." Once data is in the format of data structure 2940,
it is prepared for a variety of output interfaces, such as, WAP, Web, phone, and ASR.
Advantageously, the data transformation process described with reference to
FIGURE 29 is a uniform process which takes data and prepares it for a wide range of user
interfaces. For example, the process allows for data to be extracted from web sources and
be semantically identified and prepared for speech transmission via a speech interface. At
the same time, the process allows for the same data to be prepared for transmission to
WAP devices or web applications.
FIGURES 30-33 Illustrate several operational paths that demonstrate
exemplary interactions between the user and voice portal 10. User interface 110 preferably
makes use of explicit prompting to guide the user into making appropriate utterances as
described with reference to FIGURES 32-33.
FIGURE 30 is a flow diagram 3000 depicting an exemplary system
overview, including process blocks representing various functionalities of voice portal 10.
In an exemplary execution path, at a block 3010, voice portal 10 greets the user by saying,
"Welcome to Quack, brought to you by American Express." Preferably, voice portal 10
uses caller-ID as means of identifying the user. In a preferred embodiment, phone
numbers are stored as a customer attribute in database 170. Alternatively, phone numbers
are stored in a customer database. Voice portal 10 continues by stating, "Hello, Steve
Woods. Please say your PIN or enter it on the numeric keypad. If this is not Steve, please
say or enter your phone number." The user then responds verbally "5082" to give his or
her PIN. Once authentication is made, voice portal 10 goes to a block 3020. At block
3020, voice portal 10 indicates "You are at the Quack runway. Please say the name of the
category you are interested in from the following list: movies, weather, traffic, stocks, and
sports." The user responds with a category name or a goodbye. If a category name is
provided, voice portal 10 goes to a block 3030. If a goodbye is given, voice portal 10
provides a graceful exit to voice portal 10. In an exemplary response, the user says
"Weather" and voice portal 10 goes to block 3030. At block 3030, voice portal 10 says,
"Welcome to Weather, brought to you by The Weather Channel," and goes to a block
3040. At block 3040, the identity unique existant subsystem is performed.
After block 3040, a block 3050 is performed in which a determination is
made as to whether the existant was found in the identify unique existant subsystem of
block 3040. If the existant was not found, control returns to block 3030. If the existant
was found, a block 3060 is performed in which the found existant subsystem (described
with reference to FIGURE 33) is performed.
Referring now to FIGURE 31, the identify unique existant subsystem
executed at block 3040 (FIGURE 30) includes a block 3110 in which database 170
provides an attribute from an attribute dependency graph for the current vertical domain
(e.g., weather, traffic, movies). If there are not more attributes in the attribute dependancy
graph, control passes to a block 3115 where an existant search fail is noted. After block
3115, control passes to block 3030 (FIGURE 30). After block 3110 (FIGURE 31), a block
3120 is executed in which an attribute vocabulary is built from an attribute value set
provided by database 170. After block 3120 is performed, a block 3130 is performed hi
which voice portal 10 uses automatic speech recognition (ASR) techniques following a
method N to acquire the user's response to an attribute value prompt. For example, voice
portal 10 may request the user's location by ZIP code, one exemplary method N. The user
may respond by giving his or her ZIP code, such as, "53045".
At a block 3140, a decision is made as to whether the voice recognition was
successful. If not successful, block 3130 is performed with ASR techniques following a
fallback method N+1. For example, in the weather vertical domain, a fallback method
N+1 may be to ask for the state and city of the user's location. In preferred embodiments,
fallback methods include choosing an attribute from a list, constraining the attribute value
set by partitioning space (e.g., get state, then city name), and spelling the attribute value.
If voice recognition is successful, a block 3150 is performed in which voice portal 10
searches database 170 with the acquired attribute. After block 3150 is performed, a flow
chart 3200 (FIGURE 32) is performed.
Referring now to FIGURE 32, flow chart 3200 is shown illustrating a
portion of the identify unique existant subsystem. After block 3150 is performed (FIGURE
31), a block 3210 is performed to determine the number of matching existants from the
search of database 170. Different actions are taken depending on the number of matches
found in the search of the product database. If no matches are found, a block 3220 is
performed in which a determination is made as to whether to seek a Compound Unique
Key. A Compound Unique Key may exist if there are one or more unique keys or
identifiers which are not contained within database 170, but may be used to find the desired
item on the Internet.
If one match is found, a block 3230 is performed in which voice portal 10
verifies if the match is the correct existant. If the number of matches is greater than one
but less than the maximum number for a list, a block 3240 is performed in which the user
is requested to identify the existant from the list of matches. If more matches are found
than the maximum number of possible entries in a list, a block 3250 is performed in which
it is determined whether the attribute is "extensible." In other words, a determination is
made as to whether more information can be provided about the attribute. If more
information cannot be provided, control returns to block 3110 (FIGURE 31) in which
another attribute from the attribute dependency graph is obtained. If the attribute is
extensible, a block 3260 is performed in which the attribute is attempted to be extended. If
the attribute can be extended, control passes to block 3120 (FIGURE 31) in which a
vocabulary set is built and ASR techniques and methods are used to obtain an attribute
value. If the attribute cannot be extended, control passes to block 3110 (FIGURE 31) in
which another attribute from the attribute dependency graph is obtained. If the extension
of the attribute results in a list of items, control passes to block 3240.
Referring now to the query performed at block 3220, if a determination is
made that there is not a Compound Unique Key to use for a WWW search, control passes
to passes to block 3110 (FIGURE 31). If the determination is made that a Compound
Unique Key may exist, control passes to a block 3270 in which a determination is made as
to whether the WWW is searched. If the WWW is not to be searched, control passes to
block 3030 (FIGURE 30) which is the top level of the current vertical domain. If the
WWW is to be searched, control passes to a block 3280. Referring now to block 3230 and
block 3240, if the correct existant is found or the correct existant is found from the list,
control passes to block 3280. If the correct extistant is not found in block 3230 or block
3240, control passes to block 3220 for a determination of whether there is a Compound
Unique Key which can be searched on to find an item. At block 3280, a web lookup is
performed. At this point, the customer may be presented targeted advertisement of a
variety of lengths. Advertising is described in further detail with reference to FIGURE 36.
During block 3280, block 3060 is performed in which a found existant subsystem is
executed.
Referring now to FIGURE 33, the found existant subsystem includes a block
3310 in which a log is made into the customer database of the found item. In a preferred
embodiment, customer database is included in database 170. After block 3310, a block
3320 is performed in which information is prepared for presentation as appropriate to the
vertical domain from information in database 170. After block 3320, a block 3330 is
performed in which related information and command grammar is built. For example, in
the movie vertical domain, if a list of movies showing at a specific theater is played,
grammar would include the movie titles to allow the user to ask for more information about
a particular movie.
