Methods and systems for customizing interactive voice response calls

• US 9,591,136 B1
• Filed: 03/25/2015
• Issued: 03/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: United Services Automobile Association
• Original Assignee: United Services Automobile Association
• Inventors: Rubio, Janeen, McDonald, Roy David, Garcia, Patricio H., Segovia, Amanda Jean, Castillo, Hector J., Korom, Robert Craig
• Primary Examiner(s): Huynh, Van D
• Application Number:
  US14/668,357
• Time in Patent Office: 713 Days
• Field of Search: 379/88.01, 379/88.22, 379/266.06
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/105 Financial transactions and auctions, e.g. bidding
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/408 Customer-specific call routing plans
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/551 Call history
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/6081 Service authorization mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42068 where the identifier is used to access a profile
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42161 via computer interface
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4936 Speech interaction details speech recognition per se G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5166 in combination with interactive voice response systems or voice portals, e.g. as front-ends
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5191 interacting with the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/523 with call distribution or queueing

Abstract

Methods and systems described in this disclosure allow customers to personalize their phone experience when calling into an organization. In some embodiments, customers who may benefit from this service are identified based on the content of the customer'"'"'s previous or current phone calls to the organization. The identified customers may be invited to enroll and to provide preferences for a customized Interactive Voice Response experience. In some embodiments, the customer can elect to hear the balances of one or more of his accounts without going through a phone menu or asking a representative to look up the relevant amounts. Once enrolled, when the customer dials into the organization and upon successful authentication, the organization proactively states the customer'"'"'s account balances with no further customer request.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

interacting, via a web portal or mobile application over one or more communications networks, with a user during one or more interactions, wherein the one or more interactions results in one or more events;

logging the one or more events in an event log associated with the user;

receiving a call from the user; and

checking, by an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system, the event log to determine a routing for the call based on the one or more events, wherein determining the routing comprises;

identifying events of the one or more events that indicates a subject matter of the call, wherein when at least one of the one or more events indicates a subject matter of the call;

determining a confidence level that the call relates to the at least one of the one or more events, wherein determining the confidence level is based on a proximity in time of the at least one of the one or more events to the call,

requesting the user to confirm that the user is calling about the at least one of the one or more events when the confidence level meets or exceeds a threshold, and

generating a hint designed to prompt the user to state that the call relates to the at least one of the one or more events when the confidence level is below the threshold.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein

requesting the user to confirm that the user is calling about the at least one of the one or more events comprises requesting a yes answer or a no answer from the user,

when the yes answer is received, the method further comprises routing the call to a representative who specializes in a subject matter relating to the at least one of the one or more events, and

when the no answer is received, the method further comprises requesting the user to state a subject matter relating to the call.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the hint designed to prompt the user to state that the call relates to the at least one of the one or more events comprises requesting the user to state a subject matter area relating to the call and presenting an example that includes a subject matter area of the at least one of the one or more events.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the events comprises identifying events that occurred within a time period of the call.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the events is based on information in the event log describing an activity that is scheduled to occur or occurred on a date or within a time period that the call is received.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the routing for the call based on the one or more events further comprises:

requesting the user to state a subject matter area relating to the call when none of the one or more events indicate the subject matter of the call.