Method and system for an automated departure strategy

• US 20040161094A1
• Filed: 02/12/2004
• Published: 08/19/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SBC Properties, L.P.
• Original Assignee: SBC Properties, L.P.
• Inventors: Chang, Hisao M., Martin, John M.
• Granted Patent: US 7,062,018 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/218.01
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/225 Feedback of the input speech
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4931 Directory assistance systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4933 with operator assistance

Abstract

A method and system for an automated departure strategy from an automated system includes a track engine and an error engine. The track engine allows for the tracking and storing of one or more utterances spoken by a caller in response to one or more prompts. In addition, the track engine classifies each of the utterances with a confidence level. The error engine determines when one of the utterances initiates an error condition and transfers the caller to an operator on the occurrence of the error condition. In addition to transferring the caller to the operator, the error engine plays to the operator an error utterance, causing the error condition, and a preceding utterance, preceding the error utterance. Furthermore, the error engine populates an operator screen with information provided by the caller in the utterances for utterances classified with a high level of confidence.

Claims

1. A method for providing automated directory assistance, comprising:

initiating a multi-stage directory assistance dialog with a user;

prompting the user for a directory assistance utterance in accordance with a current stage of the multi-stage dialog;

recording a user utterance in response to the prompt;

gathering one or more directory assistance search parameters from the user utterance;

determining whether a user directory assistance query may be completed based on gathered directory assistance search parameters;

repeating the prompting operation until either the user directory assistance query may be completed or a determination that a user utterance satisfies an error condition; and

displaying gathered directory assistance search parameters on an operator terminal and forwarding one or more recorded user utterances to an operator for playback in response to a failure to obtain the directory assistance search parameters needed to complete the user directory assistance query.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

playing for an operator a user utterance satisfying the error condition; and

playing for the operator a preceding utterance, the user utterance being received prior to the error utterance.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining when a user utterance satisfies an error condition based on whether the user utterance is discernable utilizing speech recognition.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising classifying received user utterances according to a confidence level including high confidence and one or more lesser confidences.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising populating the operator terminal with the directory assistance parameters gathered from the user utterances and classified with a high confidence level.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising highlighting one or more fields of the operator terminal populated with information provided by the caller in the utterances.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising combining two user utterances into one utterance for playback to the operator.

8. Software for providing directory assistance, the software embodied in computer readable media and when executed operable to:

extract for use in a computer-assisted database search one or more directory assistance search parameters from a plurality of user utterances; and

forward for review by an operator the extracted directory assistance search parameters and one or more recorded user utterances in response to a failure to resolve a user directory assistance query.

9. The software of claim 8, further operable to:

determine when one of the user utterances initiates an error condition; and

transfer the caller to an operator upon occurrence of the error condition.

10. The software of claim 9, further operable to:

play for the operator the user utterance initiating the error condition; and

play for the operator a preceding user utterance, the preceding user utterance being the last good user utterance received before the error user utterance.

11. The software of claim 8, further operable to populate an operator computer screen with information extracted from one or more user utterances and classified with a high confidence level.

12. The software of claim 11, further operable to highlight one or more fields in the operator computer screen requiring additional information from the user.

13. The software of claim 8, further operable to ascertain whether results from a completed directory assistance query would be more efficiently communicated to the user via the operator or via an automated service.

14. The software of claim 8, further operable to redirect the user to an operator for communication of the directory assistance query results when the results exceed a predefined query results maximum.

15. An automated directory assistance system, comprising:

an input/output port operable to communicate with a communication network;

a processor operably coupled to the input/output port;

a memory operably coupled to the processor; and

a program of instructions storable in the memory and executable by the processor, the program of instructions operable to populate a computer terminal with directory assistance search parameters extracted from one or more user utterances and forward one or more recorded user utterances to an operator for playback in response to detection of an error condition preventing completion of a user directory assistance query.

16. The system of claim 15, further comprising the program of instructions operable to determine when a user utterance satisfies an error condition, transfer the user to an operator upon occurrence of the error condition, and play to the operator the error utterance and a preceding utterance.

17. The system of claim 15, further comprising the program of instructions operable to populate the computer terminal with information extracted from the one or more user utterances and classified with a high confidence level.

18. The system of claim 15, further comprising the program of instructions operable to redirect the user to an operator when a completed directory assistance query yields a number of results in excess of a predetermined maximum.

19. The system of claim 15, further comprising the program of instructions operable to redirect the user to an operator when a completed directory assistance query yields no results.

20. The system of claim 15, further comprising the program of instructions operable to conduct a disambiguation dialog with the user when a completed directory assistance query yields a plurality of similar results.