System and method for content-sensitive automatic reply message generation for text-based asynchronous communications

• US 6,718,368 B1
• Filed: 06/03/1999
• Issued: 04/06/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: General Interactive Incorporated
• Original Assignee: General Interactive Incorporated
• Inventors: Ayyadurai, V. A. Shiva
• Primary Examiner(s): Coulter, Kenneth R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Hai V.
• Application Number:
  US09/325,111
• Time in Patent Office: 1,769 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/207, 709/204, 345/733, 370/260, 379/93.01, 707/1, 707/6, 706/12, 706/45, 706/47, 704/1, 715/500.1, 715/531
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99936 Pattern matching access

Abstract

A process and system is disclosed for automatically and adaptively retrieving information from a database and transmitting reply messages based on the content of a received message, such as an e-mail, CGI form, or facsimile document. In one step of the process, an enhanced e-mail editor user interface is employed to display the original message, the system'"'"'s adaptive analysis results, and the automatically generated reply message so that a user may review the reply, modify the analysis results, and modify the reply message. The process then learns the changes indicated, and updates the adaptive analysis steps which analyze the received messages. In so doing, future reply messages are increasingly more accurate and correct. After the is adaptive algorithms have been sufficiently trained through the user intervention and correction step, the process and system disclosed is capable of fully autonomous reply generation and transmission.

Claims

1. A system for automatic generation and reply to messages in an asynchronous communications system, comprising:

a message reception means for inputting a first electronic text message into the system;

a message natural language filtering and modeling means receiving tile text message from the message reception means, said filtering and modeling means generating a plurality of assigned message characteristics according to natural language analysis of a body portion of the text message, said assigned characteristics indicating factors, including one or more of customer attitude, customer profile, customer education level, and issues presented, upon which a reply will depend, said natural language analysis comprising performing feature extraction to produce a plurality of output signals relating to one or more of keyword frequencies, word co-occurrence statistics, a dimensionally-reduced representation of the keyword frequencies, phoneme frequencies, and structural pattern statistics for any of sentences, paragraphs, and pages; and

a message reply composition means receiving said assigned message characteristics, and having an interface for communicating to a reply phrase library database using database queries, and having a proposed text-based reply electronic message output, said message reply composition means performing the following steps to create a grammatically complete, comprehensible and relevant reply electronic message output;

retrieving at least one phrase from said phrase library database for each assigned message characteristic received from said filtering and modeling means;

combining said retrieved phrases into a grammatically complete, comprehensible and relevant reply electronic text message; and

outputting the reply electronic text message.

2. The system for automatic generation and reply to messages in an asynchronous communications system of claim 1, further comprising a user interface means which receives said first and second electronic text messages, said tags, and presents them via a computer display.

3. The system for automatic generation and reply to messages in an asynchronous communications system of claim 2, wherein said user interface means further comprises a user input means for allowing a user to change the text within said second electronic text message.

4. The system for automatic generation and reply to messages in an asynchronous communications system of claim 2, wherein said user interface means further comprises a user input means for allowing a user to change the tag values.

5. The system for automatic generation and reply to messages in an asynchronous communications system of claim 4, further conspiring a learning processing means for receiving said user changes to said assigned characteristics via said user interface means, and for automatically updating in real time adaptable parameters within said filtering and modeling means without operator intervention.

6. The system for automatic generation and reply to messages in an asynchronous communications system of claim 1 further comprising and electronic text message transmission means for transmitting said second electronic text message to another destination.