At a block 3340, information is returned from the user. In a preferred
embodiment, possible acceptable commands include commands to hear more detailed
information, to hear information from a specific source, to hear related information (e.g.,
cheaper, better), and to take action appropriate to the vertical domain (e.g., increase the
bid, change location). After block 3340, a block 3350 is performed in which the next
activity is obtained. If a new vertical domain is desired, control passes to block 3020
(FIGURE 30). If a new selection from the top of the current vertical domain is desired,
control passes to block 3030 (FIGURE 30). If a new existant is desired, control passes to
block 3040 (FIGURE 30).
Referring again to FIGURE 32, after block 3280 is performed, a block 3290
is performed in which web lookup results are coordinated by updating database 170.
During coordination of the web results at block 3290, a smart delay handle may be
performed at a block 3295 in which advertisements or other forms of handling a delay are
performed. Smart delay handle at block 3295 uses information from the customer database
and the advertising database. In a preferred embodiment, the customer database and the
advertising database are subsets of database 170. In alternative embodiments, the customer
database and the advertising database are physically separate databases.
In operation, the system and method for voice access to Internet-based
information described herein advantageously can identify a vertical domain of interest to
the consumer (e.g., movies, shopping), and then "funnel" user responses from the range of
all possible things in a vertical domain to the one or set of things that the consumer wants.
This funneling within a vertical domain involves system-directed questioning the user about
attributes of products or services, according to a set of pre-defined "paths" to funnel to a
particular item. Paths are defined in terms of orderings of constraints about products to be
ascertained and instantiated.
FIGURE 34 illustrates a flow diagram 3400 of the funneling process which
allows voice portal 10 to funnel user responses and achieve highly accurate rates of voice
recognition for user responses. At step 3410, a user calls voice portal 10. After step
3410, a step 3415 is performed in which the caller is identified, using the different possible
methods described above. After step 3415, a step 3420 is performed in which the user
selects a vertical domain of interest. A step 3425 is then performed in which the attribute
funnel characteristic to the chosen vertical domain of interest is started. After step 3425, a
step 3430 is performed in which voice portal 10 determines whether the user has
preferences in this vertical domain of interest. If there are preferences and the user does
not want to over-ride them, control passes to a step 3460 in which the item or service is
indicated as found based on user preferences.
If no preferences are available or the user over-rides his or her preferences,
a step 3435 is performed in which an attribute vocabulary set is built. Vocabulary sets
advantageously allow voice portal 10 to have a limited number of possible responses from
which to use in speech recognition of user response at this point in the vertical domain of
interest. With a defined vocabulary set, voice portal 10 advantageously achieves with high
rates of recognition conventional speech recognition techniques. For example, it would be
easier to recognize the term "Brewers" after the user has selected Major League Baseball
(MLB) teams and a vocabulary set of possible requests for MLB teams has been built.
Such a vocabulary set may include a variety of different types of user inputs for the same
information. For example, in the MLB team example, a vocabulary set may include all the
city or state names associated with MLB teams as well as the MLB team mascot. Thus,
"Milwaukee" and "Brewers" would both be part of the vocabulary set of MLB teams.
After an appropriate vocabulary set has been built, a step 3440 is performed
in which voice portal 10 queries on the attribute. For example, "What Major League
Baseball team would you like to hear about?" After step 3440, a step 3445 is performed in
which the attribute is identified. If an attribute is not identified, a step 3447 may be
performed to carry out fallback procedures for the identification of the attribute. At a step
3450, voice portal 10 determines whether it has reached an "end state," or a point at which
the item or service has been found. If an "end state" has not been reached, a step 3455 is
performed in which the next attribute is accessed and control returns to step 3430. In the
baseball example given, an end state has not been reached with only the team name. Other
"narrower" attributes, such as, recent game results, player statistics, team standings, or
other related information must be requested. Once step 3460 is performed, a step 3465 is
performed in which the found item or service is reported to the user.
In an exemplary embodiment, the user selects item in the following manner.
The user first specifies the domain of interest (e.g. e-commerce, traffic information,
weather information, movies, etc.). The user then chooses an item (e.g., a book, a toy, a
route of interest for traffic information, a city of interest for weather information, etc.) by
specifying attributes of the item. The user is then provided with detailed information for
an identified item, appropriate to the domain of the item (e.g. products, traffic, weather,
movies, etc.). For example, in the E-commerce domain of interest reviews, vendor
information including pricing, shipping costs and availability are available. In the movies
domain of interest, directory, producer, and cast are provided. In the auctions domain of
interest, outstanding bids are made available.
Advantageously, the user may request information by locale (e.g., the
nearest vendor for an identified product, the nearest theater for a movie) with multiple
ways to identify a locale (e.g., zip, town name, city area "Boston North, West etc.). In an
exemplary embodiment, a strategy for location-identification around ZIP codes is used
which involves asking for suburb name, falling back to city or even state and then zooming
in again. In an exemplary embodiment, the user is provided upon request with the date and
time on which information was last updated. Preferably, all data presented to the user is of
currency appropriate to the domain. The user is informed of the source of the information
("provided by XXXXX") for "pure" source information, or information from only one
source. In a preferred embodiment, a "help" or "instructions" option is available at every
selection point.
The user may request item comparisons based on item attributes, as
appropriate to the domain. The user may request identification of "better", "cheaper" and
"related" items, as appropriate to the domain. Advantageously, the user may explicitly
record items in a number of user-defined lists, as appropriate to the domain of interest.
The user may review items from their lists. The user may request phone or email
notification of information changes (appropriate to the domain) for items on their lists.
FIGURE 35 illustrates a flow diagram 3500 of an exemplary process of
carrying out a transaction using voice portal 10. At step 3510, a user accesses (telephones
or calls) voice portal 10. After step 3510, a step 3515 is performed in which a funneling
process is performed to identify an item or service desired by the user. Such funneling
process performs the operations illustrated in flow diagram 3400 and described with
reference to FIGURE 34.
After step 3515, a step 3520 is performed in which voice portal 10 asks the
user to specify a transaction desired and relating to the item or service identified. After
step 3520 is performed, a step 3525 is executed in which voice portal 10 identifies the
appropriate voice portal rule to execute the specified transaction. After step 3525, a step
3530 is performed in which the rule is executed to carry out the specified transaction.
Transactions can include purchasing an item or service, making a bid on an auction, or any
other type of transaction possible over the Internet. After step 3530, a step 3535 is
performed in which voice portal 10 records the result of the transaction. Preferably, the
result is recorded in database 170. After step 3535, a step 3540 is performed in which the
transaction is reported to the user.
Different transactions (e.g., bid, watch, buy, track) are appropriate to
different domains. For example, in the e-commerce domain of interest, the user may order
an identified product from a chosen vendor. Further, the user may add an item to a
shopping cart for purchase at a later time. The user may specify, when ordering, a billing
credit card and shipping address (from user profile or manually). The user may also
request status information for previously ordered products. As another example, in the
auction vertical domain of interest, the user may increase existing bids or the user may
place bids on new auctions.
