Conventionally, a user would submit a text message or short message service type message (SMS) to a known service provider in order to receive certain feedback. SMS-based messaging and question generation are becomingly increasingly popular as it saves time for the customer, the customer support center and requires less people to answer phone calls and address user concerns. Also, in the case of interactive voice response (IVR) systems, a user may be faced with various options for pressing phone keys to be directed to the correct department or in an effort to speak with a live agent.
The common and conventional SMS message processing applications generally have strict rules for messages that are received and processed by the interpretation server on the service provide side. For instance, a common example may be to respond to a customer inquiry or initiate a payment request to the customer's mobile device with instructions, such as “Reply 1 for Payments”, “Reply 2 for Agent Support”, “Reply 3 for more options”. Then if the user replied with an option that does not match what the application is anticipating at that time, normally an error message would be returned to the user, such as “We're sorry—we don't understand you” or “Please try again” without any recourse for providing the user with assistance or addressing what the user is requesting.
Other example conventional IVR applications may provide a way for the user with access to an agent when automation options continue to fail (i.e., press “0” for an operator or a live customer agent), etc. This configuration is common with SMS applications. For example, when automation fails, there generally is a response to the individual, however, the response is not in furtherance of the user's request and it generally only provides that the user has made an error, and sometimes a phone number is provided that the user should call if they need further assistance.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds