METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING AN AUTOMATED SHOPPING SERVICE IN A TELECOMMUNICATION SYSTEM

1 . A method of providing an automated shopping service in a telecommunication system, comprising:

receiving a call via the telecommunication system initiated by a caller;

playing an electronic prompt to the caller;

receiving an electronic response from the caller to the electronic prompt;

automatically detecting at least one item requested by the caller in the electronic response;

performing a search of at least one shopping source to obtain information associated with the at least one item; and

sending the information towards the caller.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of automatically detecting comprises:

converting the electronic response to an electronically searchable format; and

performing an electronic search in the electronic response as converted to detect the at least one item.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the electronically searchable format comprises a digital audio format, and wherein the step of performing the electronic search comprises:

performing a speech-to-text conversion of the digital audio format to generate a transcript; and

parsing the transcript to detect the at least one item.

4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the step of performing the electronic search further comprises:

obtaining location attributes associated with the caller; and

geocoding the at least one item based on the location attributes.

5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the step of performing the search comprises:

selecting the at least one shopping source from a plurality of shopping sources based geographic identification data associated with the at least one item as geocoded.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of sending comprises:

obtaining contact information associated with the caller; and

sending the information to the caller via at least one communication service.

7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the at least one communication service comprises at least one of: electronic mail service, short message service (SMS), or instant messaging service.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the telecommunication system includes an internet protocol (IP) communication network, and wherein the call is received using a voice-over-internet protocol (VOIP) service over the IP communication network.

9 . An apparatus for providing an automated shopping service in a telecommunication system, comprising:

a database configured to store pre-recorded electronic content; and

at least one server configured to:

receive a call via the telecommunication system initiated by a caller;

play an electronic prompt to the caller selected from the pre-recorded content;

receive an electronic response from the caller to the electronic prompt;

automatically detect at least one item requested by the caller in the electronic response;

perform a search of at least one shopping source to obtain information associated with the at least one item; and

send the information towards the caller.

10 . The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the at least one server is further configured to:

convert the electronic response to an electronically searchable format; and

perform an electronic search in the electronic response as converted to detect the at least one item.

11 . The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the electronically searchable format comprises a digital audio format, and wherein the at least one server is further configured to:

perform a speech-to-text conversion of the digital audio format to generate a transcript; and

parse the transcript to detect the at least one item.

12 . The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the at least one server is further configured to:

obtain location attributes associated with the caller;

geocode the at least one item based on the location attributes.

13 . The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the at least one server is further configured to:

select the at least one shopping source from a plurality of shopping sources based geographic identification data associated with the at least one item as geocoded.

14 . The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the at least one server is further configured to:

obtain contact information associated with the caller; and

send the information to an address of the caller via at least one communication service.

15 . The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the at least one communication service comprises at least one of: electronic mail service, short message service (SMS), or instant messaging service.

16 . The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the telecommunication system includes an internet protocol (IP) communication network, and wherein the call is received using a voice-over-internet protocol (VOIP) service over the IP communication network.

17 . A computer readable medium having stored thereon instructions that when executed by a processor cause the processor to perform a method of providing an automated shopping service in a telecommunication system, comprising:

receiving a call via the telecommunication system initiated by a caller;

playing an electronic prompt to the caller;

receiving an electronic response from the caller to the electronic prompt;

automatically detecting at least one item requested by the caller in the electronic response;

performing a search of at least one shopping source to obtain information associated with the at least one item; and

sending the information towards the caller.

18 . The computer readable medium of claim 17 , wherein the step of automatically detecting comprises:

converting the electronic response to an electronically searchable format; and

performing an electronic search in the electronic response as converted to detect the at least one item.

19 . The computer readable medium of claim 18 , wherein the electronically searchable format comprises a digital audio format, and wherein the step of performing the electronic search comprises:

performing a speech-to-text conversion of the digital audio format to generate a transcript; and

parsing the transcript to detect the at least one item.

20 . The computer readable medium of claim 19 , wherein the step of performing the electronic search further comprises:

obtaining location attributes associated with the caller;

geocoding the at least one item based on the location attributes; and

wherein the step of performing the search comprises:

selecting the at least one shopping source from a plurality of shopping sources based geographic identification data associated with the at least one item as geocoded.