Advantageously, the process of carrying out a transaction using voice portal
10 does not require a user to make any manual actions on a computer. The user can buy
items, make bids, or do any other Internet transaction without clicking a mouse, pressing a
key on a computer keyboard, or any other computer-interface manual action (e.g., mouse
click, keyboard entry). Thus, the process described with reference to FIGURE 35 can be a
"No Click" Internet transaction process. User can utilize the touch pad of a phone and still
perform a "No Click" Internet transaction.
FIGURE 36A illustrates a flow diagram 3600A of an exemplary process of
advertising using voice portal 10. Advantageously, advertising subsystem 120 includes a
method for determining what advertisements to play to a specific user. Generally, this
method includes setting selection constraints based on a context, such as, user
demographics, location demographics, and a current vertical domain of interest. After
selection constraints are set, the method queries an advertisement database based on the
constraints and retrieves a list of possible advertisements. The list of possible
advertisements is re-ordered based on a sales criteria for each advertisement. An
advertisement is selected from the re-ordered list and presented to the user.
Referring to flow diagram 3600A, in a step 3610A, advertising subsystem
120 in voice portal 10 sets selection constraints for advertisements to be presented to a
user. In one embodiment, the selection constraints are based on user-centric information,
such as, user demographics, location demographics, and the current selected vertical
domain of interest (if any) as well as advertising-centered information, such as, advertising
sales criteria, lack of repetition, and other advertising effectiveness factors. Such
constraints or criteria are used in selecting from a variety of different types of
advertisements, such as, an introductory sponsorship advertisement, a vertical sponsorship
advertisement, and a commercial advertisement. After step 3610A, a step 3615A is
performed in which database 170 is queried for a list of possible advertisements based on
the constraints selected in step 3610A.
After step 3615A, a step 3620A is performed in which the list of possible
advertisements is re-ordered based on sales criteria factors. In one embodiment, sales
criteria are used to determine the following: (1) Is the advertisement delivery rate being
achieved for this advertisement? (2) Has the target delivery minimum been achieved for
this advertisement? Advantageously, the sales criteria are used to make sure that each
Advertisement customer will have their requirements for delivery satisfied. In one
embodiment, a ratio is calculated to prioritize the advertisements on which should be
delivered first.
The following provides an example of using a ratio as the determining factor
of how advertisements are ordered. Advertisement X needs 100,000 deliveries in its
contract. Voice portal 10 has already delivered 7,000 instances of Advertisement X. The
start date of the contract is May 10 and end date is June 7th. The current date is assumed to
be May 15th. So, an exemplary ratio is determined as follows:
• Number of days since start of contract = 5.
• Length of contract = 27 days.
• Number of days that the Advertisement needs to be played = 22.
• Percent of ads played = 7,000 / 100,000 ~ = 7%
• Percent of days already played = 5/27 ~ = 18.5%
As such, an exemplary final ratio is:
(% of days already played - % of ads played) / Number of days remaining in contract
Advantageously, this ratio accounts for advertisements that should be played soon (lower
denominator -> higher ratio), and the discrepancies of advertisements that have already
been played get pushed back with a lower ratio.
After step 3620A in which the list of possible advertisements are re-ordered,
a step 3625A is performed in which an advertisement is chosen. In one embodiment, the
advertisement is chosen based on the highest ratio available in the list of possible
advertisements. After step 3625A, different actions are taken depending on the type of
advertisement to be preseuted. In a step 3630A, if there is no advertisement available and
if the advertisement type is an introductory sponsorship advertisement, an exception is
raised in a step 3635A. Otherwise, a step 3640A is performed in which a decision is made
as to whether an advertisement is available. If there is an advertisement available, a step
3645A is performed in which the advertisement is played. If no advertisement is available,
a step 3640A is performed in which the selection constraints are reset and control returns
to step 3620A.
As such, there are differences in the process steps for each type of
Advertisement, of which there are three: introductory sponsorship Advertisements,
vertical sponsorship Advertisements, and commercial Advertisements. The following is an
exemplary process for selecting an introductory sponsorship Advertisement:
1. Set selection constraints based on location for the introductory sponsorship
Advertisement type (vertical is not used because, no vertical is applied).
2. Query the database based on constraints with result transformed into a list of
possible Advertisements to play.
3. Reorder the list based on the sales criteria.
4. Choose the Advertisements from the list with the highest ratio. There must be an
Advertisement in the database and raise an exception otherwise.
The following is an exemplary process for selecting an vertical sponsorship Ad:
1. Set constraints based on user demographics, location demographics, and vertical
type for the vertical sponsorship Advertisement type.
2. Query the database based on constraints with result transformed into a list of
possible Advertisements to play.
3. Reorder the list based on the sales criteria.
4. Choose the Advertisement from the list with the highest ratio if one is available and
return to the user interface.
5. If none are available, reset selection constraints based only on vertical type and set
the type of vertical sponsorship to be only for Quack promotions.
6. Reorder the list based on the sales criteria.
7. Choose the Ad from the list with the highest ratio if one is available and return to
the user interface.
8. If the user heard all of the Advertisements from the list, then return the
Advertisement that was last played to the user. If for some reason the list is empty
and no Advertisements are available, raise an exception.
The following is an exemplary process for selecting a commercial advertisement:
1. Set selection constraints based on location demographics, customer demographics
and vertical type for the commercial Advertisement type.
2. Query the database based on those constraints with the result transformed into a list
of possible Advertisements to play.
3. Reorder the list based on the sales criteria.
4. Choose the Ad from the list with the highest ratio if one is available and return to
the user interface.
5. If none are available, reset selection constraints based only on vertical type and set
the type of commercial to be either for Quack (i.e., voice portal system)
commercials or paid commercials (regardless of type entered).
6. Reorder the list based on the sales criteria.
7. Choose the Advertisement from the list with the highest ratio if one is available and
return to the user interface.
8. If the user heard all of the Advertisements from the list, then return the
Advertisement that was last. If for some reason the list is empty and no
Advertisements are available, then raise an exception.
Referring now to FIGURE 36B, a flow chart 3600B illustrates a second
exemplary process of advertising using voice portal 10. In a step 3610B, a user accesses
(telephone or calls) voice portal 10. After step 3610B, a step 3615B is performed in which
a user lookup is performed to identify the user. Caller identification may be done in a
variety of methods, some of which are described with reference to FIGURES 2 and 30.
After step 3615B, in a step 3620B, a determination is made as to whether the user is known
by voice portal 10. If the user is not known, a step 3625B is performed in which a default
profile is used for the user. In an exemplary embodiment, the default profile does not
include user constraints or limitations for certain advertisements. The default profile can
be geared for certain parameters known about the call, such as for example, the area code
of the user, time of day of the call, day of the week, etc. If the user is known or after step
3625B is performed, a step 3630B is performed in which advertising subsystem 120
generates a set "S" of advertisements based on the type c.f interface (e.g., speech, WAP,
WWW) including user constraints particular to the current user.
Given the current operating context (e.g., particular user, vertical domain of
interest), in a step 3635B, advertising subsystem 120 generates weights for advertisement
set S based on the advertising context. After step 3635B, a step 3640B is performed to
determine whether the context is enough to accurately know what the user most wants. If
the context is not enough, a step 3645B is performed in which an advertisement is picked
based on the partial context obtained. If the context is sufficient, a step 3650B is
performed in which the best fit advertisement is played.
Advantageously, advertising subsystem 120 provides an initial general
advertisement or sponsorship message to all callers. Advertising subsystem 120 also
provides targeted audio advertisements to users, chosen based on a utility function
appropriate to the domain. In an exemplary embodiment, the utility function is related to
the availability of the product or service to be advertised, the relatedness of the current
item (e.g., DVD is related to television), the relevance to the user (e.g., by demographic),
the desirability of the user to the advertiser, and the value to the service provider (e.g.,
based on cost/return). Advantageously, advertising subsystem 120 is capable of delivering
a certain number of advertisements to users within a certain time frame. Moreover,
advertising subsystem 120 is capable of delivering advertisements across different
platforms, such as wireless application protocol (WAP), WWW, and speech interfaces.
Taking for example, the speech interface platform, within the first minute,
one sponsorship advertisement and one targeted advertisement are delivered to the user.
Within each additional 40 seconds, a second targeted advertisement is delivered. In one
embodiment, a sponsorship message will process in 3-5 seconds, and then a targeted
advertisement takes 10-20 seconds.
The implementation of this structure is based on the fact that the
introductory sponsorship advertisement is presented upon entering the system. Each time
the user enters a vertical, the user is prompted with a "vertical sponsorship". Once the
user is about to receive the data requested, a full commercial would be presented to the
user. Advantageously, this model approximates the schedule listed in previously as the
user is estimated to be searching for their piece of information for 40 seconds before
receiving it.
In the advertising context, "Speak-throughs" are requests to deliver more
detailed information upon presentation of an advertisement. Advantageously, speak-
throughs apply not only to speech interface, but also to both the WAP and WWW. For the
WAP, speech and text can be considered for a speak-through while clicking on a banner to
find out more on an ad would be a speak-through on the WWW. One embodiment of a
speak-through on a voice interaction is to point the customer to a website address or a
phone number. In alternative embodiments, speak-throughs collect an email address or a
custom phone number to provide to the advertiser to send more relevant information to the
customer. With a WWW interface, speak throughs may include using an outside source to
manage and audit customer information. Advertising subsystem 120 may also provide
targeted "banner" advertisements to users, chosen based on a utility function appropriate to
the domain (e.g., WWW interface).
The management of the advertising delivery of advertising subsystem 120 is
based on a combination of several factors. In an exemplary embodiment, an advertisement
is delivered in one of three places. First, an advertisement may be delivered when the user
is preparing to enter the system to begin a new session. This sponsorship message will be
in the voice of user interface 110, or "the system voice", and should rotate among several
alternative advertising sponsors. For example, a sponsor message may say, "Quack is
brought to you by Visa, the currency of the web" or "Quack is brought to you by
SprintPCS; the clear future of cellular services."
Second, another sponsorship advertisement (a "vertical sponsorship"
advertisement) may be delivered just before a user has accessed a certain vertical of the
system, such as movies, traffic, or weather. For example, such an advertisement may say,
"Brought to you by IMDB, the world's authorities on movie information" and "LCE Sony
Metreon: Boston's ONLY choice for great movie selections."
Third, an advertisement may be delivered just before the user receives the
refined request. This type of advertisement is defined as a "commercial". Such
advertisements are timely (i.e., delivered at chosen points) but only on a so-often basis,
such as every 2 minutes. Advantageously, the system voice can point out a value-added
situation for the user that may be helpful. For example, a nearby restaurant may be
suggested when a user is selecting a movie at a particular theater. Speak-through
advertisements are preferably used here, although non-speak through advertisements are
possible. The advertising content itself is preferably about 7 seconds in length. The speak-
through ads are preferably of maximum possible quality (i.e., professionally produced),
and of length of about preferably 15 to 20 seconds. For example, if the user selects
American Beauty as a movie at LCE Sony Metreon, the system voice says, "I'm looking
up the listing at Sony Metreon ... if you would like to hear about 'Tony's Matriciana':
Boston's best Italian food only 5 minutes from Sony Metreon,- say 'Tony's!', or hold on for
your listing." The user may then automatically set up a reservation. Other relatedness
attributes may also be used for targeted advertising. Advantageously, the advertisement is
delivered in these different spots due to the current assumptions that making a vertical-
specified request will take the amount of time to deliver the advertisements.
Along with these issues, decisions are made on which advertisements users
are to have delivered to them. Factors incorporated into this decision include the length of
the call, what type of vertical content is requested, combination of content and user profile
(and/or location) (i.e. restaurant ads should be local to the customer), revenue potential,
callers requesting specific information, and if the user has heard the advertisement already.
In an exemplary embodiment, advertisements are rotated based on the following factors:
When was the last time that the ad was played? When was the last time the user heard the
ad before this call? Did the user hear the ad already this call? Is the ad delivery rate being
achieved for this ad? Has the target delivery minimum been achieved for this ad?
Advantageously, advertisements are delivered in a manner such that the
presentation is appropriate to particular customers and are tracked accordingly to billing
rates. Thus, certain basic data is gathered to manage each ad, such as, how many times
has the ad been played and how many times has an individual user heard the ad?
As well, given this basic data, the following more complex queries are
available. For example, queries may include the ability to create a report of all users who
have heard an ad among various defined groupings as follows: name, demographic
information, location, and relatedness information (what else have these users requested).
Queries may also include the ability to create a report of all users who have requested
speak-through information.
The capability of barging-in (i.e., stopping the advertisement from being
played), which is possible during other modes of operation for voice portal 10 can be
removed while presenting an ad. The capability to prevent barge-ins is important in that
advertisers must be assured of the data that has been acquired with respect to the
advertising that was given through voice portal 10. In one embodiment, the gathering of
this advertising data is done by a third party auditor.
Advertising subsystem 120 keeps a record of all advertisements served to
users, including successful (i.e., complete) and unsuccessful (i.e., incomplete) deliveries.
Preferably, this record is stored in database 170.. Advantageously, advertisements may be
targeted by vertical domain of interest, or caller location or user, or user preferences, or
user past interests, or by some other combination of advertiser interests and user collected
information.
Advantageously, the use of context sensitive information can be used to
narrowly target advertisement to a user. Context-sensitive Advertisement targeting in voice
portal 10 relates an Advertisement commercial to nearly exactly what information the user
receives. To make this function correctly, an appropriate pointer is passed into the
selection algorithm just before the Advertisement is to be played. In the one embodiment,
the vertical type is the context pointer.
