Information processing device, information processing method, and program

Abstract

To allow a user to easily find a desired target text, or the like, through a chat and obtain an appropriate answer based on the target text, or the like.SOLUTION: A question sentence candidate extraction unit 103 extracts one or more question sentence candidates including, in at least a part thereof, a keyword accepted by a keyword or the like acceptance unit 102. A question sentence candidate presentation unit 104 presents the extracted one or more question sentence candidates to a user. A related text or the like presentation unit 106 extracts, from a question sentence dictionary DB 181, a target text or the like associated with one selected from among the one or more question sentence candidates, and presents the extracted target text or the like to the user. A chat type UI control unit 109 controls transfer of information between the keyword or the like acceptance unit 102 to the related text or the like presentation unit 106 and a chatbot, thereby causing the chatbot to generate an answer based on the related text or the like to be presented, to a text input by the user.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] As an additional service for supporting a user who receives a product or service, there exists technology related to a so-called FAQ search service that can search for information related to combinations of typical questions and answers (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2015-056014 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in conventional FAQ search services including the technology of Patent Document 1, even if a general user executes a search using a keyword that comes to mind, the desired search results are not hit, and the user often does not reach the desired target text, etc. In addition, there are often too many hits, making it difficult to reach the desired target text, etc. Specifically, for example, in the case of an FAQ search service for insurance products, when a search is executed using the keyword "update," a huge amount of search results are displayed, making it difficult to reach the desired target text, etc. On the other hand, simply using a conventional chatbot makes it difficult for a user to reach a desired target sentence, etc.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and has an object to enable a user to easily reach a desired target sentence, etc. through chat, and to obtain an appropriate answer based on the target sentence, etc. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, an information processing device according to one aspect of the present invention comprises: a receiving means for receiving a word related to a target sentence, etc., which is a predetermined word, phrase, or sentence presented to a user in order to achieve a predetermined purpose of the user; An extraction means for extracting one or more navigation sentence candidates including at least a part of the word or a word similar thereto from a navigation sentence dictionary in which a plurality of navigation sentence candidates intended for the user to reach the target sentence or the like are registered in advance in association with the target sentence or the like; a first presentation means for presenting to the user the one or more nudge sentence candidates extracted by the extraction means; a second presentation means for extracting from the guidance sentence dictionary the target sentence or the like associated with a selected guidance sentence candidate from among the one or more guidance sentence candidates presented to the user by the first presentation means, and presenting the target sentence or the like to the user; a chat control means for controlling a chatbot to chat with the user and for controlling the exchange of information between the reception means and the second presentation means and the chatbot, thereby causing the chatbot to generate a response to a sentence input by the user based on the target sentence or the like to be presented by the second presentation means; Equipped with.

[0007] An information processing method and a program according to one aspect of the present invention are a method and a program corresponding to an information processing device according to one aspect of the present invention. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, a user can easily reach a desired target sentence or the like through a chat and obtain an appropriate reply based on the target sentence or the like. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1]FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of a service that can be realized by an information processing system to which a server according to an embodiment of the information processing device of the present invention is applied. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of a service that can be realized by an information processing system to which a server according to an embodiment of the information processing device of the present invention is applied. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of a service that can be realized by an information processing system to which a server according to an embodiment of the information processing device of the present invention is applied. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of a service that can be realized by an information processing system to which a server according to an embodiment of the information processing device of the present invention is applied. [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of a service that can be realized by an information processing system to which a server according to an embodiment of the information processing device of the present invention is applied. [Figure 6] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an information processing system to which a server according to an embodiment of the information processing device of the present invention is applied. [Figure 7] 7 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a server in the information processing system shown in FIG. 6. [Figure 8] 8 is a functional block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a server in FIG. 7 that constitutes the information processing system in FIG. 6. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a search on an FAQ search site in a conventional approach. [Figure 10] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the concept of intention deployment in this service. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of user guidance achieved by intention expansion of the present service. [Figure 12] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of user guidance achieved by intention prediction in this service. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a presentation of candidate questions in this service. [Figure 14] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example in which a user selects a question candidate in this service. [Figure 15]9 is a functional block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a server in FIG. 8 constituting the information processing system in FIG. 6, which is an example different from the example in FIG. 8. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0011] First, with reference to Figures 1 to 5, an overview of a service (hereinafter referred to as "this service") that can be realized by an information processing system (see Figure 6 described later) to which a server according to one embodiment of the present invention is applied will be described.

[0012] 1 to 5 are diagrams showing an overview of a service (hereinafter, referred to as "this service") that can be realized by an information processing system to which a server according to an embodiment of the information processing device of the present invention is applied.

