IP Library Granted Patent US 9,444,940
Granted Patent B2
US 9,444,940 · App. 14/085,464 · Granted Sep 13, 2016

Pseudo agent matching

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,444,940
App. No.
14/085,464
Granted
Sep 13, 2016
Kind
B2
Abstract

Contact centers employ agents to provide services to customers. In particular, artificial agents are provided that have a rich background and continuing life with the realm of social media. The artificial agent's profile is selected in accord with the profiles of current or prospective customers. As the customers age and progress in life, the artificial agent profile is updated in accord with the customers' changing profiles and similarly ages and progresses in life. When a customer desires to interact with artificial agent, for a purpose provided by a contact center, a human agent may be provided the profile and/or history of the artificial agent so as to impersonate the artificial agent and promote the relationship with the customer.

Claims (47)

1. A method, comprising:

accessing, by a processor, a customer profile with at least one customer attribute;

determining, by the processor, a preferred agent attribute in accord with the customer profile;

creating, by the processor, a pseudo-agent, having a pseudo-agent profile, on a social media website available to the customer, the pseudo-agent profile comprising a first pseudo-agent profile attribute;

setting, by the processor, the first pseudo-agent profile attribute in accord with the preferred agent attribute;

providing, by the processor, the pseudo-agent profile to a human agent; and

establishing, by the processor, an interaction between the customer and a human agent.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, providing an embellishment of the pseudo-agent profile in accord with the customer profile and wherein the embellishment is at least one of an addition of an entry to the pseudo-agent profile, modification of the pseudo-agent profile, a comment associated with an entry of the customer profile, and an endorsement of an entry of the customer profile.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the embellishment is in accord with an activity associated with the customer profile.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the embellishment is presented to a human agent for approval.

5. The method of claim 2 , wherein the embellishment comprises a social media post.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the social media post is selected from a database previously populated with a number of social media posts.

7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the customer attribute is a mean time between customer postings to a social media website and wherein the social media post is provided after the passage of time from a previous social media post that is substantially equivalent to the mean time between customer postings.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

accessing a plurality of the customer profiles; and

wherein the step of determining the preferred agent attribute further comprises determining the preferred agent attribute in accord with the plurality of customer profiles.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the preferred agent attribute comprises a set of agent attributes.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining the time since the customer profile was accessed; and

upon determining the time is greater than a threshold value, reaccessing the customer profile, identifying a change between the accessed customer profile and the reaccessed customer profile, determining the preferred agent attribute in accord with the reaccessed customer profile; and setting a second profile attribute in accord with the preferred agent attribute.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

upon determining the second profile attribute contradicts the first profile attribute, negating the first profile attribute.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving a contact from the customer at a contact center; and

wherein the preferred agent attribute comprises an identifier of the pseudo-agent.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

determining a communication session between the human agent and the customer has ended; and

in response to determining that the communication session has ended, prompting the human agent to update the pseudo-agent profile to include an artifact of the communication session.

14. A system, comprising:

a processor;

a database;

a network connection operable to connect the processor to a social media website; and

wherein the processor is operable to access the database to retrieve a customer profile with at least one customer attribute, determine a preferred agent attribute in accord with the customer profile, create a pseudo-agent, having a pseudo-agent profile, on a social media website available to the customer, the pseudo-agent profile comprising a first pseudo-agent profile attribute; set the first pseudo-agent profile attribute in accord with the preferred agent attribute provide the pseudo-agent profile to a human agent; and establish, an interaction between the customer and a human agent.

15. The system of claim 14 , further comprising, the processor being operable to access the social media website and embellish the pseudo-agent profile in accord with the customer profile and wherein the embellishment is at least one of an addition of an entry to the pseudo-agent profile, modification of the pseudo-agent profile, a comment associated with an entry of the customer profile, and an endorsement of an entry of the customer profile.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the embellishment comprises a social media posting.

17. The system of claim 14 , further comprising:

a work assignment engine connected to the network connection to receive a contact from the customer; and

wherein the preferred agent attribute comprises an identifier of the pseudo-agent.

18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the processor is further operable to determine the communication session has ended and prompt the agent to update the pseudo-agent profile to include an artifact of the communication session.

19. A non-transitory computer readable medium with instructions that, when read by a computer, cause the computer to perform the following method:

accessing a customer profile with at least one customer attribute;

determining a preferred agent attribute in accord with the customer profile;

creating a pseudo-agent, having a pseudo-agent profile, on a social media website available to the customer, the pseudo-agent profile comprising a first pseudo-agent profile attribute;

setting the first profile attribute in accord with the preferred agent attribute

providing the pseudo-agent profile to a human agent; and

establishing an interaction between the customer and a human agent.

20. The instructions of claim 19 , wherein the computer further routes a contact to a human agent selected to impersonate the pseudo-agent.

Assignments (10)
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS (REEL/FRAME 045034/0001) Recorded May 18, 2023
From: GOLDMAN SACHS BANK USA., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: ZANG, INC. (FORMER NAME OF AVAYA CLOUD INC.); AVAYA INC.; INTELLISIST, INC.; AVAYA INTEGRATED CABINET SOLUTIONS LLC; OCTEL COMMUNICATIONS LLC; VPNET TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; HYPERQUALITY, INC.; HYPERQUALITY II, LLC; CAAS TECHNOLOGIES, LLC; AVAYA MANAGEMENT L.P.
Reel/Frame 063779/0622 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS AT REEL 45124/FRAME 0026 Recorded Apr 26, 2023
From: CITIBANK, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: AVAYA HOLDINGS CORP.; AVAYA INC.; AVAYA MANAGEMENT L.P.; AVAYA INTEGRATED CABINET SOLUTIONS LLC
Reel/Frame 063457/0001 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 22, 2018
From: AVAYA INC.
To: SERVICENOW, INC.
Reel/Frame 045006/0301 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Feb 20, 2018
From: CITIBANK, N.A.
To: AVAYA INC.
Reel/Frame 044974/0619 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Feb 20, 2018
From: GOLDMAN SACHS BANK USA
To: AVAYA INC.
Reel/Frame 044974/0715 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jan 23, 2018
From: AVAYA INC.; AVAYA INTEGRATED CABINET SOLUTIONS LLC; OCTEL COMMUNICATIONS LLC; VPNET TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; ZANG, INC.
To: CITIBANK, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 045124/0026 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jan 10, 2018
From: AVAYA INC.; AVAYA INTEGRATED CABINET SOLUTIONS LLC; OCTEL COMMUNICATIONS LLC; VPNET TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; ZANG, INC.
To: GOLDMAN SACHS BANK USA, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 045034/0001 →
BANKRUPTCY COURT ORDER RELEASING ALL LIENS INCLUDING THE SECURITY INTEREST RECORDED AT REEL/FRAME 041576/0001 Recorded Dec 15, 2017
From: CITIBANK, N.A.
To: AVAYA INC.; AVAYA INTEGRATED CABINET SOLUTIONS INC.; OCTEL COMMUNICATIONS LLC (FORMERLY KNOWN AS OCTEL COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION); VPNET TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
Reel/Frame 044893/0531 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jan 27, 2017
From: AVAYA INC.; AVAYA INTEGRATED CABINET SOLUTIONS INC.; OCTEL COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION; VPNET TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
To: CITIBANK, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
Reel/Frame 041576/0001 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Nov 22, 2013
From: SKIBA, DAVID; ERHART, GEORGE; BECKER, LEE
To: AVAYA, INC.
Reel/Frame 031662/0895 →