In other embodiments, an existant is the context pointer that allows more
specific targeting. This context pointer matches its attributes' criteria with market research
criteria to determine weights in certain categories. These category weights combined with
the sales criteria of the Advertisements in the initial list define an ordering of context
weights from which to best select Advertisements. This initial list, created from
demographics and vertical type, form the basis for the context weighting. Mathematical
notation is introduced to generalize this problem into an algorithm, and an example follows
to illustrate it.
First, variables are defined with respect to the parameters involved. Let the
list of attributes of the existant passed into the algorithm be defined by the set {e1, e2, ...,
em}, where m is the number of attributes in the existant. For example, for a movie
existant, sample attributes are genre, location and show time. The list of categories
available to associate Advertisements with, are defined by the set {C1, C2, ..., Cn}, where n
is the total number of categories. Some sample categories in the system would be: family,
restaurants, nightlife, movies, and entertainment. Let there be a context category weight,
Wi, for each category Ci, where i ? {1, ..., n): The purpose of having context category
weights is to determine the strength of the context in comparison to the advertisement's
category weights, as discussed below.
t
The market research criteria for all existants is represented by P = {p1, p2,
...., pt} where t is the total of all criteria in the database. Each criterion Pj has an associated
weight wj, where j ? {1, ..., t) and each attribute ei will try to satisfy all pj, for all i, j,
where i ? {1, ...,m},j ? {1, ..., t}. Thus, if ei satisfies pj, and pl belongs to category Ck,
then Wk = Wk + wj, where i ? {1, ..., m}, j ? {1, ..., t}, k ? {1, ..., n). This iteration is
used to define the aforementioned context weights of each category.
Once the total context weight for each category, Wk, is defined, its
associated strength ratio, Rk, must be calculated. The strength ratio of a category is used to
determine if the context of the existent is strong enough to merit in the selection of the
Advertisement. For example, if the family category has many criteria in P, then we want
to make sure that the weights corresponding to the context of the existant are in an
acceptable proportion. So, Rk = Wk/Tk, where Tk is the total weight of all criteria in P
relating to category k.
The list of advertisements generated by the demographic query are defined
by the set A = {A1, A2, ..., Ar}, where r is the total number of ads in the list. Each ad Al
has its own category weight xk, where i ? {1, ..., r} and k ? {1, ..., n} which is used in
conjunction with the algorithm's corresponding context category weight ratio Rk.
Thus, once the initial list of Advertisements A has been created by filtering
the demographics and Advertisement type on the database, the steps in the algorithm would
be as follows:
1. Set category weights, Wk, for each category Ck as follows
• Initialize each Wk = 0, where k e {1, ..., n).
• For each i ? {1, ..., m} and for each j ? {1, ..., t}, based on the current
attributes of the existant, {e1, e2, ..., em}, if ei satisfies pj, and pl is associated
with category Ck, then Wk = Wk + wj, where k ? {1, ...,n}
2. Now tabulate the categories' total weights independent of the attributes of the
asistant. From those total weights, establish eacn category's context ratio
• For each k ? {1, ..., n} and for each j ? {1, ...., t}, if Pj is associated with
category Ck, then Tk = Tk + Wj. Set the context category context ratio, Rk
= Wk/Tk
3. For each category k, multiply each Rk by the category weight xk of each Ad Ai, and
then multiply the sum by the sales criteria ratio of the Ad, Si, to get context total Gi
• For each i ? {1, ..., r}, calculate Gi where
Gi = Si (R1x1 + ... + Rnxn)
A. Select the Ad Ai, where i is defined by max(Gi), i ? {1, ..., r}.
The above algorithm can be illustrated by a simple example. Consider an example where a
user is using the service of voice portal 10 while in the movies vertical domain of interest.
The vertical sponsorship Advertisement has been played and the user is just about to
receive information regarding a movie showing. Thus as context, the selection includes the
pointer to the specific existent that is to be played, which is for arguments' sake, "Mission
to Mars". Some of the attributes of the movie showing existant are rating (e.g., R), genre
(e.g., Thriller) and a show time (e.g., 4:00 pm), which can be represented by {e1, e2, e3}.
Thus, there needs to be a list of matching context criteria containing the elements P = {p1,
P2, ..., Pn}. A sample list of criteria could be represented in the database as:
From this table, the categories can be inferred as C = {Emetaiment, Family, Nighture,
Teen, Adult} where k = 5. So from step 1, W1 = 10, W2 = 0, W3 = 50, W4 = 80 and
W5 = 0. From step 2, establish R1 = 1, R2 = 0, R3 = 1, R4 = 0.4 and Rs = 0 (this is
assuming that P has only 8 elements, which will not likely be the case, and will be around
200 or more elements). Now, assume that the Advertisement list A has three
Advertisements. Assume that the weightings of the advertisements' five categories are:
So, from these weightings. {x1, x2, x3, x4, x5}, we can make the calculations to get values
for Gi for each Ad Ai, where i ? {1, 2, 3}, as follows:
Gi = Si . (R1x1 + ... + Rnxn)
G1 = 0.8 . ((1)(0.9) +0+ (1)(0.7) + (0.4) (0.9) + 0) = 1.568
G2 = 1.1 . ((1)(0.9) + 0+ (1)(0.9) + (0.4)(0.9) + 0) = 2.376
G3 = 1.0 . ((1)(0.9) + 0 + (1)(0.7) + (0.4)(0.9) + 0) = 1.96
Thus, based on context and sales ratio determination, the "Mission to Mars" Advertisement
is most appropriate. This algorithm notes the context of different categories based on their
relevance to the piece of information being retrieved It also organizes the fact that the
Advertisments that need to be played for sales criteria are noted and factored into the
ordering. The example illustrates only a short list of ads, categories and criteria in P. The
algorithm is intended to take advantage of many more categories and criteria.
FIGURES 37-43 illustrate an exemplary dialog map of the interaction
between the user and voice portal 10. The dialog map described with reference to
FIGURES 37-43 is for illustration purposes only. While only movies, weather, traffic,
stocks, and sports vertical domains of interest are shown in the FIGURES, it should be
apparent that any vertical domain of interest could be included in such a dialog map (and in
the interaction of voice portal 10 with the user), particularly in light of the expansive and
adaptive capabilities available due to data structure models 300, 400, and 450, described
with reference to FIGURES 4-6. Furthermore, the specific blocks representing different
interactions between the user and voice portal 10 are for illustration only. A wide variety
of interactions are possible for each of the many possible vertical domains of interest.