[0013] This service assists users in easily reaching specific target sentences, etc., by using a chat-type UI (User Interface), with specific words, phrases, or sentences being presented to the user in order to achieve the user's specified goal. The target text, etc. may be any content that is presented to the user to help the user achieve a specific purpose, but in the following description, the target text, etc. will be described as FAQs and their answer texts (articles). In addition, such target text, etc. will be referred to as related text, etc. as appropriate. That is, this service will be described as a service that provides a search function, etc. of an FAQ search site.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 1, a user operates an information processing device 2 (hereinafter referred to as "user terminal 2") such as a smartphone to access a website provided by this service, and when the user wishes to ask a question about the website and receive an answer, causes a chat-type UI screen C to pop up. The user can input a question in an input field B1 of the chat type UI screen C. The input field B1 allows the input of any sentence (natural language). However, users often have difficulty deciding what kind of sentence to input, and therefore often first input a word In1 related to the content of a question they wish to ask. For example, suppose that the website in Figure 1 is related to a service of mailing a specified deliverable (such as a business card or printed postcard) to a user by a specified delivery date, and the user accesses the website today, Thursday, and wants to have the delivery arrive on Saturday, and wants to know whether the deliverable will arrive on Saturday if he or she orders it now. In this case, it is assumed that the user inputs the word In1, “delivery date”, into the input field B1 of the chat-type UI screen C as a word that comes to mind. In this service, an incremental search using intent prediction search quickly displays one or more predicted question candidates QK1 on a chat-type screen C even from a short word In1 such as "delivery date." In the example of Fig. 1, the answer to the user is made from an answer to a FAQ. Therefore, as the question candidate QK1, an FAQ predicted from the word In1 "delivery date" is presented. Moreover, one or more keywords related to the input in the input field B1 (the word In1 "delivery date" in the example of FIG. 1) are displayed below the input field B1 to assist the user in inputting a more appropriate question.

[0015] Next, as shown in FIG. 2, it is assumed that the user continues to input up to the sentence In2 "Will it arrive in time for the deadline?" in the input field B1 of the chat-type UI screen C. In this case, the service quickly displays several more appropriate question candidates QK2, specifically, "How many business days after the order date should the item be shipped in order to meet the delivery deadline?" on the chat screen C. Although not shown in the figure, when the user clicks on one of several possible question sentences QK2, such as "After how many business days should the item be shipped in order to meet the delivery deadline?", a page (hereinafter referred to as the "FAQ page") containing answers to the FAQ corresponding to the clicked possible question sentence QK2 opens. At this time, the service temporarily stores the FAQ questions and answers on the FAQ page and can reflect them in future replies to the user. In other words, it becomes possible to maintain the context in the exchange with the user on the chat-type UI screen C.

[0016] Next, the user further inputs "Will it be in time for the deadline? It's Saturday" and presses the enter key. This confirms the input in the chat UI, and as shown in FIG. 3, the user's input field B1 is displayed as the chat history, and a response A1 from the chatbot is also displayed. This answer A1 was generated by a chatbot that uses machine learning to apply an algorithm that enhances traditional intent prediction search, and is specifically as follows: In other words, your question is whether the delivery date is Saturday and whether you can deliver it in time. At ○○ Printing, products are shipped from the factory on the same day as receipt at the earliest, and delivery dates are between the day after shipping and 3 days later. Today is Thursday, so if you confirm your order by today, it may arrive in time for Saturday. Please see the FAQ for more information." Answer A1 is displayed. Also, below that "Answer generated from this FAQ [About delivery time and shipping] The following reference information F1 is displayed: Here, reference information F1 is the source of the FAQ page that served as the information source. In this way, according to the answer A1 using the chat-type UI screen C of this service, not only a collection of links to related articles (pages containing content related to answers to the user's questions) is presented, but also a summary of the answer written in natural language is added. When creating such an answer A1, the chatbot creates sentences that are as conscious of "echoing," which is a method of intent prediction search, as much as possible in order to reduce the burden of visually checking the validity of the search results. In this example, the user asks "Will it be in time for Saturday?", so the end of the answer summary of answer A1 includes a parrot-like expression of "Maybe it will be in time for Saturday."

[0017] Next, the user inputs "What time should I submit my entry by?" in input field B of chat-type UI screen C in FIG. 3 and presses the enter key. This confirms the input in the chat UI, and the input field B2 in which "What time should I submit my work by?" has been entered is displayed as part of the chat history, as shown in Figure 4. Then, the answer A2 from the chatbot is displayed. Since the previous question and answer (see Figures 1 to 3) are memorized, the chatbot uses machine learning to create answer A2 based on the premise that "the reception needs to be completed by the end of the day," using an algorithm that enhances the conventional intent prediction search. in particular, "You're asking what time I need to submit my application in order to complete the process by the end of the day. Speed ​​check submissions are possible 24 hours a day. Operator check submissions are possible until 10 p.m. on weekdays. The answer A2 is displayed. Also, below that "Answer generated from this FAQ [About delivery time and shipping] The following reference information F2 is displayed. Here, reference information F2 is the source of the FAQ page that served as the information source.

