Natural language processing (NLP) and natural language generation (NLG) based on user context for enhanced contact center communication

• US 9,454,760 B2
• Filed: 12/11/2013
• Issued: 09/27/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ServiceNow Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Inventors: Klemm, Reinhard, Erhart, George, Becker, Lee, Skiba, David
• Primary Examiner(s): BEZUAYEHU, SOLOMON G
• Application Number:
  US14/103,144
• Publication Number:
  US 20150163358A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,021 Days
• Field of Search: 379 8801- 8819, 709217-219
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/56 Natural language generation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/01 Customer relationship services

Abstract

Contact centers may incorporate automated agents to respond to inquiries. The inquiries may solicit a substantive response, for example, by providing a time when the inquiry asks for the departure time for a flight. Such responses omit the normal conversational subject matter used to embellish person-to-person conversations and appear are very machine-like. Herein, a source of user context, such as a social media website, customer database, or other data, is accessed. Certain aspects of the customer may then be identified and used to embellish the reply with additional and/or alternative content. As a result, the reply may be more conversational.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

accessing a message, by a computer, of a contact center from a sender;

formulating, by the computer, a portion of a response to the message;

storing, by the computer, the portion of the response in a memory;

accessing, by the computer, a user context of the sender;

selecting, by the computer, an embellishment in accord with the user context;

retrieving, by the computer, the stored portion of the response from the memory;

updating, by the computer, the retrieved portion of the response to include banter associated with the embellishment thereby creating an updated response; and

sending, via a communications network, the updated response to the sender.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the user context comprises a descriptive element of one of a past transaction, a past interaction, a posting on a social media website, a social media profile element, an endorsement of a posting on a social media website, an event attended, a social media connection, or a demographic descriptor.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the user context comprises a punctuation usage style associated at least one social media post of the sender.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the user context comprises a social media website connection of the sender.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the user context comprises one of age, gender, occupation, marital status, income, education, or area of residency.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the user context comprises one of language formality preference, regional dialect, language fluency, or domain expertise.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the embellishment comprises additional content to the portion of the response.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the embellishment modifies the presentation of the portion of the response.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the embellishment comprises a selected one of a number of potential embellishments in accord with the user context.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the selected one of the number of potential embellishments is determined, at least in part, by one of providing supplemental information relevant to the message, providing supplemental information relevant to the sender, accommodating a preference of the sender, or building affinity with the sender.

11. A system, comprising:

a communications interface;

a computer memory;

a processor coupled to the computer memory; and

wherein the processor accesses a message of a contact center received from a sender, formulates a portion of a response to the message, store the portion of the response in the memory, accesses a user context of the sender, selects an embellishment in accord with the user context, retrieves the stored portion of the response, updates the retrieved portion of the response to include banter associated with embellishment thereby creating an updated response, and sends the updated response via the communications interface to the sender.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the user context comprises a descriptive element of, one of a past transaction, a past interaction, a posting on a social media website, a social media profile element, an endorsement of a posting on a social media website, an event attended, a social media connection, or a demographic descriptor.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the user context comprises, one of age, gender, occupation, marital status, income, education, or area of residency.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the user context comprises, one of language formality preference, regional dialect, language fluency, or domain expertise.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the embellishment comprises additional content to the portion of the response.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the embellishment modifies the presentation of the portion of the response.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the selected one of the number of potential embellishments is determined, at least in part, by one of providing supplemental information relevant to the message, providing supplemental information relevant to the sender, accommodating a preference of the sender, or building affinity with the sender.

18. A means for embellishing a response, comprising:

means for accessing a message by a contact center from a sender;

means for formulating a portion of a response to the message;

means for storing the portion of the response in a computer memory;

means for accessing a user context of the sender;

means for selecting an embellishment in accord with the user context;

means for retrieving the stored portion of the response from the memory;

means for updating the retrieved portion of the response, retrieved from the memory, with banter from the embellishment; and

means for sending the updated response to the sender.

19. The instructions of claim 18, wherein the embellishment comprises one of a number of potential embellishments selected in accord with the user context.

20. The instructions of claim 19, wherein the means for selecting one of the number of potential embellishments is determined, at least in part, by one of providing supplemental information relevant to the message, providing supplemental information relevant to the sender, accommodating a preference of the sender, or building affinity with the sender.