FIGURE 37 illustrates a dialog map 3700 in which after a telephone call is
made by a user to voice portal 10, a block 3710 is performed in which a welcome is
provided. After block 3710, a block 3720 is performed in which a sign-in procedure is
followed (described further with reference to FIGURE 38). After the sign-in procedure of
block 3720, the user can select to have an introduction to the service of voice portal 10 at
blocks 3730 and 3740 or go directly to the runway information for introduction of the
possible vertical domains of interest at a block 3750. Specifically, at block 3730,
introductory information is provided on the service provider. At block 3740, introductory
information is provided on how the service works. At block 3750, voice portal 10 requests
the user to select a domain of interest from a "runway" (e.g., movies, weather, traffic,
stocks, sports).
If the user selects the movies domain of interest, a block 3760 is performed
in which a movies subsystem is executed (described further with reference to FIGURE 39)
and the user has access to movie information and transactions, such as, movie listings,
theaters, and reviews. If the user selects the weather domain of interest, a block 3770 is
performed in which a weather subsystem is executed (described further with reference to
FIGURE 40) and the user has access to weather information, such as, today's forecast or
the extended forecast for a preferred location or any location. If the user selects the traffic
domain of interest, a block 3780 is performed in which a traffic subsystem is executed
(described further with reference to FIGURE 41) and the user has access to traffic
information, such as, reports by city, reports for a certain route, or personalized reports.
If the user selects the stocks domain of interest, a block 3790 is performed in which a
stocks subsystem is executed (described further with reference to FIGURE 42) and the user
has access to stocks information and transactions, such as, market summaries, stock quotes,
stock news, and personalized stock news or transactions (e.g., buy, sell). If the user
selects the sports domain of interest, a block 2500 is performed in which a sport
subsystem is executed (described further with reference to FIGURE 43) and the user has
access to sports information and transactions, such as, sports scores, sports news, sports
events ticket information, and sports fantasy league transactions.
Referring now to FIGURE 38, a sign-in subsystem is shown. At a block
3810, caller identification is attempted. One type of user of voice portal 10 is an
unidentified user. The unidentified user calls in (possibly for the first time) and is either
locatable by conventional caller-identification techniques ("caller ID") or not. If the caller-
ID does not exist in database 170, the caller is possibly a new caller. If the caller-ID is
suppressed, voice portal 10 can't tell either way. In one embodiment, voice portal 10 asks
for a phone number (or other identifier) and continues with an "identified" caller. In an
alternative embodiment, voice portal 10 continues without verification. This decision may
depend on the kinds of information being requested. For example, in particular vertical
domains, the identity of the user may need to be determined to identify the user before
proceeding (e.g., auctions).
Identified users are either subscribed or non-subscribed. If the identified
user is subscribed, voice portal 10 has information on the user, such as, credit cards and
preferences from database 170. Preferably, a user subscribes so that voice portal 10 can
start tracking preferences and interests to achieve a higher degree of consumer-value-added
and thus loyalty to the service. The user may specify profile information, including
addresses and credit card numbers, upon subscription. Further, the more information
amassed about a particular caller, the more directed (and hence valuable) advertisements
are.
If caller identification is possible, a block 3820 is performed in which user
confirmation is performed by asking the user for a password. Once the password is
verified, user preferences can be set and control passes to a block 3870 and control returns
to FIGURE 37 where an introduction or runway selection is performed. If the password
given is invalid, control passes to a block 3840.
If caller identification is not possible or the user did not know his or her
password, control passes to a block 3830 where voice portal 10 determines tne user's
account status. If the user does not have an account, control passes to a block 3850 where
an account setup reminder is given that the user should set up an account. If the user has
an account, control passes to block 3840 where voice portal 10 gets the user's account
number. If the user has forgotten the account number, control passes to block 3850 where
the user is asked to set up an account. If the user provides a valid account number, control
passes to block 3820 for user confirmation. If the user gives an account number which is
invalid, control passes to block 3860 where voice portal 10 informs the user that the
account is invalid and to visit a web site or call a support number for assistance. Control
then passes to block 3880 and to FIGURE 37 where an introduction or runway selection is
performed.
Referring now to FIGURE 39, a movies subsystem is performed. At a
block 3910, voice portal 10 plays an introduction to the movies domain of interest. The
user can select options, such as, movies at a theater, listings for a movie, and movie
reviews. If the user selects movies at a theater, control passes to a block 3915 in which
voice portal 10 determines the geographic location desired by the user. Various methods
may be employed to determine location, such as, ZIP code, state and city, or preferences.
If there is no theater near the given location, a block 3920 is performed in which a message
is played to inform the user that no theater is located in the given area. After location is
determined, a block 3925 is performed in which theater names within the location are
listed. After block 3925. a block 3930 is performed in which movies are listed which are
playing at theaters within the area. Voice portal 10 requests the user select a movie and
control passes to a block 3935.
Returning now to block 3910, which played an introduction to the movies
domain of interest, if the user requests listings for a movie, a block 3940 is performed in
which voice portal 10 requests the movie title from the user. After block 3940, a block
3945 is performed in which the geographic location desired by the user. As discussed
above, a variety of methods may be used to determine the caller's location. If there are
theaters showing the selected movie, a block 3950 is performed in which the theaters
playing the movie are listed 2nd the user is asked to select from the list Control then
passes to block 3935. If there are no theaters showing the selected movie, a block 3955 is
performed and the times for the movie at the closest locations are provided to the user.
Control then passes to block 3935.
Referring now to block 3910, which played an introduction to the movies
domain of interest, if the user requests a movie review, a block 3960 is performed in which
voice portal 10 requests the movie title from the user. After block 3960, a block 3965 is
performed in which the review is played for the selected movie. After block 3965, a block
3970 is performed in which voice portal 10 asks the user if he or she would like to find
showings for the movie selected. If the user declines, control returns to block 3960 to get
another movie title for a movie review. If the user accepts, control passes to block 3945.
At block 3935, voice portal 10 provides movie showing times for the
selected movie and theater. At a block 3980, voice portal 10 requests a next action. The
user can request the theater address, which is'then provided at a block 3985. The user can
also request a review of the movie, which is then provided at a block 3990. Once the user
wants to leave the movie domain of interest, control returns to block 3750 of FIGURE 37.
Referring now to FIGURE 40, a weather subsystem is performed, as shown.
At a block 4010, voice portal 10 plays an introduction to the weather domain of interest.
After the introduction is played at block 4010, control passes to a block 4020 in which
voice portal 10 obtains location information to use in the weather domain of interest. As
described above, multiple methods are possible to obtain location information, such as,
obtaining location from ZIP code, city or state, and other locational indicia. After block
4020, control passes to a block 4030 in which voice portal 10 provides a prompt as to
whether the user would like live weather information or weather information for later
periods of time. If the user selects to hear weather information for later periods of time,
control passes to a block 4040 in which voice portal 10 plays a prompt which provides
weather latency options to the user. If the user wants current weather information or after
the user has selected latency options at a block 4040, control passes to a block 4050 in
which voice portal 10 provides the weather information desired.