[0018] Although not shown in the figure, if the user is not satisfied with the chatbot's answer, he or she can simply send it as an inquiry. That is, after a certain amount of conversation when it seems that no solution will be reached, a "Contact Us" button will appear on the chat-type UI screen C at the same time as a response from the chatbot. When the "Contact Us" button is pressed, a human customer support representative will respond after reading the conversation log with the chatbot.

[0019] In addition, by embedding the chat-type UI screen C in a specified website, the chatbot can grasp the content of the open page as context and create an appropriate response using an algorithm that enhances conventional intent prediction search using machine learning. For example, in the example in Figure 5, with the page "Price list for printing A4 size leaflets and flyers" open, the user types "Where should I enter the data?" in input field B4 on chat-type UI screen C and presses the Enter key. This confirms the input in the chat-type UI, and the answer A4 from the chatbot is displayed so that the input field B4 is displayed as a chat history, as shown in Figure 5. In addition, reference information F4 indicating the source of the FAQ page that was the information source is also displayed below it. This answer, A4, was created by the chatbot in the context of "I want to print a flyer" based on the page "Price list for printing A4-sized leaflets and flyers." It should be noted that the context that the chatbot can use is not limited to the currently open page, but can also use pages that the user has viewed in the past.

[0020] In this way, the chat-type UI using the chat-type UI screen C of this service is a fusion of the "keyword search type FAQ" developed by the applicant and an AI chatbot. Here, the "keyword search type FAQ" will be explained.

[0021] "Keyword search type FAQ" is a method that allows users to quickly find the information they want (FAQs and their answers) even if the keywords they enter in the search box are general. Here, the "generality" of a keyword refers to an index showing the range of meanings that can be evoked from the keyword itself. A keyword with a high degree of generality has a wide range of meanings that can be evoked from it, while a keyword with a low degree of generality has a narrow range of meanings that can be evoked from it.

[0022] As a specific example, suppose that a user who is left alone in the office working overtime into the night has a problem with their terminal being unable to connect to the Internet. In such a case, the user will use the "keyword search FAQ" to quickly find the FAQ that will solve the problem by entering any keyword they can think of into the search box and performing a search.

[0023] For example, suppose a user enters the keyword "not connected" into the search box and executes a search. The keyword "not connected" can evoke a state in which something that should be connected in some way is not connected to something else. However, the keyword "not connected" alone does not evoke the specific state in which what is not connected to what. In other words, the keyword "not connected" is an example of a highly general keyword.

[0024] Let us assume that a user searches for the keyword "can't connect" using a conventional FAQ search service. In this case, the search results will display many FAQ candidates that include the keyword "can't connect." However, since the search results will also include many FAQs that are not related to Internet connections, it will be difficult for the user to find the FAQ they are looking for.

[0025] For example, suppose a user enters the keyword "Internet" into the search box and executes a search. The keyword "Internet" can evoke the concept of the Internet. However, the keyword "Internet" alone cannot evoke specific details, such as what the Internet is. In other words, the keyword "Internet" is an example of a highly general keyword. Let us assume that a user searches for the keyword "Internet" using a conventional FAQ search service. In this case, the search results will display many FAQ candidates that contain the keyword "Internet." However, since the search results will also include many FAQs that are not related to Internet connections, it will be difficult for the user to find the FAQ he or she desires.

[0026] In contrast, when a "keyword search type FAQ" is used, when a general keyword is entered in search window B, one or more FAQ (question) candidates (hereinafter referred to as "question candidate") that at least partially contain the keyword are displayed. A number of question candidates are generated in advance, and are stored and managed in a predetermined database (for example, question dictionary DB 181 in FIG. 8 described later) in a form that allows them to be searched and extracted.

[0027] Specifically, for example, although not shown in the figure, when a general keyword such as "can't connect" is entered in the search box, a candidate question such as "can't connect to the company's wireless network" is displayed. For example, when a general keyword such as "Internet" is entered into the search box, a question candidate such as "How can I connect to the Internet within my company?" is displayed. In this example, only one question sentence candidate is displayed for each question, but this is for the sake of convenience in order to make the explanation easier, and it goes without saying that two or more question sentence candidates may be displayed.

[0028] When the user selects a desired question candidate from among the displayed one or more question candidates, the screen transitions to display one or more FAQs that have a certain relevance to the keyword entered by the user and sentences containing the answers (hereinafter referred to as "related sentences, etc."). There are no particular limitations on how "relevance" is defined in the "keyword search FAQ" (including the chat UI of this service), and the service provider can define it as desired. Keywords that the service provider has determined to be mutually relevant are then associated with question candidates and related sentences, etc., to generate a question dictionary. In other words, related sentences, etc. that are associated with keywords and managed in the question dictionary are treated as being "relevant" to the keyword. The question dictionary is stored and managed in a predetermined database (for example, a question dictionary DB 181 in FIG. 5, which will be described later) in a manner that allows it to be searched and extracted.

[0029] Specifically, for example, although not shown in the figure, when a user selects a candidate question sentence such as "I can't connect to the company's wireless network," the following is displayed as a related sentence that is related to the keyword "can't connect" entered by the user. That is, the FAQ "Connecting to the company's Wi-Fi" and "You can connect to the company Wi-Fi network with the following ID. · SSID: XXXX · Password: XXXX Do not disclose this information to anyone outside your company. If you have any problems connecting please contact: [Contact] Information Systems Department Kaneko XX" and Related sentences consisting of the above are displayed. This allows the user to quickly resolve the problem of not being able to connect to the Internet by referring to the displayed related text, etc.

[0030] For example, although not shown in the figure, when a candidate question such as "How can I connect to the Internet within my company?" is selected by a user, the same is displayed as a related sentence or the like that is relevant to the keyword "Internet" entered by the user. In other words, by focusing on the relationship between keywords and related sentences, etc., whether the user inputs the keyword "can't connect" or the keyword "Internet", the same related sentences, etc. will be immediately presented, and the problem of not being able to connect to the Internet can be quickly solved.

[0031] In this way, in a "keyword search FAQ," when a keyword is entered in the search box, one or more question candidates that contain at least a part of the keyword are displayed. Then, when one question candidate is selected from among them, FAQs related to the keyword and related sentences including the answers are displayed. This allows the user to easily arrive at the desired FAQ and its answer.

[0032] There are two notable points about "keyword search FAQs." The first is that the keywords entered for the search are not included in the related sentences. In other words, users can easily arrive at the desired FAQ by simply entering a general keyword that comes to mind in the search box and selecting from the displayed question candidates.

[0033] The second point worth mentioning is that even if different keywords are entered in the search box, the same desired related text can be reached. In other words, multiple question candidates are associated with one FAQ, and each of these multiple question candidates is associated with one or more different keywords. That is, when a user wants to find a desired FAQ and its answer, he or she only needs to input a general keyword that immediately comes to mind and select a displayed question candidate. In other words, if the problem is "I can't connect to the Internet," as in the above example, the user can simply input a general keyword such as "can't connect" or "Internet."

[0034] Furthermore, in the "keyword search FAQ", in addition to the FAQ and its answer desired by the user, the related text, etc. can also display, as additional information as described above, people involved in the answer and the organizations to which those people belong. Specifically, in the above example, as additional information for the FAQ and its answer, the relevant person (Kaneko XX) and the organization to which that relevant person belongs (Information Systems Department) are displayed as the [contact information] for the answer. Here, the notation of the related person and the notation of the organization to which the related person belongs may be written in simple text, but it is preferable that both are displayed in the form of a button that can access a specified web page on which detailed information is posted. In this case, for example, when the display of the related person (Kaneko XX) is pressed (for example, tapped), a specified web page (hereinafter referred to as a "details page") on which detailed information such as department, phone number, and email address is posted is displayed. This allows users to quickly identify and inquire with a person in charge if their problem cannot be resolved by using only related documents (presented FAQs and their answers), thereby enabling problems to be resolved early.

[0035] As described above, in a "keyword search type FAQ," a question dictionary is managed in a predetermined database. In this way, when a question candidate is selected, the FAQ and related sentences including the answers can be displayed in the above-described manner. Here, the related sentences etc. associated with the predetermined keyword do not necessarily have to include FAQs and their answers, but it is sufficient if the predetermined word, phrase, or sentence is the target sentence etc. For example, the related sentences etc. can be displayed in the following manner.

[0036] That is, when a keyword is entered in the search box, one or more question candidates are displayed. This is the same as the example above, but a list of related sentences may be displayed below the search box as "word hints." For example, if the keyword "address" is entered, the following "word hints" (related sentences, etc.) are displayed as "word hints" corresponding to "address," including "purchase," "convenience store," "listing," "address," "anonymous," "change," and "return." The user performs an operation (e.g., a tapping operation) to select a desired "word hint" (related sentence, etc.) from one or more displayed "word hints" (related sentences, etc.). Then, although not shown in the figure, the FAQ desired by the user and related sentences including the answers are displayed.

