Voice response system with live agent assisted information selection and machine playback

• US 8,537,979 B1
• Filed: 08/23/2011
• Issued: 09/17/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/06/2004
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Alorica Incorporated
• Original Assignee: West Interactive Corporation (West Corporation)
• Inventors: Pollock, Steven Samuel
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Hemant
• Application Number:
  US13/215,357
• Time in Patent Office: 756 Days
• Field of Search: 370259-271, 370351-356, 379 671- 8828, 379 9201- 9303, 379/93.12, 379/93.13, 37910201-10203, 37920101-20105, 37926501-2661, 4554121-4262, 4554561-466, 4555501-560, 4555751-5759, 455 901- 903, 704270-278, 709201-207, 709217-248
• US Class Current: 379/88.04
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5166 in combination with interactive voice response systems or voice portals, e.g. as front-ends

Abstract

In accordance with one embodiment, a method for operating a telephonic voice content system is provided. The method, comprises in a non-live agent mode, interacting with a caller by receiving an utterance from the caller, performing a machine selection of voice content to play to the caller based on the utterance, and playing the machine-selected voice content to the caller; and upon receiving a request to speak to a live agent from the caller, switching to a live agent mode wherein a live agent holds a conversation with the caller, and selects voice content to play to the caller based on the conversation; and switching to the non-live agent mode and playing the live agent-selected voice content to the caller.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

upon receiving a telephone call from a caller, switching to interacting with the caller in a non-live agent mode;

processing the call in the non-live agent mode;

receiving an utterance from the caller;

performing a machine selection of voice content to play to the caller based on the utterance by performing a linguistic analysis of the utterance by the caller to determine an appropriate topic among a plurality of relevant subject topics within a text knowledge base to play to the caller;

creating a navigation topic question comprising a plurality of different subject topics related to the appropriate topic and forwarding the navigation topic question to the caller;

receiving a subject topic selection among the plurality of different subject topics and identifying the machine-selected voice content to play to the caller based on the subject topic selection;

playing the identified machine-selected voice content to the caller based on the determined appropriate topic in the text knowledge base;

while in the non-live agent mode, upon receiving a request to speak to a live agent from the caller, switching to a live agent mode wherein a live agent holds a conversation with the caller, wherein said switching to a live agent mode comprises selecting the live agent based on expertise of the live agent to answer questions by the caller; and

selectively switching to the non-live agent mode and playing the live agent-selected voice content to the caller.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein switching to the live agent mode comprises sending details of utterances by the caller and system responses to the utterances during the non-live agent mode to the live agent.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the live agent comprises analyzing utterances of the caller during the non-live agent mode to determine the expertise of the live agent.

4. A method, comprising:

upon receiving a telephone call from a caller, switching to interacting with the caller in a non-live agent mode;

processing the call in the non-live agent mode

receiving at least one utterance from the caller;

performing a machine selection operation wherein the utterance is analyzed and correlated to a topic within a text knowledge base by performing a linguistic analysis of the utterance by the caller in order to a determine an appropriate topic among a plurality of relevant subject topics within the text knowledge base to play to the caller;

creating a navigation topic question comprising a plurality of different subject topics related to the appropriate topic and forwarding the navigation topic question to the caller;

receiving a subject topic selection among the plurality of different subject topics and identifying the machine-selected voice content to play to the caller based on the subject topic selection;

playing the identified machine-selected voice content relating to the topic to the caller based on the determined appropriate topic in the text knowledge base;

while in the non-live agent mode, receiving a request to speak to a live agent from the caller

switching to a live-agent mode comprising analyzing utterances of the caller to determine what expertise is needed by a live agent in order to answer questions by the caller;

selecting a live agent with the expertise;

transferring the caller to the selected live agent who then holds a conversation with the caller and determines what information the caller requires, wherein the agent selects a topic from the text knowledge base corresponding to the information if the topic exists; and

selectively switching back to the non-live agent mode and playing the selected topic to the caller.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein if no topic exists in the knowledge base corresponding to the required information then the live agent provides the information to the caller.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising composing a log entry of the required information for which no topic exists in the knowledge base.

7. The method of claim 4, further comprising sending details of the utterances of the caller and responses thereto by the voice response system to the live agent.

8. A system, comprising:

a database that includes a text knowledge base organized into topics;

a telephony interface to receive a telephone call;

a non-live agent processor to handle the telephone call wherein a voice content selection mechanism selects a topic based on a correlation of an utterance received from the caller to a topic in the text knowledge base the correlation including a linguistic analysis of the utterance by the caller to determine an appropriate topic among a plurality of relevant subject topics within the text knowledge base to play to the caller, and create a navigation topic question comprising a plurality of different subject topics related to the appropriate topic and forward the navigation topic question to the caller, and receive a subject topic selection among the plurality of different subject topics and identify the machine-selected voice content to play to the caller based on the subject topic selection;

a voice content player that plays the identified machine-selected voice content related to the topic to the caller; and

a call transfer mechanism to transfer the telephone call to a live agent, selected to have expertise to answer questions by the caller based on analysis of utterances by the caller to determine said expertise, if requested by the caller for a selection of a topic from the knowledge base based on a request for information by the caller;

wherein the live agent provides the information if there is not topic in the knowledge base to match the information; and

to selectively switch the system back to the non-live agent mode for initiate playback of the live agent selected voice content by the voice content player.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the call transfer mechanism transfers the telephone call to the live agent in response to a request from the caller.

10. The system of claim 8, further comprising a logging mechanism wherein the live agent can log information requested by the caller for which no topic exists in the knowledge base.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the call transfer mechanism sends call details comprising utterances made by the caller and system responses thereto prior to the transfer.

12. The system of claim 8, further comprising a display unit to display the call details.