After block 4050 is performed, control passes to a block 4060 in which
voice portal 10 asks the user whether an extended forecast is desired. If a extended
forecast is desired, control passes to a block 4070 in which voice portal 10 provides an
extended forecast. After block 4070 or if the user does not want an extended forecast,
control passes to block 4080 in which voice portal 10 asks for the next action from the
user. If the user wants to continue in the weather domain of interest, control passes to
block 4020. If the user wants to leave the weather domain of interest, control passes to a
block 4090 corresponding to the runway described with reference to FIGURE 37 as block
3750.
Referring now to FIGURE 41, a traffic subsystem is performed. At a block
4110, voice portal 10 plays an introduction to the traffic domain of interest. After block
4110, control passes to a block 4115 in which voice portal 10 obtains location information
for user or personalized information on the user. After block 4115, control passes to a
block 4120 in which voice portal 10 obtains city traffic information. If no city traffic
information is possible, control passes to a block 4135 in which ZIP code traffic
information is obtained. ZIP code traffic information is a fallback if a city is not
recognized by voice portal 10. If the city data is not found and data is contained for
locations nearby, control passes to a block 4140 in which voice portal 10 asks for a nearby
city. If at block 4120 no traffic events are reportable, control passes to a block 4125 in
which the user is told no traffic is reportable in the city. If at block 4120 no traffic data is
available, control passes to a block 4130 in which the user is provided the option to try
another city or to go to the runway for selection of a new domain of interest.
After block 4120, control passes to a block 4145 in which voice portal 10
requests a specific traffic route or the "whole city." After block 4145, control passes to a
block 4150 in which voice portal 10 obtains route direction information. After block 4150,
control passes to a block 4155 if there is no traffic on the route to report. At block 4155,
the user is given the option to select a new traffic route or the "whole city" as well as
going to the runway and selecting a new domain of interest. If route traffic information is
available, after block 4150, control passes to a block 4160 in which voice portal 10 lists the
route traffic for the selected route. If the user has selected "whole city" in block 4145,
control passes a block 4165 in which voice portal 10 lists city traffic information.
After block 4160 and block 4165, control passes to a block 4170 in which
voice portal 10 provides the desired traffic report to the user. After block 4170, control
passes to a block 4175 in which voice portal 10 asks for the next action to be performed in
the traffic domain of interest. In an exemplary embodiment, next actions may include
repeat the traffic report, continue the list of traffic information, and going to the runway.
After the user has made the selection at block 4175, control passes to an appropriate block.
For example, if the user selects to repeat the traffic report, control passes to a block 4170.
If the user selects the continue list option, control passes to either block 4160 or block
4165, depending on the selection of a specific traffic route or the "whole city" made at
block 4145. If the user selects go to runway, the control passes to a block 4180 which
corresponds to the runway described with reference to FIGURE 37 as block 3750.
Referring now to FIGURE 42, a stocks subsystem is performed. At a block
4210, voice portal 10 plays an introduction to the stocks domain of interest. After block
4210, control passes to a block 4215 in which voice portal 10 provides the user with the
option of selecting for a market summary, stock quotes, or a personalized listing called
"MyQuack." If the user selects market summary, control passes to a block 4240 in which
a market summary is provided for a variety of markets, such as, the Dow Jones Industrial
Average, NASDAQ, S&P 500, NYSE Volume/NASDAQ Volume, and 30 year bonds. If
the user selects stock quotes, control passes to a block 4220 in which voice portal 10
obtains a specific stock name from the user. After block 4220, control passes to a block
4225 in which voice portal 10 obtains the stock exchange corresponding to the stock name
provided in block 4220. After the exchange is identified, control passes to a block 4230 in
which voice portal 10 provides stock information, such as, value, last trade, change,
volume, and day high/low.
After block 4230, control passes to a block 4235 in which voice portal 10
asks for the next action to be performed in the stocks domain of interest. In an exemplary
embodiment, the user may select to repeat stock information/continue listing stock
information, get a new stock, hear market summary, or go to runway. Depending on the
selection made by the user at block 4235, control passes to block 4240 for market
summary, block 4220 for a new stock name, a block 4250 for a personalized my quack
stock, or a block 4275 for the runway. Before block 4275, control may pass to a block
4270 in which voice portal 10 provides a preference reminder to the user that preferences
may be set to obtain personalized information in a quicker fashion. If the user has already
been reminded in this call about preferences, control passes directly to block 4275.
If in block 4215 the. user selects "MyQuack" control passes to a block 4245
if no account information is identified and block 4250 if account information is identified.
In block 4245 a preference setup and account information is established. A suggestion may
be made to the user that an account be setup on the Web. At block 4250, personalized
stock information is provided, such as, value, last trade, change, and volume. During
operation of block 4250, the user may identify a specific stock by saying, for example,
"that one" during the playing of information on the particular stock. If such a selection is
made, control passes to a block 4255 in which stock news options are listed for the
particular stock. After the user has selected a particular type of stock news from the list in
block 4255, control passes to a block 4260 in which voice portal 10 plays the selected stock
news. After block 4260, control passes to block 4265 in which voice portal 10 asks the
user whether to return to get list of stock news (block 4255) or exist stock news. If the
user selects to exist the stock news, control passes to block 4235 in which the next action
for stocks is requested. Once the user has completed the stocks domain of interest, control
passes to block 4275 corresponding to the runway described with reference to FIGURE 37
as block 3750.
Referring now to FIGURE 43. a sports subsystem is performed. At a block
4310, voice portal 10 plays an introduction to the sports domain of interest. After block
4310, control passes to a block 4315 in which voice portal 10 obtains the type of sports
desired by the user or the user may say "MyQuack" to get scores for a personalized sports
type. If the user chooses a particular sport, control passes to a block 4320 in which voice
portal 10 obtains the league name of a selected sport from a list. For example, voice portal
10 may list "NFL, NBA, NHL, and Major League Baseball." After the user has made a
selection of the league name, control passes to a block 4325 in which voice portal 10
obtains the specific team the user is interested in. After block 4325, control passes to a
block 4330 in which sports scores are provided. For example, voice portal 10 may say,
"The last game played by TEAM was DATE with a final score of TEAM 1, SCORE 1,
TEAM 2, SCORE 2."
If in block 4315 the user has selected "MyQuack," control passes to block
4340. At block 4340, voice portal 10 provides sports scores for the personalized MyQuack
sports teams After block 4340, control passes to a block 4335 in which voice portal 10
provides sports news for teams specific news. After block 4330 and block 4335 control
passes to a block 4345 in which voice portal 10 asks whether the user would like the sports
information just heard to be repeated. If the user responds affirmatively, voice portal 10
returns to repeat the information provided. If the user does not want the information
repeated, control passes to a block 4350 in which voice portal 10 asks for the next action to
be performed in the sports domain of interest. After block 4350, control passes to block
4320 to select a league name, block 4340 to provide my quack sports scores, or to a block
4355 for runway information. A block 4355 corresponds to the runway described further
with reference to FIGURE 37 as block 3750. Each subsystem of FIGURES 40-43 is
shown by way of example only.