[0037] In addition, the "keyword search FAQ" will be improved as necessary. As described above, keywords, question sentence candidates, and related sentences, etc. are associated with each other and managed as a question sentence dictionary. In addition, the user's operation history is also stored and managed as history information. That is, the keywords entered by the user in the search window, the question sentence candidates selected by the user, and the related sentences, etc. reached by the user are managed as history information. The history information includes information about question sentence candidates that were not selected by the user even though they were displayed by entering a keyword in the search window. The history information also includes information about cases where related sentences, etc. were displayed by selecting a question sentence candidate but were not what the user wanted. Specifically, for example, suppose that a certain EC (Electronic Commerce) site adopts a "keyword search type FAQ." Furthermore, suppose that many users enter the name of a specific payment method in the search box. In this case, even though one or more question candidates are displayed on the user terminals 2 of many users, many users may not select a question candidate. Also, there may be cases where no question candidates are displayed at all. In such cases, it is possible to infer the question candidates that are expected to be desired by many users, and new question candidates can be prepared based on the results of this inference. This makes it possible to improve the "keyword search type FAQ" and enhance it. As a result, the satisfaction of users who use the "keyword search type FAQ" can be improved. In addition, when a keyword or related sentence included in a question candidate that was not selected by the user is not selected, products or services that the user desires but are not provided can be identified, which can contribute to the creation of new products and services that users desire.

[0038] In this way, a "keyword search type FAQ" gives users the feeling that they can reach the desired information (related articles, etc.) very quickly. However, when applied alone, "keyword search-type FAQ" has the disadvantage that it is not very good at dealing with text, since the starting point (user input) is merely a "keyword" and the end result (output to the user) is the presentation of pre-prepared related text, etc. In addition, since content that occurred chronologically prior to the input "keyword" is irrelevant, even if the user makes a "specific input earlier" and then enters a keyword related to that specific input, and says that it is related to "earlier," the "keyword search FAQ" does not understand that "earlier" (it presents the target sentence, etc., without taking "earlier" into consideration), so there is a weakness.

[0039] To make up for these weaknesses, this service provides a chat-type UI, as shown in Figures 1 to 5 above, which combines an AI chatbot with a keyword search-type FAQ.

[0040] In comparison with conventional AI chatbots, conventional AI chatbots form conversations (chat), so they can predict the intent of the content entered by the user and respond, and can take into account the history of the conversation when predicting the intent. In other words, AI chatbots can eliminate the weaknesses of "keyword search type FAQs." On the other hand, conventional AI chatbots have weaknesses in that it is not clear whether the result will be correct until you send it, and they have a problem called hallucination, which means that they produce incorrect answers or answers that are unrelated to the question. Keyword search-based FAQ can present related sentences as the correct answer as long as the input "keyword" is confirmed, thus eliminating the weaknesses of these conventional AI chatbots.

[0041] Therefore, this service combines an AI chatbot with a "keyword search FAQ" to eliminate the weaknesses of both. This gives users the feeling that they can reach the desired information (related text, etc.) very quickly, just like with a "keyword search FAQ," and also gives users the feeling that the chat-type UI of this service is intelligent.

[0042] Next, with reference to FIG. 6, a description will be given of the configuration of an information processing system that realizes the provision of the above-mentioned service, that is, an information processing system to which a server according to an embodiment of an information processing device of the present invention is applied. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing system to which a server according to an embodiment of the information processing device of the present invention is applied.

[0043] The information processing system shown in FIG. 6 is configured to include a server 1 and a user terminal 2. The server 1 and the user terminal 2 are connected to each other via a predetermined network NW such as the Internet.

[0044] The server 1 is an information processing device managed by a service provider. The server 1 executes various processes for realizing the service while appropriately communicating with the user terminal 2.

[0045] The user terminal 2 is an information processing device operated by a user. The user terminal 2 is configured as a smartphone, a tablet, a personal computer, or the like.

[0046] FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a server in the information processing system shown in FIG.

[0047] The server 1 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, a bus 14, an input / output interface 15, an input unit 16, an output unit 17, a memory unit 18, a communication unit 19, and a drive 20.

[0048] The CPU 11 executes various processes according to a program recorded in the ROM 12 or a program loaded from the storage unit 18 into the RAM 13 . The RAM 13 also stores data and the like necessary for the CPU 11 to execute various processes.

