Intelligent chat system

• US 9,374,327 B2
• Filed: 01/08/2013
• Issued: 06/21/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/08/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vmware LLC (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: VMware, Inc. (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Rao DV, Raja
• Primary Examiner(s): Srivastava, Vivek
• Assistant Examiner(s): Asres, Hermon
• Application Number:
  US13/736,756
• Publication Number:
  US 20140195621A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,260 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/207
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1827 Network arrangements for conference optimisation or adaptation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/02 using automatic reactions or user delegation, e.g. automatic replies or chatbot-generated messages

Abstract

The disclosure herein describes an intelligent chat system. During operation, the system monitors content provided by participants of an online chat, and automatically obtains, from a data source, additional information based on the monitored content. The system then presents the obtained additional information to the chat participants without the need for the chat participants to request the additional information.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for enhancing online chat experience, comprising:

establishing a chat session between a first participant and a second participant, the chat session being executed using a chat application that enables a plurality of messages to be transmitted between the first participant and the second participant, the messages being displayed in a chat window local to each participant;

initiating a chat assistant configured to execute as a background process on a computer, the chat assistant configured to monitor the plurality of messages;

monitoring, by the chat assistant, content in the plurality of messages transmitted between the first participant and the second participant;

parsing, by the chat assistant, text of an instant message transmitted from the first participant to the second participant;

recognizing a specified set of content in the instant message;

in response to recognizing the set of content, determining, based on one or more privacy rules specified by the first participant, whether the first participant of the chat session has identified the second participant of the chat session as being permitted to view additional information obtained by the chat assistant from a third party service by using profile information of the first participant and automatically obtaining, from a data source external with respect to the chat application, the additional information if the second participant has been identified by the first participant as being permitted to view the additional information; and

if the first participant has identified the second participant as being permitted to view the additional information, presenting simultaneously to both the first participant and the second participant, the obtained additional information within the chat window along with the instant message transmitted from the first participant to the second participant by the chat assistant without requiring either the first participant or the second participant to request the additional information manually, otherwise if the first participant has not identified the second participant as being permitted to view the additional information, presenting the instant message within the chat window without the additional information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the data source includes at least one of:

an email server;

a calendar;

an enterprise database; and

Internet.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the additional information includes one or more of:

a map;

an email;

a date;

a time;

a calendar item; and

a venue.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

recognizing a question related to a home address of the first participant in the plurality of messages transmitted between the first participant and the second participant;

determining whether the first participant has previously authorized the second participant to know the home address of the first participant;

if the first participant has authorized the second participant to know the home address, contacting a mapping service by the chat assistant, retrieving a set of directions from the mapping service, and displaying the set of directions within the chat window.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting that the instant message of the first participant is referencing an email message; and

fetching the email message and presenting the content of the email message in the chat window along with the instant message to enable both the first participant and the second participant to view the content of the email message.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining that the chat session includes a message related to scheduling a meeting between the first participant and the second participant;

accessing a calendar of the first participant and the second participant if the one or more rules permit accessing the calendar;

comparing the calendar of the first participant and the second participant and selecting one or more time slots in the calendar during which both the first participant and the second participant are available; and

displaying the selected one or more time slots in the chat window to both the first participant and the second participant of the chat session.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting simultaneously to both the first participant and the second participant, the obtained additional information within the chat window along with the instant message further comprises:

displaying only a portion of the obtained additional information in the chat window local to the second participant while displaying all of the obtained additional information in the chat window local to the first participant;

wherein the chat assistant displays different information locally to the first participant from the information displayed locally to the second participant.

4. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that when executed by a processor cause the processor to perform a set of operations comprising:

establishing a chat session between a first participant and a second participant, the chat session being executed using a chat application that enables a plurality of messages to be transmitted between the first participant and the second participant, the messages being displayed in a chat window local to each participant;

initiating a chat assistant configured to execute as a background process on a computer, the chat assistant configured to monitor the plurality of messages;

monitoring, by the chat assistant, content in the plurality of messages transmitted between the first participant and the second participant;

parsing, by the chat assistant, text of an instant message transmitted from the first participant to the second participant;

recognizing a specified set of content in the instant message;

in response to recognizing the set of content, determining, based on one or more privacy rules specified by the first participant, whether the first participant of the chat session has identified the second participant of the chat session as being permitted to view additional information obtained by the chat assistant from a third party service by using profile information of the first participant and automatically obtaining, from a data source external with respect to the chat application, the additional information if the second participant has been identified by the first participant as being permitted to view the additional information; and

if the first participant has identified the second participant as being permitted to view the additional information, presenting simultaneously to both the first participant and the second participant, the obtained additional information within the chat window along with the instant message transmitted from the first participant to the second participant by the chat assistant without requiring either the first participant or the second participant to request the additional information manually, otherwise if the first participant has not identified the second participant as being permitted to view the additional information, presenting the instant message within the chat window without the additional information.

5. The storage medium of claim 4, wherein the data source includes at least one of:

an email server;

a calendar;

an enterprise database; and

Internet.

6. The storage medium of claim 4, wherein the additional information includes one or more of:

a map;

an email;

a date;

a time;

a calendar item; and

a venue.

11. The storage medium of claim 4, wherein the set of operations further comprises:

recognizing a question related to a home address of the first participant in the plurality of messages transmitted between the first participant and the second participant;

determining whether the first participant has previously authorized the second participant to know the home address of the first participant;

if the first participant has authorized the second participant to know the home address, contacting a mapping service by the chat assistant, retrieving a set of directions from the mapping service, and displaying the set of directions within the chat window.

14. The storage medium of claim 4, wherein the set of operations further comprises:

detecting that the instant message of the first participant is referencing an email message; and

fetching the email message and presenting the content of the email message in the chat window along with the instant message to enable both the first participant and the second participant to view the content of the email message.

18. The storage medium of claim 4, wherein the set of operations further comprises:

determining that the chat session includes a message related to scheduling a meeting between the first participant and the second participant;

accessing a calendar of the first participant and the second participant if the one or more rules permit accessing the calendar;

comparing the calendar of the first participant and the second participant and selecting one or more time slots in the calendar during which both the first participant and the second participant are available; and

displaying the selected one or more time slots in the chat window to both the first participant and the second participant of the chat session.

19. The storage medium of claim 4, wherein presenting simultaneously to both the first participant and the second participant, the obtained additional information within the chat window along with the instant message further comprises:

displaying only a portion of the obtained additional information in the chat window local to the second participant while displaying all of the obtained additional information in the chat window local to the first participant;

wherein the chat assistant displays different information locally to the first participant from the information displayed locally to the second participant.

7. A computer system, comprising:

a processor;

a memory coupled to the processor, the memory storing a sequence of instructions executed by the processor to;

establish a chat session between a first participant and a second participant, the chat session being executed using a chat application that enables a plurality of messages to be transmitted between the first participant and the second participant, the messages being displayed in a chat window local to each participant;

initiate a chat assistant configured to execute as a background process on computer system, the chat assistant configured to monitor the plurality of messages;

monitor, by the chat assistant, content in the plurality of messages transmitted between the first participant and the second participant;

parse, by the chat assistant, text of an instant message transmitted from the first participant to the second participant;

recognize a specified set of content in the instant message;

in response to recognizing the set of content, determine, based on one or more privacy rules specified by the first participant, whether the first participant of the chat session has identified the second participant of the chat session as being permitted to view additional information obtained by the chat assistant from a third party service by using profile information of the first participant and automatically obtain, from a data source external with respect to the chat application, the additional information if the second participant has been identified by the first participant as being permitted to view the additional information; and

if the first participant has identified the second participant as being permitted to view the additional information, present simultaneously to both the first participant and the second participant, the obtained additional information within the chat window along with the instant message transmitted from the first participant to the second participant by the chat assistant without requiring either the first participant or the second participant to request the additional information manually, otherwise if the first participant has not identified the second participant as being permitted to view the additional information, present the instant message within the chat window without the additional information.

8. The computer system of claim 7, wherein the data source includes at least one of:

an email server;

a calendar;

an enterprise database; and

Internet.

9. The computer system of claim 7, wherein the additional information includes one or more of:

a map;

an email;

a date;

a time;

a calendar item; and

a venue.

12. The computer system of claim 7, the memory further comprising instructions executed by the processor to:

recognize a question related to a home address of the first participant in the plurality of messages transmitted between the first participant and the second participant;

determine whether the first participant has previously authorized the second participant to know the home address of the first participant;

if the first participant has authorized the second participant to know the home address, contact a mapping service by the chat assistant, retrieve a set of directions from the mapping service, and display the set of directions within the chat window.

15. The computer system of claim 7, the memory further comprising instructions executed by the processor to:

detecting that the instant message of the first participant is referencing an email message; and

fetching the email message and presenting the content of the email message in the chat window along with the instant message to enable both the first participant and the second participant to view the content of the email message.

20. The computer system of claim 7, the memory further comprising instructions executed by the processor to:

determine that the chat session includes a message related to scheduling a meeting between the first participant and the second participant;

access a calendar of the first participant and the second participant if the one or more rules permit accessing the calendar;

compare the calendar of the first participant and the second participant and select one or more time slots in the calendar during which both the first participant and the second participant are available; and

display the selected one or more time slots in the chat window to both the first participant and the second participant of the chat session.

21. The computer system of claim 7, wherein presenting simultaneously to both the first participant and the second participant, the obtained additional information within the chat window along with the instant message further comprises:

displaying only a portion of the obtained additional information in the chat window local to the second participant while displaying all of the obtained additional information in the chat window local to the first participant;

wherein the chat assistant displays different information locally to the first participant from the information displayed locally to the second participant.