While the embodiments illustrated in the FIGURES and described above are
presently preferred, it should be understood that these embodiments are offered by way of
example only. Other embodiments may include various data structures for simplifying
access to the Internet via voice portals. The invention is not limited to a particular
embodiment, but extends to various modifications, combinations, and permutations that
nevertheless fall within the scope and spirit of the appended claims.
CLAIMS :
1. A method of providing voice access to Internet-based information and
services, the method comprising:
receiving a signal indicating a communication connection request, the
communication connection request being initiated by a user of a communication
apparatus;
establishing a communication connection with the communication apparatus
of the user;
receiving voice information from the user; and
communicating voice information responsive to the voice information received
from the user, the responsive voice information having Internet-based information;
gathering information from sources via the Internet; and
merging the same information from different data sources into a canonical
data object.
2. The method as claimed in claim l, wherein the step of communicating voice information
responsive to the voice information received from the user comprises responsively
providing the Internet-based information from a variety of different sources
associated with the Internet.
3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the Internet-based information comprises
information related to movies, weather, traffic, stocks, and sports.
4. The method as claimed in claim l,. wherein the step of communicating voice information
responsive to the voice information received from the user comprises selectively
providing advertisements.
5. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the step of selectively providing
advertisements comprises identifying a set of advertisements with weights
corresponding to a profile of the user.
6. The method as claimed in claim 4, which involves pricing advertisement COSts based
on number of times the advertisement is presented.
7. The method as claimed in claim 4, Wherein the Step of selectively providing
advertisements comprises providing permission based advertising, the permission
based advertising presenting more advertising information after receipt of a request
from the user.
8. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the step of selectively providing
advertisements comprises selectively providing speak-through advertisements.
9. The method as claimed in claim 4, which involves making a record of selectively
provided advertisements.
10. The method as claimed in claim 1, which involves providing transaction
information to the user.
11. The method as claimed in claim 10, which involves responsively engaging a
transaction upon voice confirmation by the user.
12. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the step of communicating information by
voice to the user comprises selecting information to communicate based on
preferences of the user.
13. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the step of selecting information to
communicate comprises passively determining user preferences.
14. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the step of selecting information to
communicate comprises actively requesting preferences from the user.
15. The method as claimed in claim 1, which involves making a record of information
communicated to the user during the duration of the communication connection.
16. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of communicating information by
voice to the user comprises dynamically ordering questions to communicate to the
user as to anticipate possible user responses.
17. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of communicating information by
voice to the user comprises attribute based funneling of user responses to ascertain
a desired item or service.
18. The method as claimed in claim 1, which involves providing associations between
non-identical items according to a closeness relationship.
19. The method as claimed in claim l, which involves converting the gathered information
into a unique key.
20. The method as claimed in claim 19, wherein the step of converting the gathered
information into a unique key comprises applying attribute rules to the gathered
information.
21. The method as claimed in claim 1, which involves fusing vendor supplied information
into a unified database.
22. The method as claimed in claim l, which involves organizing gathered information
into an existant data structure.
23. The method as claimed in claim 1, which involves transforming the gathered
information to a searchable and common format.
24. The method as claimed in claim 23, which involves converting the gathered
information in the searchable and common format to an interface specific format.
25. The method as claimed in claim 24, wherein the step of converting the gathered
information to an interface specific format comprises applying attribute phrase
grammars.
26. A voice portal apparatus comprising:
a user interface;
at least one database coupled to the user interface, the user interface
coordinating voice communications with a user, the at least one database storing
information regarding users and Internet-based information; and
an update engine coupled to the at least one database, the update engine
. being in communication with the Internet and providing updated Internet-based
information; and
a fusion engine coupled to the at least one database, the fusion engine being
configured to compare information from at least one data source and selectively
create a canonical data object.
27. . The apparatus as claimed in claim 26, having a customer management
subsystem coupled to the user interface, the customer management subsystem
being configured to acquire information needed to determine user preferences and
facts.
28. The apparatus as claimed in claim 26, having an advertising subsystem
coupled to the user interface, the advertising subsystem being configured to
coordinate the advertisements presented to the user.
29. The apparatus as claimed in claim 28, wherein the advertisements presented to the
user comprise any one of sponsorship advertisements, targeted advertisements, and
permission-based advertisements.
30. A system for providing voice access to Internet-based information and
services, the system comprising:
means for receiving a signal indicating a communication connection request;
means for establishing a communication connection with the user;
means for communicating information by voice to the user;
means for receiving voice information from the user; and
means for communicating voice information responsive to the voice
information received from the user, the responsive voice information having
Internet-based information obtained from sources via the Internet;
means for gathering information from sources via the Internet; and
means for merging the same information from different data sources into a
canonical data object.
31. The system as claimed in claim 30, wherein the means for communicating voice
information responsive to the voice information received from the user comprises
means for responsively providing information from a variety of different sources.
32. The system as claimed in claim 31, having means for pricing advertisement costs
based on number of times the advertisement is presented.
33. The system as claimed in claim 30, wherein the means for communicating voice
information responsive to the voice information received from the user comprises
means for selectively providing advertisements.
34. The system as claimed in claim 32, wherein the means for selectively providing
advertisements comprises means for identifying a set of advertisements with weights
corresponding to a profile of the user.
35. The system as claimed in claim 30, having means for providing transaction
information to the user.
36. The system as claimed in claim 35, having means for responsively engaging a
transaction upon voice confirmation by user.
37. The system as claimed in claim 30, wherein the means for communicating information by
voice to the user comprises means for selecting information to communicate based
on preferences of the user.
38. The system as claimed in claim 37, wherein the means for selecting information to
communicate comprises means for passively determining user preferences.
39. The system as claimed in claim 30, having means for making a record of
information communicated to the user during the duration of the communication
connection.
40. The system as claimed in claim 30, wherein the means for communicating information by
voice to the user comprises means for dynamically ordering questions to
communicate to the user as to anticipate possible user responses.
41. The system as claimed in claim 30, wherein the means for communicating information by
voice to the user comprises means for attribute based funneling of user responses to
ascertain a desired item or service.
42. The system as claimed in claim 30, having means for providing associations
between non-identical items according to a closeness relationship.
43. The system as claimed in claim 30, having means for fusing vendor supplied
information into a unified database.
44. The system as claimed in claim 30, having means for organizing gathered
information into an existant data structure.
45. The system as claimed in claim 30, having means for transforming the
gathered information to a searchable and common format.
A method of providing voice access to Internet-based information and services includes receiving a signal indicating
a communication connection request in which the communication connection request is initiated by a user of a communication
apparatus, establishing a communication connection with the communication apparatus of the user, receiving voice information
from the user, and communicating voice information responsive to the voice information received from the user. The responsive
voice information includes internet-based information.