[0049] The CPU 11, ROM 12, and RAM 13 are connected to one another via a bus 14. An input / output interface 15 is also connected to this bus 14. An input unit 16, an output unit 17, a storage unit 18, a communication unit 19, and a drive 20 are connected to the input / output interface 15.

[0050] The input unit 16 is configured with, for example, a keyboard and is used to input various information. The output unit 17 is configured with a display such as a liquid crystal display, a speaker, and the like, and outputs various information as images and sounds. The storage unit 18 is configured with a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) or the like, and stores various data. The communication unit 19 communicates with other devices (for example, the user terminal 2 in FIG. 4) via a network NW including the Internet.

[0051] Removable media 40, such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, or a semiconductor memory, is appropriately loaded into the drive 20. A program read from the removable media 40 by the drive 20 is installed in the storage unit 18 as necessary. Further, the removable medium 40 can store various data stored in the storage unit 18 in the same manner as the storage unit 18 .

[0052] Although not shown, the user terminal 2 in Fig. 6 can also have a configuration basically similar to the hardware configuration shown in Fig. 7. Therefore, a description of the hardware configuration of the user terminal 2 will be omitted.

[0053] The cooperation of various hardware and software constituting the information processing system of Fig. 6 including the server 1 of Fig. 7 makes it possible to execute various processes including the question dictionary generation process, the chat-type related sentence extraction process, and the question dictionary improvement process. As a result, the service provider can provide the above-mentioned service to the user. The "question dictionary generation process" refers to the process of generating the question dictionary described above. The "chat-type related sentence, etc. extraction process" refers to a process in which, while chatting with a user using the chat-type UI described above, related sentences, etc. are extracted using the question dictionary described above, and included in the user's answer and output. The "question dictionary improvement process" refers to a process for improving the question dictionary described above.

[0054] Figure 8 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the server in Figure 7 that constitutes the information processing system of Figure 6, for executing a question dictionary generation process, a chat-type related sentence extraction process, and a question dictionary improvement process.

[0055] 8, when the server 1 executes a question dictionary generation process, a dictionary generation unit 101 functions in the CPU 11. When the server 1 executes a chat-type related sentence etc. extraction process, a keyword etc. receiving unit 102, a question candidate extraction unit 103, a question candidate presentation unit 104, a question determination unit 105, a related sentence etc. presentation unit 106, and a chat-type UI control unit 109 function in the CPU 11. When the server 1 executes a question dictionary improvement process, a history management unit 107 and a dictionary improvement unit 108 function in the CPU 11.

[0056] Furthermore, a question dictionary DB 181 is provided in one area of ​​the storage unit 18 of the server 1. The question dictionary DB 181 stores a question dictionary.

[0057] The dictionary generation unit 101 stores question candidates that include more general keywords, which are words related to the entire related sentences, etc. or their components, in the question dictionary of the question dictionary DB181 by associating the keywords, question candidates, and related sentences, etc., so that they are extracted when the keywords are input. This generates a question dictionary that enables users of the chat-style UI of this service to easily find the information they desire.

[0058] The keyword etc. receiving unit 102 receives keywords input into an input field of the chat type UI. Here, a keyword entered into an input field of a chat-type UI refers not only to a case where a keyword is entered into the input field by itself, but also to a case where a sentence including the keyword or a related word is entered into the input field and the keyword is extracted from the sentence by the chat-type UI control unit 109 (AI chatbot). Specifically, for example, in the example of FIG. 1 described above, since only the keyword "delivery date" is input in the input field B1, the keyword etc. receiving unit 102 receives "delivery date". In contrast, in the example of Fig. 2 described above, the sentence "Will it be in time for the delivery date?" is entered in the input field B1. As described later, the chat-type UI control unit 109 (AI chatbot) extracts the word "in time*" along with "delivery date" from the sentence. The keyword etc. receiving unit 102 then receives "delivery date" and "in time*". Here, "*" means that any character string can be entered. For example, "in time", "in time wo awase", and "in time wanai" are all included in "in time*".

[0059] The question candidate extraction unit 103 extracts one or more question candidates that at least partially include the keywords accepted by the keyword etc. accepting unit 102 from the question dictionary of the question dictionary DB 181 . For example, in the example in Figure 2, in addition to the candidate question "I would like to change the order details (delivery date)" which includes "delivery date", candidate question "What if there is a defect in the printed material but it cannot be reprinted because it will not be in time" which includes "delivery date" and "will not make it in time" and candidate question "How many sales hours after the shipment should be made in order to make it in time" which includes "delivery date" and "make it in time" are extracted.

