Voice commerce

• US 9,626,703 B2
• Filed: 09/15/2015
• Issued: 04/18/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: VB Assets, LLC
• Original Assignee: VoiceBox Technologies Corporation (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Kennewick, SR., Michael R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Airapetian, Mila
• Application Number:
  US14/855,334
• Publication Number:
  US 20160078504A1
• Time in Patent Office: 581 Days
• Field of Search: 707713, 704 10, 379 8801, 379 881, 705 261
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0625 Directed, with specific intent or strategy
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0635 Processing of requisition or of purchase orders
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/18 using natural language modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/1815 Semantic context, e.g. disambiguation of the recognition hypotheses based on word meaning
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/223 Execution procedure of a spoken command

Abstract

In certain implementations, a system for facilitating voice commerce is provided. A user input comprising a natural language utterance related to a product or service to be purchased may be received. A first product or service that is to be purchased may be determined based on the utterance. First payment information that is to be used to purchase the first product or service may be obtained. First shipping information that is to be used to deliver the first product or service may be obtained. A purchase transaction for the first product or service may completed based on the first payment information and the first shipping information without further user input, after the receipt of utterance, that identifies a product or service type or a product or service, seller information, payment information, shipping information, or other information related to purchasing the first product or service.

Claims

1. A method for providing voice commerce, the method being implemented on a computer system having one or more physical processors programmed with computer program instructions which, when executed, perform the method, the method comprising:

receiving, by the computer system, a user input comprising a natural language utterance;

providing, by the computer system, the natural language utterance as an input to a speech recognition engine;

obtaining, by the computer system, one or more words or phrases recognized from the natural language utterance as an output of the speech recognition engine;

determining, by the computer system, a context based at least on the one or more words or phrases;

identifying, by the computer system, without further user input after the receipt of the user input, a product or service to be purchased on behalf of a user based at least on the determined context;

obtaining, by the computer system, payment information with which to pay for the product or service;

obtaining, by the computer system, without further user input after the receipt of the user input, shipping information with which to deliver the product or service, wherein the shipping information specifies a name or address of a recipient to which the product or service is to be delivered after the product or service is purchased; and

completing, by the computer system, without further user input after the receipt of the user input, a purchase transaction for the product or service based on the payment information and shipping information.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

selecting, by the computer system, a seller from which the product or service is to be purchased; and

obtaining, by the computer system, seller information associated with the seller, wherein completing the purchase transaction comprises completing, without further user input after the receipt of the user input, the purchase transaction based on the seller information, the payment information, and the shipping information.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the seller information comprises a price at which the seller will sell the product or service, and wherein completing the purchase transaction comprises completing, without further user input after the receipt of the user input, the purchase transaction based on the price, the payment information, and the shipping information.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein selecting the seller comprises selecting the seller based on the price at which the seller will sell the product or service.

5. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

obtaining, by the computer system, user profile information associated with the user, wherein the user profile information indicates a predetermined set of sellers specified by the user,

wherein selecting the seller comprises selecting the seller from the predetermined set of user-specified sellers indicated by the user profile information.

6. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

obtaining, by the computer system, a predetermined set of sellers specified by an administrator of the system that is different than the user,

wherein selecting the seller comprises selecting the seller from the predetermined set of administrator-specified sellers.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

obtaining, by the computer system, user profile information associated with the user, wherein the user profile information comprises at least one of default payment information that is to be used to pay for products or services on behalf of the user or default shipping information that is to be used to delivery products or services on behalf of the user,

wherein at least one of;

(i) obtaining the payment information comprises selecting the default payment information to pay for the product or service;

or (ii) obtaining the shipping information comprises selecting the default shipping information to deliver the product or service, and

wherein completing the purchase transaction comprises completing, without further user input after the receipt of the user input, the purchase transaction based on at least one of the default payment information or the default shipping information.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, at the computer system, a previous user input prior to the receipt of the user input, wherein the previous user input is related to the product or service; and

storing, by the computer system, context information associated with the user based on information related to the previous user input,

wherein determining the product or service as at least one product or service to be purchased on behalf of the user comprises determining, without further user input after the receipt of the user input, the product or service based on the natural language utterance and the context information related to the previous user input.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

performing, by the computer system, speech recognition on the previous user input to recognize one or more words associated with the previous user input; and

identifying, by the computer system, the product or service as at least one product or service related to the previous user input based on the one or more recognized words,

wherein storing the context information comprises storing product information identifying the product or service based on the identification of the product or service as related to the previous user input such that the context information comprises the product information, and

