Virtual assistance for chat agents

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016308799-A1
Application number	US-201514690565-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Apr 20, 2015
Priority date	Apr 20, 2015
Publication date	Oct 20, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention employ a virtual assistant for use by a live agent during a session while traditional virtual assistant applications interact directly with the customer contact. According to one embodiment, the virtual assistant content can be displayed to the live agent alongside the chat window, for example in a side-by-side layout. Buttons and/or shortcut keys can also be provided which would allow the agent to “promote” the virtual assistant response to the chat session. In such cases, the virtual assistant answer or response can be moved to the chat panel and be sent to the customer. This approach can leverage the virtual assistant to make live agents more efficient by providing answers to questions that keep the live agent from having to look them up or even type the answer at all. This approach can also provide a more consistent service experience between customers and between sessions.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method for providing virtual assistance on a contact agent interaction during a live chat session, the method comprising:
selecting a mode of operation from a plurality of modes of operation for a virtual assistant; launching the virtual assistant in the selected mode of operation; conducting a chat session using the virtual assistant, the chat session involving a live agent; and tracking performance of the virtual assistant and the live agent during the chat session.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the selected mode comprises a live mode and wherein conducting the chat session using the virtual assistant comprises:
receiving a customer contact; initiating the chat session between the customer contact and the live agent; and conducting the chat session with the virtual assistant providing answers to the live agent during and based on the chat session and wherein tracking performance of the virtual assistant and the live agent during the chat session comprises tracking use by the live agent of the answers provided by the virtual assistant.

3 . The method of claim 2 , further comprising, in response to receiving an indication from the live agent, providing the answer from the virtual assistant to the customer contact without modification.

4 . The method of claim 2 , further comprising, in response to receiving an indication from the live agent, providing the answer from the virtual assistant to the customer contact with modification by the live agent.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the selected mode comprises a training mode and wherein conducting the chat session using the virtual assistant comprises:
initiating the chat session between a trainer and the live agent; and conducting the chat session with the virtual assistant providing answers to the live agent during and based on the chat session and wherein tracking performance of the virtual assistant and the live agent during the chat session comprises tracking use by the live agent of the answers provided by the virtual assistant and differences between answers provided by the live agent and the answers provided by the virtual assistant.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the selected mode comprises a hidden live mode and wherein conducting the chat session using the virtual assistant comprises:
receiving a customer contact; initiating the chat session between the customer contact and the live agent; conducting the chat session between the customer contact and the live agent; and generating answers by the virtual assistant during and based on the chat session without providing the answers to the live agent and wherein tracking performance of the virtual assistant and the live agent during the chat session comprises tracking differences between answers provided by the live agent and the answers generated by the virtual assistant.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the selected mode comprises a hidden training mode and wherein conducting the chat session using the virtual assistant comprises:
initiating the chat session between a trainer and the live agent; and conducting the chat session between the trainer and the live agent; and generating answers by the virtual assistant during and based on the chat session without providing the answers to the live agent and wherein tracking performance of the virtual assistant and the live agent during the chat session comprises tracking differences between answers provided by the live agent and the answers generated by the virtual assistant.

8 . A system comprising:
a processor; and a memory coupled with and readable by the processor and storing therein a set of instructions which, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to provide virtual assistance on a contact agent interaction during a live chat session by:
selecting a mode of operation from a plurality of modes of operation for a virtual assistant;
launching the virtual assistant in the selected mode of operation;
conducting a chat session using the virtual assistant, the chat session involving a live agent; and
tracking performance of the virtual assistant and the live agent during the chat session.

9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the selected mode comprises a live mode and wherein conducting the chat session using the virtual assistant comprises:
receiving a customer contact; initiating the chat session between the customer contact and the live agent; and conducting the chat session with the virtual assistant providing answers to the live agent during and based on the chat session and wherein tracking performance of the virtual assistant and the live agent during the chat session comprises tracking use by the live agent of the answers provided by the virtual assistant.

10 . The system of claim 9 , further comprising, in response to receiving an indication from the live agent, providing the answer from the virtual assistant to the customer contact without modification.

11 . The system of claim 9 , further comprising, in response to receiving an indication from the live agent, providing the answer from the virtual assistant to the customer contact with modification by the live agent.

12 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the selected mode comprises a training mode and wherein conducting the chat session using the virtual assistant comprises:
initiating the chat session between a trainer and the live agent; and conducting the chat session with the virtual assistant providing answers to the live agent during and based on the chat session and wherein tracking performance of the virtual assistant and the live agent during the chat session comprises tracking use by the live agent of the answers provided by the virtual assistant and differences between answers provided by the live agent and the answers provided by the virtual assistant.

13 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the selected mode comprises a hidden live mode and wherein conducting the chat session using the virtual assistant comprises:
receiving a customer contact; initiating the chat session between the customer contact and the live agent; conducting the chat session between the customer contact and the live agent; and generating answers by the virtual assistant during and based on the chat session without providing the answers to the live agent and wherein tracking performance of the virtual assistant and the live agent during the chat session comprises tracking differences between answers provided by the live agent and the answers generated by the virtual assistant.

14 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the selected mode comprises a hidden training mode and wherein conducting the chat session using the virtual assistant comprises:
initiating the chat session between a trainer and the live agent; and conducting the chat session between the trainer and the live agent; and generating answers by the virtual assistant during and based on the chat session without providing the answers to the live agent and wherein tracking performance of the virtual assistant and the live agent during the chat session comprises tracking differences between answers provided by the live agent and the answers generated by the virtual assistant.

15 . A computer-readable memory comprising a set of instructions stored therein which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to provide virtual assistance on a contact agent interaction during a live chat session by:
selecting a mode of operation from a plurality of modes of operation for a virtual assistant; launching the virtual assistant in the selected m

Assignees

• Oracle Int Corp

Inventors

• Schubert Aaron
• Van Der Pol Alexander
• Van Staveren Iwan

Classifications

• H04L67/22

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04L51/046 Primary

  Interoperability with other network applications or services · CPC title

• H04L67/535 Primary

  Tracking the activity of the user (network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34) · CPC title

• H04L51/02

  using automatic reactions or user delegation, e.g. automatic replies or chatbot-generated messages · CPC title