Technique for providing personalized information and communications services

Abstract

A user may utilize a communication device, e.g., a wireless phone, mobile device or personal digital assistant (PDA), to contact an information / call center where an operator provides personalized information and communications services to the user in accordance with the invention. Such services include, e.g., providing listing information, contacts information, appointments information, etc. To provide effective connectivity, for example, when a user locates a phone number in his / her private directory using a web browser, the user may utilize a direct connect feature of the invention to initiate a phone call to the desired number over the Internet. In addition, the invention allows for delivery of the appointments information to the user not only via voice connection, but also SMS, email, facsimile, PDA, etc. It also allows for rendering a calendaring service in combination with such services as a TeleConcierge® service which helps the user to plan a future event, e.g., making a restaurant reservation. An appointment record concerning the future event is automatically incorporated into the user's calendar once it is successfully planned. To personalize the services, at least one profile associated with the user is used which specifies the subscribed services and the preferred ways of receiving them. For example, the profile may specify use of a special skilled operator, methods of delivery of information to the user, etc.

Description

[0001] The present application claims the benefit of U.S. application Ser. No. 09 / 441,656 filed on Nov. 21, 1999 under 35 U.S.C. 120, and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 257,913 filed on Dec. 21, 2000 under 35 U.S.C. 119(e).FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The invention relates to a communication system and method, and more particularly to a system and method for providing personalized information assistance and services. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] In this information age, people need to be well informed and organized to effectively carry out day-to-day activities, especially when they are traveling and away from their “home” site where they normally conduct their business. As a result, use of mobile devices which facilitate mobile communications such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), and wireless phones and devices is ubiquitous. For example, PDAs of the PALM type allow users to store and organize their appointments, to-do lists and contacts information...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008] In an illustrative embodiment, the user may access the folders directly through a web interface or indirectly through an operator. The operator acts as an agent of the user and may possess substantially the same access rights to the folders as the user. With access to the user's folders, the operator can be relied upon to efficiently retrieve the desired contact and appointment information, and to modify the information if the user has authority to do so. As a result, such user requests as “I need to reach Bob . . . I forget his last name;”“Connect me to Bob at ABC Corporation . . . I need his direct line;” and “I want to talk to the sales manager at ABC Corporation . . . What is his name?” would be sufficient for the operator to locate the contact information. However, when given more specific data about the desired contact, e.g., his / her full name, the operator may also search a national directory for the desired contact to supplement and / or confirm the located contact information. The operator can further connect the user to the phone number of the desired contact in an expeditious manner. Thus, the operator becomes, de facto, a personal aide to the user. However, advantageously, unlike a personal aide who works a limited number of hours on weekdays, an operator can be reached all the time.

Problems solved by technology

However, for those users who would normally be able to call upon personal aides at their offices, the operators may not be as efficient or personal in providing information assistance and services as their personal aides.

In that case, most likely either the operator cannot meet such a user preference or its accommodation would incur a significant delay.

Existing PIM software and devices are often used to store private directory information and personal data, e.g., appointments, to-do lists, etc., but are often not convenient or safe tools for providing directory information to telephone users.

Corporate employees in many cases must manually synchronize their personal and their corporate directories, and such private directories are often out of date or otherwise inaccurate, consuming what might otherwise be more productive time.

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