[0060] The question candidate presentation unit 104 presents one or more question candidates extracted by the question candidate extraction unit 103 to the user. Specifically, the question candidate presentation unit 104 presents one or more question candidate extracted by the question candidate extraction unit 103 (question candidate QK2 in the example of Figure 2) to the user by executing control to display them on the user terminal 2.

[0061] When one question candidate is selected from the one or more question candidates presented to the user by the question candidate presentation unit 104, the question confirmation unit 105 confirms this as a question from the user. Here, the selection of one question candidate includes not only the case where it is explicitly selected by the user's operation, but also the case where the chat-type UI control unit 109 (AI chatbot) predicts the intention and selects it based on the content entered in the input field in this service. For example, in the example in Figure 2, the user can confirm the question candidate QK2 by clicking on the question candidate "After how many business days should the item be shipped in order to meet the delivery deadline?" 3, when the user inputs and clicks "Will it be in time for the delivery date? It's Saturday," the chat-type UI control unit 109 (AI chatbot) predicts the intention and selects the question candidate "How many business days after the shipment should be made to meet the delivery date?" from the question candidate QK2. Then, the question determination unit 105 determines the question candidate.

[0062] The related sentence etc. presentation unit 106 extracts related sentences etc. associated with the question sentence confirmed by the question sentence confirmation unit 105, and presents them to the user via the chat-type UI control unit 109 (AI chatbot). Here, presenting to the user via the chat-type UI control unit 109 (AI chatbot) refers not only to presenting the related sentences, etc. as they are, but also to the chat-type UI control unit 109 (AI chatbot) processing the related sentences, etc. and presenting them, or presenting sentences generated by the chat-type UI control unit 109 (AI chatbot) based on the related sentences, etc. For example, the answer to the FAQ question "How many business days after the order is placed should the product be shipped in order to meet the delivery deadline?" is "The product will be shipped from the factory on the day of receipt at the earliest, and the delivery date will be between the day after shipment and three days later." This answer is extracted as a related sentence, etc. This content is included in the reply A1 from the chat type UI control unit 109 in the example of FIG. Furthermore, when the user inputs that the "delivery date" is "Saturday," the chat-type UI control unit 109 (AI chatbot) uses the above-mentioned parroting technique to create a sentence based on related sentences, etc., saying, "Today is Thursday, so if you confirm your order by today, it may arrive in time for Saturday. Please see the FAQ for details." and includes this sentence in the answer A1. Therefore, the answer A1 in the example of FIG. 3 is an example of related sentences or the like presented to the user via the chat-type UI control unit 109 (AI chatbot).

[0063] The history management unit 107 manages, as history information, the keywords accepted by the keyword etc. accepting unit 102, the question sentence candidate selected from one or more question sentence candidates presented to the user by the question sentence candidate presentation unit 104, and the related sentences etc. presented to the user by the related sentence etc. presentation unit 106 in response to the selection. Furthermore, the history management unit 107 extracts keywords that were accepted by the keyword etc. accepting unit 102 but were not selected by the user and were not presented by the related sentence etc. presenting unit 106 .

[0064] When a question sentence candidate is presented to a user by the question sentence candidate presentation unit 104 as history information by the history management unit 107 but is not confirmed by the question sentence confirmation unit 105, the dictionary improvement unit 108 improves the question sentence dictionary including the correspondence between the keywords included in the question sentence candidate and the question sentence candidate.

[0065] The chat-type UI control unit 109 displays a chat-type UI screen C on the user terminal and executes control for the AI ​​chatbot to chat (converse) with the user, while controlling the exchange of information between the AI ​​chatbot and the keyword etc. receiving unit 102 through the related sentence etc. presentation unit 106 that establishes the "keyword search type FAQ", thereby causing the AI ​​chatbot to generate an appropriate answer based on the related sentences etc. (FAQs and their answers) presented by the related sentence etc. presentation unit 106 in response to a sentence containing a keyword entered by the user.

[0066] Here, as described above, the AI ​​chatbot performs various processes to generate a response to the user's input in the chat based on an algorithm that enhances conventional intent prediction search using machine learning.

[0067] For example, the AI ​​chatbot extracts keywords accepted by the keyword etc. accepting unit 102 from a sentence input by a user. Specifically, for example, in the example of Figure 2 above, the sentence "Will it be in time for the delivery date?" is entered in input field B1. The AI ​​chatbot then extracts the word "in time*" from the sentence along with "delivery date."

[0068] As a result, the candidate question extracting unit 103 displays the candidate question QK2 to the user, and the user inputs the sentence "Will the deadline be met? It's Saturday" to the AI ​​chatbot (see input field B1 as the history in the example of FIG. 3). Then, from this input text, the AI ​​chatbot confirms the question candidate QK2, "How many business days after the order date should the product be shipped in order to meet the delivery deadline?" as the question.