wherein determining the product or service as at least one product or service to be purchased on behalf of the user comprises determining, without further user input after the receipt of the user input, the product or service based on the natural language utterance and the product information.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more words or phrases identify at least one of the product or service or a product or service type.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more words or phrases by themselves do not indicate the product or service or a product or service type.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

receiving, at the computer system, a previous user input prior to the receipt of the user input, wherein the previous user input is related to the product or service,

wherein determining the product or service as at least one product or service to be purchased on behalf of the user comprises determining, based on the previous user input, without further user input after the receipt of the user input, the product or service as at least one product or service to be purchased on behalf of the user.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

obtaining, by the computer system, user profile information associated with the user, wherein the user profile information indicates one or more pre-approved categories of products or services;

determining whether the product or service is associated with at least one of the one or more pre-approved categories;

wherein completing the purchase transaction comprises completing, without further user input after the receipt of the user input, the purchase transaction based on the payment information, the shipping information, and a determination that the product or service is associated with at least one of the one or more pre-approved categories.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

obtaining, by the computer system, user profile information associated with the user, wherein the user profile information indicates a pre-approved cost threshold;

determining whether a cost related to purchasing the product or service satisfies the pre-approved cost threshold;

wherein completing the purchase transaction comprises completing, without further user input after the receipt of the user input, the purchase transaction based on the payment information, the shipping information, and a determination that the cost related to purchasing product or service satisfies the pre-approved cost threshold.

31. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:

identifying, by the computer system, a recipient of the product or service based on the one or more words or phrases, and wherein obtaining the shipping information comprises;

obtaining, by the computer system, an address of the recipient.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein identifying the recipient comprises:

associating, by the computer system, at least one word, other than a name of the recipient, from among the one or more words or phrases, that identifies the recipient.

33. The method of claim 31, wherein obtaining the address of the recipient comprises:

accessing, by the computer system, an address book of the user, wherein the address book comprises an identification of the recipient and the address.

15. A system for providing voice commerce, the system comprising:

one or more physical processors programmed with computer program instructions which, when executed, cause the one or more physical processors to;

receive a user input comprising a natural language utterance;

provide the natural language utterance as an input to a speech recognition engine;

obtain one or more words or phrases recognized from the natural language utterance as an output of the speech recognition engine;

determine a context based at least on the one or more words or phrases;

identify, without further user input after the receipt of the user input, a product or service to be purchased on behalf of a user based at least on the determined context;

obtain payment information with which to pay for the product or service;

obtain, without further user input after the receipt of the user input, shipping information with which to deliver the product or service, wherein the shipping information specifies a name or address of a recipient to which the product or service is to be delivered after the product or service is purchased; and

complete, without further user input after the receipt of the user input, a purchase transaction for the product or service based on the payment information and shipping information.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the one or more physical processors are further caused to:

select a seller from which the product or service is to be purchased; and

obtain seller information associated with the seller,

wherein to complete the purchase transaction, the one or more physical processors are further caused to;

complete, without further user input after the receipt of the user input, the purchase transaction based on the seller information, the payment information, and the shipping information.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the seller information comprises a price at which the seller will sell the product or service, and wherein to complete the purchase transaction, the one or more physical processors are further caused to:

complete, without further user input after the receipt of the user input, the purchase transaction based on the price, the payment information, and the shipping information.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein selecting the seller comprises selecting the seller based on the price at which the seller will sell the product or service.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein the one or more physical processors are further caused to:

obtain user profile information associated with the user, wherein the user profile information indicates a predetermined set of sellers specified by the user,

wherein to select the seller, the one or more physical processors are further caused to;

select the seller from the predetermined set of user-specified sellers indicated by the user profile information.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein the one or more physical processors are further caused to:

obtain a predetermined set of sellers specified by an administrator of the system that is different than the user,

wherein to select the seller, the one or more physical processors are further caused to;

select the seller from the predetermined set of administrator-specified sellers.

21. The system of claim 15, wherein the one or more physical processors are further caused to:

receive a previous user input prior to the receipt of the user input, wherein the previous user input is related to the product or service; and

store context information associated with the user based on information related to the previous user input,

wherein to identify the product or service as at least one product or service to be purchased on behalf of the user, the one or more physical processors are further caused to;

determine, without further user input after the receipt of the user input, the product or service based on the natural language utterance and the context information related to the previous user input.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the one or more physical processors are further caused to:

perform speech recognition on the previous user input to recognize one or more words associated with the previous user input; and

identify the product or service as at least one product or service related to the previous user input based on the one or more recognized words,

wherein to store the context information, the one or more physical processors are further caused to;

store product information identifying the product or service based on the identification of the product or service as related to the previous user input such that the context information comprises the product information, and wherein to determine the product or service as at least one product or service to be purchased on behalf of the user, the one or more physical processors are further caused to;

determine, without further user input after the receipt of the user input, the product or service based on the natural language utterance and the product information.

