Method and system for providing software services over the internet via a user interface integrated into an instant messaging and communication software application

Abstract

A computer-implemented method for providing software services via the Internet through a user interface integrated into an instant messaging and communication software application is disclosed. The method ultimately provides the steps of delivering, by a fulfillment application, a requested software service and / or one or more specific tasks requested based on a received action; and providing the requested software service and / or one or more specific tasks requested to a user through the interface application integrated into the instant messaging and communication software application. A system capable of performing the above method is also disclosed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention generally relates to the technical field of providing software services via the Internet.

[0002] More specifically, the present invention relates to a computer-implemented method and system for providing software services via the Internet through a user interface integrated into instant messaging and communication software applications. Background Technology

[0003] As is well known, among services accessible via computers, virtual conferencing services, interactive audio or video conferencing and instant messaging services, as well as artificial intelligence-based services, are of particular importance and widespread use.

[0004] From the perspective of computer implementation and usage patterns, these services are completely decoupled today because they are provided through entirely different software tools and programs, and through interfaces that are different from each other and completely independent. For example, on the one hand, one could consider using an interface for video conferencing via a wide range of tools, such as Microsoft Teams® or Google Meet® or others, and on the other hand, one could use an interface that considers chat-type interfaces, such as ChatGPT®.

[0005] However, from a functional perspective, people want more integrated interfaces, such as consulting AI services during virtual video conferences.

[0006] More generally, even beyond the examples above, there is a particular need for efficient and easy access to software services provided via the Internet in order to integrate them into and use them concurrently with instant messaging and communication software applications.

[0007] To the applicant's knowledge, given the increasing growth and widespread availability of the two services mentioned above, this demand is becoming increasingly apparent, but commercially available or other known solutions cannot meet this demand. Summary of the Invention

[0008] The object of the present invention is to provide a computer-implemented method for providing software services via the Internet through a user interface integrated into instant messaging and communication software applications, which can at least partially overcome the deficiencies pointed out above regarding the prior art and meet the aforementioned needs that are particularly prominent in the art field.

[0009] This objective is achieved by a method, as claimed in claim 1, of providing software services via the Internet through a user interface integrated into an instant messaging and communication software application.

[0010] Further embodiments of the method are defined in claims 2 to 26.

[0011] Another object of the present invention is to provide a system that provides software services via the Internet through a user interface integrated into instant messaging and communication software applications, the system being capable of performing the methods described above.

[0012] This objective is achieved by the system according to claim 27. Further embodiments of the method are defined in claims 28 and 29. Attached Figure Description

[0013] According to the present invention, further features and advantages of the method and system for providing software services via the Internet through a user interface integrated into instant messaging and communication software applications will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments provided by way of non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings:

[0014] Figure 1 This is a simplified block diagram illustrating software components for performing the method of the present invention according to one embodiment;

[0015] Figure 2 This is a display example of a user interface provided in an embodiment of the method according to the present invention;

[0016] Figure 3 A screen provided by a user interface during interaction with a user is shown by way of example, according to an embodiment of the method according to the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0017] The following will refer to Figures 1 to 3 A more detailed description of a method for providing software services via the Internet through a user interface integrated into instant messaging and communication software applications.

[0018] The method first includes the step of providing an interface application developed and operated within a platform for instant messaging and communication software applications.

[0019] The interface application is operatively connected to and / or interacts with the BOT service to provide users with chat-type interface functionality, which is integrated into the user interface of the instant messaging and communication software application.

[0020] The method then includes the following steps: a user inserting user input via the interface application, the user input including at least one request related to a software service accessible via the Internet; and processing the user input via the BOT service.

[0021] The method then manages the steps of understanding user input via a dialogue management application operatively connected to the interface application, for interpreting the at least one request provided by the user as input and processed by the BOT service, and for mapping the at least one request to a corresponding specific intent.

[0022] The method then includes the following steps: receiving the specific intent via a programming interface (hereinafter also referred to as the "Action Interface") operably connected to the dialogue management application for a specific processing service; and triggering a specific action associated with the received specific intent by the programming interface (i.e., the Action Interface) for the specific processing service.

[0023] The action is a function that invokes a specific processing service corresponding to a software service requested by the user, and / or an instruction function that indicates one or more specific tasks requested.

[0024] The method then provides steps for receiving the specific action by a fulfillment application operatively connected to a programming interface for a specific processing service.

[0025] The application being performed includes an application, program, software module, or logic execution component.

[0026] Finally, the method provides the following steps: the fulfillment application delivers the requested software service and / or the requested one or more specific tasks based on the received action; and the interface application is integrated into the instant messaging and communication software application to provide the user with the requested software service and / or the requested one or more specific tasks.

[0027] According to one embodiment of the method, instant messaging and communication software applications are messaging services, including instant messaging applications and / or web chat and / or teleconference / group chat tools.

[0028] According to another embodiment of the method, instant messaging and communication software applications include online virtual meeting tools and / or teleconference / group chat tools.

[0029] According to one embodiment of the method, the BOT service is supported by an application provided by the BOT service, which is configured to interact with the interface application.

[0030] According to one embodiment of the method, interface applications, instant messaging and communication software applications, and BOT service provider applications are integrated into the front-end software component.

[0031] According to one implementation option of the described embodiment, the front-end software component includes:

[0032] Microsoft Teams® is an instant messaging and communication software application;

[0033] Proprietary applications developed and published within the Teams software environment, serving as user interface applications;

[0034] AzureBOT provides applications as BOT services.

[0035] In this scenario, the user uses Microsoft Teams® as the entry point to perform this method, and specifically chats with the aforementioned proprietary interface application.

[0036] Depending on other possible implementation options, this method employs other tools (such as Skype®, Facebook Messenger®, Telegram®, WhatsApp®, Slack®, etc.) as instant messaging and communication software applications.

[0037] Proprietary interface applications (such as applications developed by the applicant that are proprietary to the Microsoft Teams environment) allow interaction with Microsoft Teams® in Private Conversation mode and are searchable in the top search bar.

[0038] The BOT service provides the application "AzureBOT®" (used in this example) as a logical interface configured to provide chatbots developed in the "Microsoft BOT Framework" via the Microsoft Teams Channel.

[0039] In this embodiment, the method allows defining appropriate specific configurations to connect Azure BOT to Microsoft Teams®, thereby obtaining the aforementioned proprietary interface, which appears as a regular chat window connected to the underlying Azure BOT service to send and receive messages.

[0040] In other words, this embodiment uses the “Azure BOT®” service integrated into Microsoft Teams®, which allows the creation of BOTs that can be used from Microsoft Teams®, configured to interact with Azure BOTs, which in turn are configured to “hook” code developed by the applicant for a proprietary interface.

[0041] According to one embodiment of the method, the aforementioned specific processing service or software service requested by the user includes any software service from a "software vendor" accessible via the Internet, or any customized service specifically developed at the customer's request.

[0042] According to one implementation option of the method, the aforementioned specific processing service or software service requested by the user includes artificial intelligence services.

[0043] According to another implementation option of the method, the aforementioned specific processing service or software service requested by the user includes a "machine translation" service.

[0044] Referring to the above dialogue management application (i.e., "dialogue management"), it is worth noting that, according to one implementation example, it manages the "understanding" step, interpreting user input and mapping it to a specific intent.

[0045] Depending on one implementation option, this functionality is typically executed remotely in a cloud platform by a program, module, or software application for dialogue management, which is appropriately configured to interact with the aforementioned front-end application.

[0046] The conversation management application was specifically developed by the applicant, and the associated software code is of the "custom" type, although it can be advantageously executed on available hardware (e.g., by Google).

[0047] According to one implementation option, the “custom” software code is based on open-source components such as Python libraries (described in more detail below) and is specially developed to manage conversations via “virtual proxies” that can map user requests to specific “tools,” i.e., code functions that trigger specific processes, i.e., “actions.”

[0048] According to one implementation option, the expiration of short conversations is managed to achieve secure data processing without significant impact, and the collection of consent is managed.

[0049] Depending on one implementation option, "Conversation Management" enables differentiated management of possible available operations, such as based on specific user accounts or specific user groups.

[0050] According to one embodiment of the method, the aforementioned dialogue management application (dialogue management) and the aforementioned programming interface for specific processing services (i.e., the "action" interface) are implemented by software components for delivering the software application in a "serverless" mode, i.e., without requiring a specific configuration machine / hardware resource instance, and activating the necessary resources that are managed entirely in a "cloud" mode.

[0051] Depending on the different possible implementation options of this embodiment, the aforementioned software component for delivering software applications in serverless mode is "Google Cloud Function®", "AWS Lambda Function®", or "Azure Function®".

[0052] Depending on other possible implementation options, the aforementioned software components used to deliver the software application may include custom-developed software components or components provided by other external providers.

[0053] According to one embodiment of the method, the dialogue management application interacts with a dialogue database that stores and tracks all user interactions with the user interface.

[0054] According to one implementation option, the aforementioned conversation database is Google Conversational Memory DB®.

[0055] Depending on other possible implementation options, the aforementioned dialogue database is a relational database, such as AlloyDB, Cloud SQL, and Big Query for PostgreSQL, as well as No SQL databases such as Bigtable, Memorystore, MongoDB Atlas, Datastax, Redis Labs, and Neo4j.

[0056] According to one implementation option, the aforementioned dialogue management application also includes software tools for configuring the expiration dates of the row content contained in the aforementioned dialogue database to automatically manage the deletion of old rows from the database.

[0057] According to one embodiment of the method, the aforementioned “intent” is a digital entity representing a class and / or category that, from a logical / functional perspective, represents an operation and / or function associated with a user request in the operation and / or function managed by the BOT service via the chat interface.

[0058] Intent is therefore a “purpose / goal” of user-input communication. This definition falls into the broader field of “natural language understanding,” that is, “understanding natural language requests.” Essentially, it is a process of classification / categorization, where “intent” represents, from a logical / functional perspective, a class / category of operations / functions managed by the “chatbot.”

[0059] For example, the intent "image generation" might be a category label that, when applied to a user's request, is passed as input to a specific image generation tool.

[0060] According to one implementation option, the intent is to achieve this through custom Python code based on the LangChain library, which provides several code / function packages that can be imported into the application, such as:

[0061] “0 / few samples” intention classification (i.e., very few examples through natural language instructions and large language models).

[0062] The virtual agent's "hint engineering" uses "thought chains" to manage its reasoning in a structured way, and then selects specific tools to perform subsequent related "actions" and activate the correct "execution" components.

[0063] According to one embodiment of the method, the aforementioned “action” is a code function that performs a specific task, in which the role of a “virtual agent” acting as a “dialogue orchestrator” is fundamental, ensuring the possibility of dialogue interaction that supports “dialogue management”.

[0064] It is worth noting that most operations initiate interaction with the corresponding execution component. However, some operations are handled without activating the execution component, such as processing ambiguous requests and presenting the user with selection buttons to guide the interaction.

[0065] To ensure maximum granular access to actions based on user visibility permissions, depending on an implementation option, specific users or user groups can have specific differentiated access to specific operations.

[0066] According to one implementation option, the above steps for managing user input understanding are based on the "LangChain" agent.

[0067] According to another implementation option, the above steps for managing user input understanding are based on a "large language model".

[0068] Depending on other possible implementation options, the steps described above for managing user input understanding are based on a custom RAG (Retrieval Enhancement Generation) solution, or on other solutions that are known in themselves.

[0069] Although the concepts of "LangChain" agents and "large language models" are known to experts in the field, some exemplary information is provided below.

[0070] Generative AI agents are software code functions that send requests to external generative services in a structured manner (although some services also provide agents as "out-of-the-box" services). They are highly integrated with contextual elements and specific IT or generative tools to perform specific tasks. For example, when implementing an agent, several aspects are considered, including the specific operating environment, general instructions for interaction, tone of voice to be used, a list of products or services, guidelines for answering questions, supporting documentation as the basis for answers, examples of previous conversations, and guidelines for new conversations.

[0071] LangChain is simply a codebase that contains some ready-made functions that can be used for the purposes mentioned above.

[0072] A “large language model” is a complex mathematical model based on a “transformer” architecture embedded in a neural network. It is able to “understand” language, that is, to convert text requests into mathematical representations that can be processed and understood by neural network algorithms, and first generate answers in “mathematical” form, and then convert them into text answers.

[0073] These models are massive in scale, trained on massive amounts of data, and each input is represented by billions of numbers that represent deep, specific features that convey the meaning of the text input.

[0074] Therefore, through a mechanism called "transfer learning," it is possible to require these models to perform tasks in the form of dialogue / conversation based on natural language instructions, without having to train the model from scratch.

[0075] The software's set of functions thus allows the agent to configure how it must manage dialogues and related outcome operations via "prompts" or "instructions".

[0076] Referring to the above application, it should be noted that, according to one embodiment of the method, the processing service is provided by a queryable external service.

[0077] According to one embodiment, the aforementioned fulfillment application includes a logic execution component that relates to an artificial intelligence model and / or service that performs the requested task.

[0078] Depending on the implementation options, the execution components can vary, but at least one generative AI component is required to provide basic support for dialogue interaction.

[0079] Depending on the implementation options, the execution components can be external or internal, or they can be AI / GenAI tools or third-party services integrated with the solution to perform specific tasks. They can be custom-developed components, and in any case, they are not specific technology dependencies (e.g., for GenAI, various services such as Google Gemini®, Azure OpenAI®, AWS Bedrock® can be used), or even personalized / proprietary solutions.

[0080] Furthermore, specialized tools can be integrated for specific use cases. For example, if one of the possible intents / actions is translation, a machine translator from an external service like Google Translate® can be integrated; or if one of the use cases implies that a report can be opened automatically, a ticket / issue tracking system like Service Now® can be integrated, and so on. A particularly advantageous aspect of this solution is that various tools can be provided in a conversational manner, without relying on a specific vendor or product.

[0081] According to one embodiment, the aforementioned application is associated with a service from the Google Vertex® AI Services family, which includes one or more of the following services / applications: Google Gemini® and / or Google VectorSearch® and / or Google Imagen® and / or Embedding® and / or Google Cloud Storage®.

[0082] According to other possible implementation options of the embodiments described above, the application being executed may be associated with a "custom" type or other services provided by other external service providers.

[0083] Although the above services and applications are known to those skilled in the art, some exemplary information is provided below.

[0084] The Google Gemini® family of Large Language Models provides Generative AI capabilities for common request use cases.

[0085] "Google Imagen®" is an image generation "feature" from Vertex® AI, providing the ability to generate new images and edit images based on text "tips," or to edit only portions of an image using masked areas.

[0086] The embedding / encoding service inserts text into a numerical / mathematical representation in the form of a multidimensional vector (from approximately 800 dimensions upwards, depending on the language model used). Therefore, this service acts as an "encoder," designed to provide mathematical codes representing the meaning contained within the input text.

[0087] Vector Search® is Google's semantic search solution based on "large language model vector embeddings" (high-dimensional numerical encodings of text). It is primarily used to support knowledge base question-answering use cases. It is a fully managed service, although specific partition dimensions and VM models can be customized for use; generally, no active management or configuration is required. This means Google handles the underlying infrastructure, including scaling, maintenance, and patching. Therefore, you can focus on building your application and using vector search to find similar items in your data without worrying about server or software management.

[0088] Google Cloud Storage® (Execution Component) is used to provide backend data for knowledge base question-answering use cases. Vector Search databases can be based on the data stored therein.

[0089] According to another embodiment of the method, the aforementioned application execution includes one or more of the following services / applications: OpenAI GPT® and / or Open Search® and / or ElasticSearch® and / or AWS Bedrock®.

[0090] According to one embodiment, the aforementioned fulfillment application includes any computing service that can be queried by an application programming interface (API) to perform a specific task (e.g., Service Now® for automatically opening work orders or reports, or even Office 365® for automatically sending emails, etc.).

[0091] According to one embodiment of the method, the above steps of providing the user with the requested software service and / or one or more specific tasks include:

[0092] Provide the requested software services and / or one or more specific tasks requested by the fulfillment application to the dialogue management application as an answer;

[0093] The dialogue management application processes the answer and sends the processed answer to the front-end software component;

[0094] Based on the processed answers from the dialogue management application, the front-end software component provides services to the user through the user's computer executing the instant messaging and communication software application.

[0095] According to one embodiment of the method, access to the chatbot user interface does not require specific authentication, but is enabled through authentication performed before the user accesses the instant messaging and communication software application.

[0096] According to one implementation option, through the single authentication (“login”), the method provides the possibility of enabling or disabling specific use cases depending on the authenticated individual user or the user group to which the user belongs.

[0097] According to one embodiment, the method is applied to a general request use case, which consists of a plain text interaction stream with requests and subsequent interactions.

[0098] According to another embodiment, the method is applied to a knowledge base Q&A use case, which consists of a plain text interaction stream and additional follow-up requests and interactions on the dialogue stream, wherein the answers are based on an underlying database of data and documents.

[0099] According to another embodiment, the method is applied to an image generation use case that consists of multimodal interactions, including text and graphic content.

[0100] Depending on one implementation option, a user can request the generation of an image and can also make further requests regarding the previously provided image, as well as request modifications and customizations.

[0101] The three use cases mentioned above differ significantly in terms of their potential and actual involvement in other systems / modules and backend services.

[0102] The general request use case does not involve any interaction with other systems and only involves the “generative AI” model (Gemini®) to generate meaningful answers.

[0103] The "Knowledge Base Q&A" use case can involve integration with a limited set of company documents that only need to be retrieved once and provided to a vector search database.

[0104] The image generation use case does not involve any interaction with other systems and only involves the generative AI model "Image2" to generate meaningful images.

[0105] The following reference Figure 1 A system for providing software services via the Internet through a user interface integrated into instant messaging and communication software applications is described.

[0106] The system includes multiple electronic processors and / or computers and / or servers, which are operatively connected to each other via the Internet or another telecommunications network and are interoperable, wherein the following applications or programs or software modules are stored and executed:

[0107] A user interface application developed and operated within a platform of an instant messaging and communication software application; the user interface application is operatively connected to and / or interacts with a BOT service to provide users with chat-type interface functionality integrated into the user interface of the instant messaging and communication software application; the user interface application is configured to allow users to input user input, which includes at least one request related to a software service accessible via the Internet; the aforementioned BOT service is configured to process the user input.

[0108] The dialogue management application, which is operatively connected to the aforementioned interface application, is configured to manage the steps of understanding user input, for interpreting at least one request input by the user and processed by the BOT service, and for mapping the at least one request to a corresponding specific intent.

[0109] A programming interface for a specific processing service, namely an "action interface", is operatively connected to the aforementioned dialogue management application to receive the specific intent; the action interface is configured to trigger a specific action associated with the received specific intent; the action is a function of invoking a corresponding specific processing service corresponding to a software service requested by the user and / or a function of instructing one or more specific tasks requested.

[0110] The fulfillment application is operatively connected to the aforementioned programming interface for a specific processing service to receive the specific action; the fulfillment application includes an execution application or program or software module or logic execution component; the fulfillment application is configured to deliver a requested software service and / or one or more requested specific tasks based on the received action; furthermore, the fulfillment application and the dialogue management application are configured to provide the requested software service and / or one or more requested specific tasks to the user through the interface application integrated into the instant messaging and communication software application.

[0111] According to one embodiment of the system, the interface application, the dialogue management application, the programming interface for specific processing services, and the fulfillment application are implemented through multiple programs or software modules, which are stored in and executable in the electronic processor and / or computer and / or server, remotely and operatively connected to each other, and implemented in a distributed manner and / or through a cloud-based solution, depending on different possible functional partitions.

[0112] According to various possible embodiments, the system is configured to perform any of the methods described previously.

[0113] Further reference Figures 1 to 3 The following report provides additional information and presents a detailed description of certain specific embodiments of the methods and systems according to the invention by way of non-limiting examples.

[0114] According to one embodiment, the method comprises the following steps:

[0115] Step 1: The user opens Microsoft Teams® and selects (or searches via the search bar) an interface application developed in the Microsoft Teams® environment.

[0116] Step 2 (Conditional Activation): During the initial conversation, the chatbot will provide a welcome message, including a legally relevant disclaimer, to inform the user of the data processing policy and / or an implicit "opt-out" confirmation regarding the use of data collection. If the user continues to use the chatbot after reading the disclaimer, this behavior is considered as implied consent to continue.

[0117] Step 3: The user enters the input request through the private chat interface of the interface application.

[0118] Step 4: The chatbot considers the provided context memory (e.g., previous interactions stored in a dialogue history database for up to 1 hour) and responds accordingly with text or image content.

[0119] Step 5: The user continues the conversation with the chatbot.

[0120] Regarding authentication / security, some additional exemplary information related to specific implementation options of the methods of this invention is provided below. Authentication

[0121] User application authentication: Authentication is not explicitly performed by the solution, but rather leverages the authentication of the Microsoft Teams® application directly, which is propagated through Azure Bot® configuration.

[0122] Authentication between Google Cloud Platform® (GCP) services: Google Cloud® orchestration capabilities, which are involved in managing and processing conversations, are the primary entry point for the GCP environment within the overall architecture. Functions running on it are authenticated to access and use other Google services that rely on Identity and Access Management (IAM).

[0123] The IAM system enables administrators to authorize who can take actions on specific Google Cloud® resources, providing comprehensive control and visibility for centralized management of Google Cloud® resources. Roles, permissions, and access and control to other services can typically be granted to actual user accounts or service accounts. Applications use service accounts to make authorized API calls either by authenticating as the service account itself or by authenticating as a Cloud Identity user via domain-wide delegation. When an application authenticates as a service account, it can access all resources authorized for that service account.

[0124] In the scenario described in this article, multiple Google services interact with each other, with one service calling another directly via HTTP using the URL of its endpoint. In this situation, ensuring that each service can only make requests to specific services is the most secure option. For example, a Google Cloud Function® that performs conversation management and action logic blocks should be able to access services such as Gemini®, Imagen®, and Vector Search®, but not other services (e.g., Google Cloud Storage®). encryption:

[0125] Encryption of Azure AI BOT service: Azure BOT® service automatically encrypts data to protect it and meet your organization's security and compliance requirements. It uses standard data encryption policies provided by Azure. This approach involves the use of default encryption keys managed and maintained locally by Azure.

[0126] Google Cloud Encryption®: Google encrypts all customer content stored at rest using one or more encryption mechanisms without requiring any specific custom modifications / implementations in the application code. Google makes the data unreadable during transit to protect its privacy. Therefore, standard encryption policies provided by Google are used based on encryption keys managed by Google.

[0127] Therefore, it can be seen that the objective of this invention is achieved through the above-described method and system.

[0128] In fact, based on the above, it is clear that the solution provided by the present invention is advantageously able to provide an access interface to software services available via the Internet, which is integrated into instant messaging and communication software applications.

[0129] In particular, according to a typical implementation example, the technical solution shown in this specification provides a chat-type interface for accessing artificial intelligence services within the standard interface of tools that are known in themselves and widely used in virtual meetings or interactive video conferencing.

[0130] In this way, the technical solution of the present invention satisfies the above-mentioned need for effective and easy access to software services provided via the Internet, thereby integrating them into instant messaging and communication software applications and using them concurrently.

[0131] For the embodiments of the methods and systems described above that provide software services via the Internet through a user interface integrated into instant messaging and communication software applications, those skilled in the art can modify, adjust, and replace elements with functionally equivalent elements to meet temporary needs. They can also combine existing technology to create hybrid implementations without departing from the scope of the following claims. Each feature described as belonging to a possible embodiment can be implemented independently of the other described embodiments.

[0132] It should also be noted that the term “comprising” does not exclude other elements or steps, and the terms “a” or “an” do not exclude plural.

Claims

1. A method implemented by a computer that provides software services via the Internet through a user interface integrated into an instant messaging and communication software application, the method comprising: Provides an interface application developed and operated in the platform of an instant messaging and communication software application, the interface application being operablely connected to and / or interacting with the BOT service to provide the user with chat-type interface functions, the interface functions being integrated into the user interface of the instant messaging and communication software application; User input is inserted by the user through the interface application, and the user input includes at least one request related to a software service accessible via the Internet; The user input is processed through the BOT service; The steps of understanding the user input are managed by a dialogue management application operably connected to the interface application, for interpreting the at least one request provided by the user as input and processed by the BOT service, and for mapping the at least one request to a corresponding specific intent; The specific intent is received through an action interface that is operablely connected to the dialogue management application, i.e., a programming interface for a specific processing service. The action interface triggers a specific action associated with the received specific intent, the action being a call function to a corresponding specific processing service corresponding to the software service requested by the user and / or an indication function to indicate one or more specific tasks requested. The specific action is received by a performance application operably connected to the action interface, the performance application including an execution application, an execution program, an execution software module, or a logic execution component; Based on the received action, the fulfilling application delivers the requested software service and / or one or more specific tasks. The interface application, integrated into instant messaging and communication software applications, provides the user with the requested software services and / or one or more specific tasks.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The instant messaging and communication software application is a messaging service, including instant messaging applications and / or web chat and / or teleconference or group chat tools.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The instant messaging and communication software applications include online virtual meeting tools and / or teleconference / group chat tools.

4. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The BOT service provides application support, and the application is configured to interact with the interface application.

5. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The interface application, instant messaging and communication software application, and BOT service provider application are integrated into the front-end software component.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein, The front-end software components include: Microsoft Teams® is an instant messaging and communication software application; Proprietary applications developed and published within the Teams software environment, serving as user interface applications; AzureBOT® is the application that provides the BOT service.

7. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The specific processing service or the software service requested by the user includes any software service from a "software vendor" accessible via the Internet, or any customized service specifically developed at the customer's request.

8. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The specific processing service or the software service requested by the user includes artificial intelligence services.

9. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The specific processing service or the software service requested by the user includes a "machine translation" service.

10. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The dialogue management application interacts with a dialogue database, which stores and tracks all user interactions with the user interface.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein, The dialogue database is Google ConversationalMemory DB.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, wherein, The dialogue management application also includes software tools for configuring the expiration dates of the row content contained in the dialogue database to automatically manage the deletion of old rows from the database.

13. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The intent is a digital entity representing a class and / or category that, from a logical / functional perspective, represents an operation and / or function associated with the user request among the operations and / or functions managed by the BOT service via the chat interface.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein, The steps to understand the user input are based on the "LangChain" agent or the "Large Language Model".

15. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The dialogue management application and the action interface are implemented through software components for delivering the software application in a "serverless" mode and activating the necessary resources that are managed entirely in the cloud mode.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein, The software component used to deliver the software application in the "serverless" mode is "Google Cloud Function®", or "AWS Lambda Function®", or "Azure Function®".

17. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The application being performed is an external service that provides the processing service and can be queried.

18. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The application includes a logic execution component, which relates to an artificial intelligence model and / or service that performs the requested task.

19. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The application being performed is associated with services from the Google Vertex® AI Services family, including one or more of the following services / applications: Google Gemini® and / or Google Vector Search® and / or Google Imagen® and / or Embedding® and / or Google Cloud Storage®.

20. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The application being performed includes one or more of the following services / applications: OpenAI GPT® and / or Open Search® and / or ElasticSearch® and / or AWSBedrock®.

21. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The application being performed includes any computing service that can be queried by an application programming interface (API) to perform a specific task.

22. The method according to claim 5, wherein, The steps of providing the user with the requested software service and / or one or more specific tasks include: In response, the requested software service and / or one or more specific tasks requested by the fulfillment application are provided to the dialogue management application. The dialogue management application processes the response and sends the processed answer to the front-end software component. Based on the processed response from the dialogue management application, the front-end software component provides the service to the user via the user's computer executing the instant messaging and communication software application.

23. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, Access to the chatbot user interface does not require any specific authentication; instead, it is enabled by the prior authentication performed when the user accesses the instant messaging and communication software application.

24. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 23, wherein the method is applied to a general request use case consisting of a plain text interaction stream having a request and subsequent interactions.

25. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 23, wherein the method is applied to a knowledge base Q&A use case, the use case consisting of a plain text interaction stream and additional follow-up requests and interactions on the dialogue stream, and wherein, The answer is based on an underlying database of data and documents.

26. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 23, wherein the method is applied to an image generation use case consisting of multimodal interactions, including textual and graphical content.

27. A system for providing software services via the Internet through a user interface integrated into instant messaging and communication software applications, the system comprising multiple electronic processors and / or computers and / or servers operably connected to and interoperable with each other via the Internet or another telecommunications network, wherein applications or programs or software modules are stored and executed: A user interface application developed and running on a platform of an instant messaging and communication software application, the user interface application being operablely connected to and / or interacting with a BOT service to provide the user with chat-type interface functionality integrated into the user interface of the instant messaging and communication software application, the user interface application being configured to allow the user to input user input, the user input including at least one request related to a software service accessible via the Internet, the BOT service being configured to process the user input; A dialogue management application operably connected to the interface application, the dialogue management application being configured to manage the steps of understanding the user input, for interpreting the at least one request provided by the user as input and processed by the BOT service, and for mapping the at least one request to a corresponding specific intent; An action interface, i.e., a programming interface for a specific processing service, is operatively connected to the dialogue management application to receive the specific intent, wherein the action interface is configured to trigger a specific action associated with the received specific intent, the action being a calling function of a corresponding specific processing service corresponding to a software service requested by the user and / or an indication function of one or more specific tasks requested. A fulfillment application, operably connected to the action interface to receive the specific action, the execution application including an execution application or execution program or execution software module or logic execution component, wherein the fulfillment application is configured to deliver a requested software service and / or one or more requested specific tasks based on the received action; The fulfillment application and the dialogue management application are configured to provide the user with requested software services and / or one or more specific tasks through the interface application integrated into the instant messaging and communication software application.

28. The system according to claim 27, wherein, The interface application, dialogue management application, action interface, and execution application are implemented through multiple programs or software modules, which are stored in and executable in the electronic processor and / or computer and / or server, remotely and operably connected to each other, and implemented in a distributed manner and / or through a cloud-based solution, depending on different possible functional partitions.

29. The system according to any one of claims 27 to 28, wherein the system is configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 26.

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