System and method for funneling user responses in an internet voice portal system to determine a desired item or servicebackground of the invention

• US 8,874,446 B2
• Filed: 03/05/2012
• Issued: 10/28/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mercury Kingdom Assets Limited
• Original Assignee: Mercury Kingdom Assets Limited
• Inventors: Carriere, Steven Jeromy, Slough, Kelly James, Woods, Steven Gregory
• Primary Examiner(s): Shaawat, Mussa A
• Application Number:
  US13/412,365
• Publication Number:
  US 20120166202A1
• Time in Patent Office: 967 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 704/270.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/954 Navigation, e.g. using categorised browsing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/40 using speech recognition

Abstract

A method of funneling user responses in a voice portal system to determine a desired item or service includes (a) querying a user for an attribute value associated with a first particular attribute of the desired item or service; and (b) determining if the attribute value given by the user satisfies an end state. If the end state is not satisfied, steps (a) and (b) are performed with a new particular attribute.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of funneling user responses in a voice portal system to determine a desired item or service, the voice portal system implemented by one or more computing devices, the method comprising:

receiving, by at least one of one or more computing devices, a selection of a vertical domain related to the desired item or service of interest to a user;

querying, by at least one of the one or more computing devices, the user for a first attribute value associated with a first particular attribute of the desired item or service, the querying comprising;

prompting, by at least one of the one or more computing devices, the user to supply the first attribute value associated with the first particular attribute;

establishing, by at least one of the one or more computing devices, an attribute vocabulary set related to the first particular attribute of the desired item or service; and

identifying, by at least one of the one or more computing devices, the first attribute value given by the user by comparing the first attribute value with the attribute vocabulary set;

setting vertical preferences for the vertical domain based at least in part on the first attribute value;

determining, by at least one of the one or more computing devices, if the first attribute value given by the user satisfies an end state, the end state comprising a point at which the desired item or service is found; and

responsive to determining that said end state is not satisfied;

querying, by at least one of the one or more computing devices, the user for a second attribute value associated with a second particular attribute of the desired item or service; and

determining, by at least one of the one or more computing devices, if the second attribute value given by the user satisfies the end state.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

assigning, by at least one of the one or more computing devices, a user preference to the first attribute value.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein establishing the attribute vocabulary set comprises:

providing, by at least one of the one or more computing devices, a group of possible verbal responses to a query on the first particular attribute.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the first attribute value given by the user comprises providing, by at least one of the one or more computing devices, fallback queries to query the user further for another attribute value which is in the attribute vocabulary set.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein providing fallback queries comprises prompting, by at least one of the one or more computing devices, the user for at least one substitute attribute for the first particular attribute of the desired item or service.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the first attribute value comprises setting, by at least one of the one or more computing devices, a preference for the first particular attribute.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the first attribute value comprises setting, by at least one of the one or more computing devices, a global preference for the first particular attribute, the global preference being applied to attributes in a plurality of domains of interest.

8. A system for funneling voice portal user responses to determine a desired item or service, the system comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more computer storage media storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations of a user interface and a database coupled to the user interface, the user interface coordinating communications with a user, the database storing information regarding attributes, attribute vocabulary sets, and Internet-based information;

wherein the user interface;

prompts the user to supply a first attribute value associated with a first particular attribute;

establishes an attribute vocabulary set related to the first particular attribute of the desired item or service; and

identifies the first attribute value given by the user by comparing the first attribute value with the attribute vocabulary set; and

determines if the first attribute value given by the user satisfies an end state, the end state comprising a point at which the desired item or service is found,

wherein responsive to determining that said end state is not satisfied, the user interface;

queries the user for a second attribute value associated with a further particular attribute of the desired item or service;

determines if the second attribute value given by the user satisfies the end state; and

wherein responsive to determining that said end state is satisfied, the user interface;

selects an advertisement to be presented to the user based on the item or service; and

completes a transaction related to the item or service by storing the transaction history for analysis by a customer management service to generate a report on different demographic segments.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the user interface assigns a user preference to the first attribute value.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the database stores preferences of the user.

11. The system of claim 8,

wherein the user interface receives voice input;

and

recognizes the voice input from the user.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the customer management subsystem records user responses to queries from the user interface.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the user interface receive voice input from the user.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the user interface queries the user for a vertical domain of interest before querying the user for the first attribute value.

15. A voice portal configured to funnel user responses to determine a desired item or service, the voice portal comprising:

one or more processors programmed for;

querying a user for a vertical domain related to the desired item or service;

querying the user for a first attribute value associated with a first particular attribute of the desired item or service;

determining if the first attribute value given by the user satisfies an end state, the end state comprising a point at which the desired item or service is found; and

responsive to determining that said end state is not satisfied;

querying the user for a second attribute value associated with a second particular attribute of the desired item or service, the querying including;

prompting the user to supply the first attribute value associated with the first particular attribute;

establishing an attribute vocabulary set related to the first particular attribute of the desired item or service; and

identifying the first attribute value given by the user by comparing the first attribute value with the attribute vocabulary set;

determining if the second attribute value given by the user satisfies the end state; and

wherein responsive to determining that the end state is satisfied, the end state is satisfied, selecting an advertisement to play based on the desired item or service.

16. The voice portal of claim 15, at least one of the one or more processors programmed for assigning a user preference to the first attribute value.

17. The voice portal of claim 15, at least one of the one or more processors programmed to set a user preference.

18. The voice portal of claim 15, at least one of the one or more processors programmed to record user responses.

19. The voice portal of claim 15, further comprising providing fallback queries to ask more questions regarding the first particular attribute.

20. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium having embodied thereon computer-readable program code for identifying user inputs to a voice portal system, the program code in the computer program product comprising:

computer readable program code for performing;

querying a user for an first attribute value associated with a first particular attribute of a desired item or service, the querying including;

prompting the user to supply the first attribute value associated with the first particular attribute;

establishing an attribute vocabulary set related to the first particular attribute of the desired item or service; and

identifying the first attribute value given by the user by comparing the first attribute value with the attribute vocabulary set;

determining if the first attribute value given by the user satisfies an end state, the end state comprising a point at which the item or service is found; and

responsive to a determination that said end state is not satisfied;

building an attribute vocabulary set based in part on the first attribute value;

querying the user for a second attribute value associated with a second particular attribute of the desired item or service;

determining if the second attribute value given by the user satisfies the end state; and

wherein when the end state is satisfied, selecting an advertisement to play based on the desired item or service.

21. The computer program product of claim 20, further comprising computer program code that assigns a user preference to the first attribute value.

22. The computer program product of claim 20, wherein the program code for querying the user for the first attribute value associated with a first particular attribute of the desired item or service comprises program code to:

receive voice input from the user; and

recognize the voice input from the user, the recognized voice input being an identified first attribute value, wherein the first attribute value is identified by comparing the first attribute value given by the user with the vocabulary set.

23. The computer program product of claim 22, wherein program code that builds the attribute vocabulary set comprises computer-readable program code that creates a list of words based on the first attribute value.

24. The computer program product of claim 20, further comprising computer readable program code that defines a user preference based on user responses.