23. The system of claim 15, wherein the one or more words or phrases by themselves do not indicate the product or service or a product or service type.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the one or more physical processors are further caused to:

receive a previous user input prior to the receipt of the user input, wherein the previous user input is related to the product or service,

wherein to identify the product or service as at least one product or service to be purchased on behalf of the user, the one or more physical processors are further caused to;

determine, based on the previous user input, without further user input after the receipt of the user input, the product or service as at least one product or service to be purchased on behalf of the user.

25. A system for providing voice commerce, the system comprising:

one or more physical processors programmed with computer program instructions which, when executed, cause the one or more physical processors to;

receive a user input comprising a natural language utterance;

provide, without further user input after the receipt of the user input, the natural language utterance as an input to a speech recognition engine;

obtain, without further user input after the receipt of the user input, one or more words or phrases recognized from the natural language utterance as an output of the speech recognition engine;

determine, without further user input after the receipt of the user input, a context based at least on the one or more words or phrases;

identify, without further user input after the receipt of the user input, the product or service to be purchased on behalf of the user based at least on the determined context;

obtain payment information with which to pay for the product or service;

obtain, without further user input after the receipt of the user input, shipping information with which to deliver the product or service, wherein the shipping information specifies a name or address of a recipient to which the product or service is to be delivered after the product or service is purchased; and

provide, without further user input after the receipt of the user input, a request for user confirmation to use the payment information and the shipping information for a purchase transaction for the product or service.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the one or more physical processors are further caused to:

determine whether the user has confirmed use of the payment information and the shipping information for the purchase transaction; and

complete, without further user input after the receipt of the user input other than a user confirmation with respect to the confirmation request, the purchase transaction based on the payment information, the shipping information, and a determination that the user has confirmed use of the payment information and the shipping information.

27. The system of claim 25, wherein the one or more physical processors are further caused to:

select a seller from which the product or service is to be purchased; and

obtain seller information associated with the seller,

wherein to provide the confirmation request, the one or more physical processors are further caused to;

provide, without further user input after the receipt of the user input, a request for user confirmation to purchase the product or service from the seller and to use the payment information and the shipping information for the purchase transaction.

28. The system of claim 25, wherein the one or more physical processors are further caused to:

receive a previous user input prior to the receipt of the user input, wherein the previous user input is related to the product or service; and

store context information associated with the user based on information related to the previous user input,

wherein to identify the product or service as at least one product or service to be purchased on behalf of the user, the one or more physical processors are further caused to;

identify, without further user input after the receipt of the user input, the product or service based on the natural language utterance and the context information related to the previous user input.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein the one or more physical processors are further caused to:

perform speech recognition on the previous user input to recognize one or more words associated with the previous user input; and

identify the product or service as at least one product or service related to the previous user input based on the one or more recognized words,

wherein to store the context information, the one or more physical processors are further caused to;

store product information identifying the product or service based on the identification of the product or service as related to the previous user input such that the context information comprises the product information, and

wherein to identify the product or service as at least one product or service to be purchased on behalf of the user, the one or more physical processors are further caused to;

determine, without further user input after the receipt of the user input, the product or service based on the natural language utterance and the product information.

30. A system for providing voice commerce, the system comprising:

one or more physical processors programmed with computer program instructions which, when executed, cause the one or more physical processors to;

receive a user input comprising a natural language utterance;

provide, without further user input after the receipt of the user input, the natural language utterance as an input to a speech recognition engine;

obtain, without further user input after the receipt of the user input, one or more words or phrases recognized from the natural language utterance as an output of the speech recognition engine;

identify, without further user input after the receipt of the user input, a context based at least on the one or more words or phrases;

determine, without further user input identifying a product or service after the receipt of the user input, a first product or service to be purchased on behalf of a user based at least on the determined context;

obtain, without further user input identifying payment information after the receipt of the user input, first payment information with which to pay for the product or service;

obtain, without further user input identifying shipping information after the receipt of the user input, first shipping information with which to deliver the product or service, wherein the first shipping information specifies a name or address of a recipient to which the product or service is to be delivered after the product or service is purchased; and

complete, without further user input identifying a product or service, payment information, or shipping information after the receipt of the user input, a purchase transaction for the first product or service based on the first payment information and the first shipping information.