Customer messaging service
First Claim
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1. A method for providing a communication service for communication between customers and businesses comprising:
- subscribing a plurality of businesses for the communication service;
receiving, by at least one computer of the communication service from each of the plurality of businesses, a set of intent data configured to interpret natural language queries received for the corresponding business, a first set of intent data corresponding to a first business being different than a second set of intent data corresponding to a second business that is different than the first business;
enrolling a plurality of customers for the communication service, including accepting profile information from each of the customers;
controlling communication between the businesses and the customers according to the profile information;
receiving, by at least one computer of the communication service from a customer included in the plurality of customers, a natural language query directed to a business included in the plurality of businesses;
identifying, by at least one computer of the communication service and from among the plurality of businesses, the business to which the natural language query is directed based on at least one attribute of the natural language query;
in response to identifying the business to which the natural language query is directed, selecting, from among multiple sets of intent data received from each of the plurality of businesses, a set of intent data corresponding to and received from the identified business;
accessing, by at least one computer of the communication service, the selected intent data corresponding to and received from the identified business;
interpreting, by at least one computer of the communication service, the natural language query using the selected intent data; and
responding, by at least one computer of the communication service, to the natural language query based on the interpretation of the natural language query using the selected intent data,wherein the profile information for the customer includes;
permission information for controlling communication from the businesses to the customer, andcontact preferences including one or more ranked sets of channels for communicating with the customer; and
wherein controlling communication between the businesses and the customers according to the profile information comprises controlling communication from the businesses to the customer based on the permission information and, when attempting to communicate with the customer, sequentially attempting to contact the customer using each of the channels in a ranked set of channels included in the contact preferences for the customer, where the sequential attempts occur in an order specified by the ranked set of channels for communicating with the customer.
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Abstract
A messaging and alerting service is described. An implementation includes enrolling a customer in the messaging and alert service, storing a list of businesses selected by the customer, storing a customer contact hierarchy list, and contacting the customer according to the contact hierarchy list. The messaging and alerting service enables real-time, interactive alerts to be delivered to customers in the customer'"'"'s preferred media. In addition, customers may respond to the alerts to provide important directions to a business.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method for providing a communication service for communication between customers and businesses comprising:
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subscribing a plurality of businesses for the communication service; receiving, by at least one computer of the communication service from each of the plurality of businesses, a set of intent data configured to interpret natural language queries received for the corresponding business, a first set of intent data corresponding to a first business being different than a second set of intent data corresponding to a second business that is different than the first business; enrolling a plurality of customers for the communication service, including accepting profile information from each of the customers; controlling communication between the businesses and the customers according to the profile information; receiving, by at least one computer of the communication service from a customer included in the plurality of customers, a natural language query directed to a business included in the plurality of businesses; identifying, by at least one computer of the communication service and from among the plurality of businesses, the business to which the natural language query is directed based on at least one attribute of the natural language query; in response to identifying the business to which the natural language query is directed, selecting, from among multiple sets of intent data received from each of the plurality of businesses, a set of intent data corresponding to and received from the identified business; accessing, by at least one computer of the communication service, the selected intent data corresponding to and received from the identified business; interpreting, by at least one computer of the communication service, the natural language query using the selected intent data; and responding, by at least one computer of the communication service, to the natural language query based on the interpretation of the natural language query using the selected intent data, wherein the profile information for the customer includes; permission information for controlling communication from the businesses to the customer, and contact preferences including one or more ranked sets of channels for communicating with the customer; and wherein controlling communication between the businesses and the customers according to the profile information comprises controlling communication from the businesses to the customer based on the permission information and, when attempting to communicate with the customer, sequentially attempting to contact the customer using each of the channels in a ranked set of channels included in the contact preferences for the customer, where the sequential attempts occur in an order specified by the ranked set of channels for communicating with the customer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A computer-readable medium encoded with a computer program comprising instructions that, when executed, operate to cause a computer to perform operations comprising:
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subscribing a plurality of businesses for a communication service; receiving, at the communication service from each of the plurality of businesses, a set of intent data configured to interpret natural language queries received for the corresponding business, a first set of intent data corresponding to a first business being different than a second set of intent data corresponding to a second business that is different than the first business; enrolling a plurality of customers for the communication service, including accepting profile information from each of the customers; controlling communication between the businesses and the customers according to the profile information; receiving, at the communication service from a customer included in the plurality of customers, a natural language query directed to a business included in the plurality of businesses; identifying, at the communication service and from among the plurality of businesses, the business to which the natural language query is directed based on at least one attribute of the natural language query; in response to identifying the business to which the natural language query is directed, selecting, from among multiple sets of intent data received from each of the plurality of businesses, a set of intent data corresponding to and received from the identified business; accessing, at the communication service, the selected intent data corresponding to and received from the identified business; interpreting, at the communication service, the natural language query using the selected intent data; and responding to the natural language query based on the interpretation of the natural language query using the selected intent data, wherein the profile information for the customer includes; permission information for controlling communication from the businesses to the customer, and contact preferences including one or more ranked sets of channels for communicating with the customer; and wherein controlling communication between the businesses and the customers according to the profile information comprises controlling communication from the businesses to the customer based on the permission information and, when attempting to communicate with the customer, sequentially attempting to contact the customer using each of the channels in a ranked set of channels included in the contact preferences for the customer, where the sequential attempts occur in an order specified by the ranked set of channels for communicating with the customer. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22)
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20. A computer system comprising:
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at least one computer; and at least one computer-readable medium coupled to the at least one computer having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the at least one computer, cause the at least one computer to perform operations comprising; subscribing a plurality of businesses for a communication service; receiving, at the communication service from each of the plurality of businesses, a set of intent data configured to interpret natural language queries received for the corresponding business, a first set of intent data corresponding to a first business being different than a second set of intent data corresponding to a second business that is different than the first business; enrolling a plurality of customers for the communication service, including accepting profile information from each of the customers; controlling communication between the businesses and the customers according to the profile information; receiving, at the communication service from a customer included in the plurality of customers, a natural language query directed to a business included in the plurality of businesses; identifying, at the communication service and from among the plurality of businesses, the business to which the natural language query is directed based on at least one attribute of the natural language query; in response to identifying the business to which the natural language query is directed, selecting, from among multiple sets of intent data received from each of the plurality of businesses, a set of intent data corresponding to and received from the identified business; accessing, at the communication service, the selected intent data corresponding to and received from the identified business; interpreting, at the communication service, the natural language query using the selected intent data; and responding to the natural language query based on the interpretation of the natural language query using the selected intent data, wherein the profile information for the customer includes; permission information for controlling communication from the businesses to the customer, and contact preferences including one or more ranked sets of channels for communicating with the customer; and wherein controlling communication between the businesses and the customers according to the profile information comprises controlling communication from the businesses to the customer based on the permission information and, when attempting to communicate with the customer, sequentially attempting to contact the customer using each of the channels in a ranked set of channels included in the contact preferences for the customer, where the sequential attempts occur in an order specified by the ranked set of channels for communicating with the customer. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24)
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25. A computer system comprising:
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means for subscribing a plurality of businesses for a communication service; means for receiving, at the communication service from each of the plurality of businesses, a set of intent data configured to interpret natural language queries received for the corresponding business, a first set of intent data corresponding to a first business being different than a second set of intent data corresponding to a second business that is different than the first business; means for enrolling a plurality of customers for the communication service, including accepting profile information from each of the customers; means for controlling communication between the businesses and the customers according to the profile information; means for receiving, at the communication service from a customer included in the plurality of customers, a natural language query directed to a business included in the plurality of businesses; means for identifying, at the communication service and from among the plurality of businesses, the business to which the natural language query is directed based on at least one attribute of the natural language query; means for, in response to identifying the business to which the natural language query is directed, selecting, from among multiple sets of intent data received from each of the plurality of businesses, a set of intent data corresponding to and received from the identified business; means for accessing, at the communication service, the selected intent data corresponding to and received from the identified business; means for interpreting, at the communication service, the natural language query using the selected intent data; and means for responding to the natural language query based on the interpretation of the natural language query using the selected intent data, wherein the profile information for the customer includes; permission information for controlling communication from the businesses to the customer, and contact preferences including one or more ranked sets of channels for communicating with the customer; and wherein the means for controlling communication between the businesses and the customers according to the profile information comprises means for controlling communication from the businesses to the customer based on the permission information and, when attempting to communicate with the customer, sequentially attempting to contact the customer using each of the channels in a ranked set of channels included in the contact preferences for the customer, where the sequential attempts occur in an order specified by the ranked set of channels for communicating with the customer.
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Specification