indentify in real-time a plurality of human experts best suited to answer the question based upon a subject matter of the question in response to the agent determining that the information retrieved is not sufficient to answer the question; determining an availability of at least some of the plurality of identified experts; and selecting an expert of the plurality of experts to answer the question in real-time based upon the subject matter and availability of the selected expert. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An apparatus for providing a human expert to answer a question from an agent interacting with a customer in real time comprising:
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means for receiving the question from the customer to the agent; means for submitting the question to a search engine and for returning to the agent information retrieved by the search engine based upon the question; means for activating a second search to identify in real-time a plurality of human experts best suited to answer the question based upon a subject matter of the question in response to the agent determining that the information retrieved is not sufficient to answer the question; means for determining an availability of at least some of the plurality of identified experts; and means for selecting an expert of the plurality of experts to answer the question in real-time based upon the subject matter and availability of the selected expert. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. An apparatus for providing a human expert to answer a question from an agent interacting with a customer in real time comprising:
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an agent terminal that receives the question from the customer and permits the agent to submit the question to a search engine and receive information retrieved by the search engine based upon the question; a matching processor that, when activated by the agent in response to the agent determining that the information retrieved is not sufficient to answer the question, identifies in real-time a plurality of human experts best suited to answer the question based upon a subject matter of the question; a communication processor that determines an availability of at least some of the plurality of identified experts; and an expert selection processor that selects an expert of the plurality of experts to answer the question in real-time based upon the subject matter and availability of the selected expert. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification