Voice response apparatus and method of providing automated voice responses with silent prompting

• US 8,379,803 B2
• Filed: 06/25/2007
• Issued: 02/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/11/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: McAllister, Alexander I.
• Primary Examiner(s): SING, SIMON P
• Application Number:
  US11/767,853
• Publication Number:
  US 20070258572A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,066 Days
• Field of Search: 379/88.04, 379 8822- 8825
• US Class Current: 379/88.04
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/14 Delay circuits; Timers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/40 using speech recognition speech recognition per se G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/493 Interactive information services, e.g. directory enquiries ; Arrangements therefor, e.g. interactive voice response [IVR] systems or voice portals

Abstract

A voice response unit (VRU) includes a silent prompt feature in the form of an intentional delay inserted after a message is given to a caller, during which delay the caller may invoke alternative processing or interrupt current processing. If appropriate alternative or interrupt commands are not received during the delay period, then processing continues as provided in accordance with the previously played message. The duration of this silent prompt delay is carefully selected to provide sufficient response time for the caller to request alternative processing, while avoiding a perceptible or objectionable delay to the average caller not requiring alternative processing. Optimally, this delay period should be within a range of one to two and one-half seconds and, preferably, within a range of 1.2 to 2.3 seconds, an optimal time being 1.8 seconds. The VRU may be included as part of a voice activated dialing system which recognizes a name of a party to be called, identifies the associated telephone number from a telephone directory, and reads the name found back to the caller. The system then uses a silent prompt, waiting for the described 1.8 seconds to allow the user to invoke alternative processing, such as requesting the listing, voice mail options, or a next closest match. If no alternative processing is requested during the 1.8 seconds, processing continues and the named party is called.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, at a computer system, an incoming telephone call from a calling party;

receiving, at the computer system, a first audio transmission from the calling party, the first audio transmission including speech audio identifying a called party;

identifying, based on the received first audio transmission, a first entry in a directory, the first entry in the directory including a first identifier;

providing, to the calling party, a first outgoing audio message including an audio representation of the first identifier;

providing, to the calling party, a first silent delay period of a predetermined duration immediately subsequent to a completion of providing said first outgoing audio message;

receiving, during the first silent delay period, a response that specifies alternative processing requested by the calling party, the alternative processing being alternative to agreeing or disagreeing with the first outgoing audio message; and

performing the alternative processing based on the received response, wherein the alternative processing includes one of (i) recording a message for the called party or (ii) accessing a voicemail platform of the calling party.

2. A method comprising:

receiving, at a computer system, an incoming telephone call from a calling party;

receiving, at the computer system, a first audio transmission from the calling party, the first audio transmission including speech audio identifying a called party;

identifying, based on the received first audio transmission, a first entry in a directory, the first entry in the directory including a first identifier;

providing, to the calling party, a first outgoing audio message including an audio representation of the first identifier;

providing, to the calling party, a first silent delay period of a predetermined duration immediately subsequent to a completion of providing said first outgoing audio message;

receiving, during the first silent delay period, a response that specifies alternative processing requested by the calling party, the alternative processing being alternative to agreeing or disagreeing with the first outgoing audio message; and

performing the alternative processing based on the received response, wherein;

the alternative processing specified in the received response includes a request by the calling party to record a message for the called party; and

performing the alternative processing based on the received response includes receiving and recording the message from the calling party for the called party.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising, in response to receiving the incoming telephone call from the calling party:

pseudo-randomly selecting a prompt from a set of multiple, different prompts; and

providing the selected prompt to the calling party.

4. A method comprising:

receiving, at a computer system, an incoming telephone call from a calling party;

receiving, at the computer system, a first audio transmission from the calling party, the first audio transmission including speech audio identifying a called party;

identifying, based on the received first audio transmission, a first entry in a directory, the first entry in the directory including a first identifier;

providing, to the calling party, a first outgoing audio message including an audio representation of the first identifier;

providing, to the calling party, a first silent delay period of a predetermined duration immediately subsequent to a completion of providing said first outgoing audio message;

receiving, during the first silent delay period, a response that specifies alternative processing requested by the calling party, the alternative processing being alternative to agreeing or disagreeing with the first outgoing audio message; and

performing the alternative processing based on the received response, wherein performing the alternative processing based on the received response includes substituting a voicemail telephone number of the called party for a direct dial telephone number of the called party and initiating a telephone call with the voicemail telephone number of the called party.

5. A method comprising:

receiving, at a computer system, an incoming telephone call from a calling party;

receiving, at the computer system, a first audio transmission from the calling party, the first audio transmission including speech audio identifying a called party;

identifying, based on the received first audio transmission, a first entry in a directory, the first entry in the directory including a first identifier;

providing, to the calling party, a first outgoing audio message including an audio representation of the first identifier;

providing, to the calling party, a first silent delay period of a predetermined duration immediately subsequent to a completion of providing said first outgoing audio message;

receiving, during the first silent delay period, a response that specifies alternative processing requested by the calling party, the alternative processing being alternative to agreeing or disagreeing with the first outgoing audio message; and

performing the alternative processing based on the received response, wherein;

the alternative processing specified in the received response includes a request by the calling party to access a voicemail platform of the calling party; and

performing the alternative processing based on the received response includes accessing the voicemail platform of the calling party.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising, in response to receiving the incoming telephone call from the calling party:

pseudo-randomly selecting a prompt from a set of multiple, different prompts; and

providing the selected prompt to the calling party.

7. A method comprising:

receiving, at a computer system, an incoming telephone call from a calling party;

receiving, at the computer system, a first audio transmission from the calling party, the first audio transmission including speech audio identifying a called party;

identifying, based on the received first audio transmission, a first entry in a directory, the first entry in the directory including a first identifier;

providing, to the calling party, a first outgoing audio message including an audio representation of the first identifier;

providing, to the calling party, a first silent delay period of a predetermined duration immediately subsequent to a completion of providing said first outgoing audio message;

receiving, during the first silent delay period, a response that specifies alternative processing requested by the calling party, the alternative processing being alternative to agreeing or disagreeing with the first outgoing audio message; and

performing the alternative processing based on the received response, wherein performing the alternative processing based on the received response includes substituting a voicemail telephone number of the calling party for a direct dial telephone number of the called party and initiating a telephone call with the voicemail telephone number of the calling party.

8. A system comprising:

one or more computers and one or more storage devices storing instructions that are operable, when executed by the one or more computers, to cause the one or more computers to perform operations com rising;

receiving an incoming telephone call from a calling party;

receiving a first audio transmission from the calling party, the first audio transmission including speech audio intended to identify a called party;

identifying, based on the received first audio transmission, a first entry in a directory, the first entry in the directory including a first identifier;

providing, to the calling party, a first outgoing audio message including an audio representation of the first identifier;

providing, to the calling party, a first silent delay period of a predetermined duration immediately subsequent to a completion of providing said first outgoing audio message;

receiving, during the first silent delay period, a response that specifies alternative processing requested by the calling party, the alternative processing being alternative to agreeing or disagreeing with the first outgoing audio message; and

performing the alternative processing based on the received response, wherein the alternative processing includes one of (i) recording a message for the called party or (ii) accessing a voicemail platform of the calling party.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise, in response to receiving the incoming telephone call from the calling party:

pseudo-randomly selecting a prompt from a set of multiple, different prompts; and

providing the selected prompt to the calling party.

10. A system comprising:

one or more computers and one or more storage devices storing instructions that are operable, when executed by the one or more computers, to cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising;

receiving an incoming telephone call from a calling party;

receiving a first audio transmission from the calling party, the first audio transmission including speech audio intended to identify a called party;

identifying, based on the received first audio transmission, a first entry in a directory, the first entry in the directory including a first identifier;

providing, to the calling party, a first outgoing audio message including an audio representation of the first identifier;

providing, to the calling party, a first silent delay period of a predetermined duration immediately subsequent to a completion of providing said first outgoing audio message;

receiving, during the first silent delay period, a response that specifies alternative processing requested by the calling party, the alternative processing being alternative to agreeing or disagreeing with the first outgoing audio message; and

performing the alternative processing based on the received response, wherein;

the alternative processing specified in the received response includes a request by the calling party to record a message for the called party; and

performing the alternative processing based on the received response includes receiving and recording the message from the calling party for the called party.

11. A system comprising:

one or more computers and one or more storage devices storing instructions that are operable, when executed by the one or more computers, to cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising;

receiving an incoming telephone call from a calling party;

receiving a first audio transmission from the calling party, the first audio transmission including speech audio intended to identify a called party;

identifying, based on the received first audio transmission, a first entry in a directory, the first entry in the directory including a first identifier;

providing, to the calling party, a first outgoing audio message including an audio representation of the first identifier;

providing, to the calling party, a first silent delay period of a predetermined duration immediately subsequent to a completion of providing said first outgoing audio message;

receiving, during the first silent delay period, a response that specifies alternative processing requested by the calling party, the alternative processing being alternative to agreeing or disagreeing with the first outgoing audio message; and

performing the alternative processing based on the received response, wherein performing the alternative processing based on the received response includes substituting a voicemail telephone number of the called party for a direct dial telephone number of the called party and initiating a telephone call with the voicemail telephone number of the called party.

12. A system comprising:

one or more computers and one or more storage devices storing instructions that are operable, when executed by the one or more computers, to cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising;

receiving an incoming telephone call from a calling party;

receiving a first audio transmission from the calling party, the first audio transmission including speech audio intended to identify a called party;

identifying, based on the received first audio transmission, a first entry in a directory, the first entry in the directory including a first identifier;

providing, to the calling party, a first outgoing audio message including an audio representation of the first identifier;

providing, to the calling party, a first silent delay period of a predetermined duration immediately subsequent to a completion of providing said first outgoing audio message;

receiving, during the first silent delay period, a response that specifies alternative processing requested by the calling party, the alternative processing being alternative to agreeing or disagreeing with the first outgoing audio message; and

performing the alternative processing based on the received response, wherein;

the alternative processing specified in the received response includes a request by the calling party to access a voicemail platform of the calling party; and

performing the alternative processing based on the received response includes accessing the voicemail platform of the calling party.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the operations further comprise, in response to receiving the incoming telephone call from the calling party:

pseudo-randomly selecting a prompt from a set of multiple, different prompts; and

providing the selected prompt to the calling party.

14. A system comprising:

one or more computers and one or more storage devices storing instructions that are operable, when executed by the one or more computers, to cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising;

receiving an incoming telephone call from a calling party;

receiving a first audio transmission from the calling party, the first audio transmission including speech audio intended to identify a called party;

identifying, based on the received first audio transmission, a first entry in a directory, the first entry in the directory including a first identifier;

providing, to the calling party, a first outgoing audio message including an audio representation of the first identifier;

providing, to the calling party, a first silent delay period of a predetermined duration immediately subsequent to a completion of providing said first outgoing audio message;

receiving, during the first silent delay period, a response that specifies alternative processing requested by the calling party, the alternative processing being alternative to agreeing or disagreeing with the first outgoing audio message; and

performing the alternative processing based on the received response, wherein performing the alternative processing based on the received response includes substituting a voicemail telephone number of the calling party for a direct dial telephone number of the called party and initiating a telephone call with the voicemail telephone number of the calling party.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software comprising instructions executable by one or more computers which, upon such execution, cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:

receiving an incoming telephone call from a calling party;

receiving a first audio transmission from the calling party, the first audio transmission including speech audio intended to identify a called party;

identifying, based on the received first audio transmission, a first entry in a directory, the first entry in the directory including a first identifier;

providing, to the calling party, a first outgoing audio message including an audio representation of the first identifier;

providing, to the calling party, a first silent delay period of a predetermined duration immediately subsequent to a completion of providing said first outgoing audio message;

receiving, during the first silent delay period, a response that specifies alternative processing requested by the calling party, the alternative processing being alternative to agreeing or disagreeing with the first outgoing audio message; and

performing the alternative processing based on the received response, wherein the alternative processing includes one of (i) recording a message for the called party or (ii) accessing a voicemail platform of the calling party.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software comprising instructions executable by one or more computers which, upon such execution, cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:

receiving an incoming telephone call from a calling party;

receiving a first audio transmission from the calling party, the first audio transmission including speech audio intended to identify a called party;

identifying, based on the received first audio transmission, a first entry in a directory, the first entry in the directory including a first identifier;

providing, to the calling party, a first outgoing audio message including an audio representation of the first identifier;

providing, to the calling party, a first silent delay period of a predetermined duration immediately subsequent to a completion of providing said first outgoing audio message;

receiving, during the first silent delay period, a response that specifies alternative processing requested by the calling party, the alternative processing being alternative to agreeing or disagreeing with the first outgoing audio message; and

performing the alternative processing based on the received response, wherein;

the alternative processing specified in the received response includes a request by the calling party to record a message for the called party; and

performing the alternative processing based on the received response includes receiving and recording the message from the calling party for the called party.

17. The medium of claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise, in response to receiving the incoming telephone call from the calling party:

pseudo-randomly selecting a prompt from a set of multiple, different prompts; and

providing the selected prompt to the calling party.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software comprising instructions executable by one or more computers which, upon such execution, cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:

receiving an incoming telephone call from a calling party;

receiving a first audio transmission from the calling party, the first audio transmission including speech audio intended to identify a called party;

identifying, based on the received first audio transmission, a first entry in a directory, the first entry in the directory including a first identifier;

providing, to the calling party, a first outgoing audio message including an audio representation of the first identifier;

providing, to the calling party, a first silent delay period of a predetermined duration immediately subsequent to a completion of providing said first outgoing audio message;

receiving, during the first silent delay period, a response that specifies alternative processing requested by the calling party, the alternative processing being alternative to agreeing or disagreeing with the first outgoing audio message; and

performing the alternative processing based on the received response, wherein performing the alternative processing based on the received response includes substituting a voicemail telephone number of the called party for a direct dial telephone number of the called party and initiating a telephone call with the voicemail telephone number of the called party.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software comprising instructions executable by one or more computers which, upon such execution, cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:

receiving an incoming telephone call from a calling party;

receiving a first audio transmission from the calling party, the first audio transmission including speech audio intended to identify a called party;

identifying, based on the received first audio transmission, a first entry in a directory, the first entry in the directory including a first identifier;

providing, to the calling party, a first outgoing audio message including an audio representation of the first identifier;

providing, to the calling party, a first silent delay period of a predetermined duration immediately subsequent to a completion of providing said first outgoing audio message;

receiving, during the first silent delay period, a response that specifies alternative processing requested by the calling party, the alternative processing being alternative to agreeing or disagreeing with the first outgoing audio message; and

performing the alternative processing based on the received response, wherein;

the alternative processing specified in the received response includes a request by the calling party to access a voicemail platform of the calling party; and

performing the alternative processing based on the received response includes accessing the voicemail platform of the calling party.

20. The medium of claim 19, wherein the operations further comprise, in response to receiving the incoming telephone call from the calling party:

pseudo-randomly selecting a prompt from a set of multiple, different prompts; and

providing the selected prompt to the calling party.

21. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software comprising instructions executable by one or more computers which, upon such execution, cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:

receiving an incoming telephone call from a calling party;

receiving a first audio transmission from the calling party, the first audio transmission including speech audio intended to identify a called party;

identifying, based on the received first audio transmission, a first entry in a directory, the first entry in the directory including a first identifier;

providing, to the calling party, a first outgoing audio message including an audio representation of the first identifier;

providing, to the calling party, a first silent delay period of a predetermined duration immediately subsequent to a completion of providing said first outgoing audio message;

receiving, during the first silent delay period, a response that specifies alternative processing requested by the calling party, the alternative processing being alternative to agreeing or disagreeing with the first outgoing audio message; and

performing the alternative processing based on the received response, wherein performing the alternative processing based on the received response includes substituting a voicemail telephone number of the calling party for a direct dial telephone number of the called party and initiating a telephone call with the voicemail telephone number of the calling party.