[0069] Then, when the answer to this question (FAQ), "At the earliest, the product will be shipped from the factory on the day of receipt, and the delivery date will be between the day after shipment and three days later," is extracted as a related sentence, the AI ​​chatbot generates answer A1 in the example of Figure 3 based on the related sentence, while also referring to the user input, "It's Saturday" (see input field B1 as the history in the example of Figure 3). That is, the AI ​​chatbot creates an answer A1 written in natural language as a summary of the answer to the user's question. As described above, the chatbot does not just include related sentences as they are, but also creates answers that include as many sentences as possible that are reminiscent of "echoing," a method of intent prediction search, in order to reduce the burden of visually checking the validity of search results. In this example, the user asks "Will it be in time for Saturday?", so the end of the summary of answer A1 includes a rechosen expression, "Maybe it will be in time for Saturday."

[0070] Furthermore, the AI ​​chatbot can perform various processes to generate the current answer based not only on the content input by the user this time, but also on the content of the previous conversation (chat) and the processing history of the keyword etc. receiving unit 102 to the related sentence etc. presentation unit 106 based on the previous conversation. For example, as a continuation of the example in FIG. 3 described above, assume that "What time should I submit my manuscript by?" is input as shown in FIG. In this case, the AI ​​chatbot has stored the above-mentioned questions and answers (see Figures 1 to 3), and based on the premise that "the reception needs to be completed by the end of the day," it can generate answer A2, as shown in the example in Figure 4, using an algorithm that enhances the conventional intent prediction search using machine learning.

[0071] Furthermore, when the chat-type UI screen C of this service is embedded in a specific website (such as the example in Figure 5), the AI ​​chatbot can perform various processes to generate the current answer based not only on the content entered by the user but also on the content of one or more web pages contained in the website. For example, in the example in Figure 5, with the page "Price list for printing A4-size leaflets and flyers" open, the user types "Where should I enter the data?" in input field B4 on chat-type UI screen C and presses the Enter key. The AI ​​chatbot then generates an answer in A4 size based on the context of "I want to print a flyer" based on the page "Price list for printing A4-sized leaflets and flyers." In addition, the context that an AI chatbot can use is not limited to the currently open page; it can also use pages that the user has viewed in the past.

[0072] As described above, since the information processing device of Figure 7 has the above-mentioned functional configuration shown in Figure 8, a user using this service can easily arrive at desired information and can receive the desired information in a more appropriate form in natural language.

[0073] Below, we will further explain why users who use the chat-style UI of this service to which "keyword-based FAQ" is applied can easily find the information they want (the FAQ they want and its answer), unlike conventional FAQ search sites.

[0074] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a search on an FAQ search site in a conventional approach. That is, in the conventional approach, a character string that the user thought up and entered is accepted, and a list of FAQs containing that character string and their answer pages (articles) is presented to the user. The user then has to select from the list the article that is likely to be what he or she wanted to search for. However, usually, many articles containing the character string (search keyword) entered by the user are hit.

[0075] As a result, many of the answers were irrelevant and could not be selected. In other words, the correct answer (the article that should be presented to the user) may exist somewhere in the list, but the user may not know which article in the list to view. Therefore, the user must check the list from the top (beginning) in order.

[0076] And as a result, sometimes nothing was listed. In other words, articles that contain the character string entered by the user are listed. Therefore, if the character string entered by the user is not a term or the like used in the article, nothing is listed, and the user has to think about it and re-enter a different character string.

[0077] Assuming that the conventional approach of listing articles containing the string entered by the user is used, the following countermeasures can be considered. Specifically, for example, by preparing multiple patterns of articles in which a word is replaced with another word or a problem is interpreted in a different way, it is possible to ensure that any character string entered by the user will return a hit in the search. However, this measure does have the disadvantage that although it does get hits, it may also get hits for irrelevant articles. Also, for example, multiple similar articles (answers) may be found, which may lead to confusion. Also, maintainability may worsen.

[0078] For example, there is a conventional method of employing AI that evaluates the relevance between the character string entered by the user and the article to be presented to the user, rather than creating a list based on the condition that the article contains the character string entered by the user. When a conventional machine learning type AI is employed, there are fewer cases where there are no articles that match the search results. However, the problem of the list of articles that match the search results containing many articles that are not originally intended by the user remains. In addition, when traditional AI is used, the results presented will be articles that the AI ​​deems highly relevant, but the results may sometimes pose problems from a compliance or sales perspective, and it is difficult to reliably eliminate these. In addition, if conventional AI is adopted, it is vulnerable to changes in services and business environments. In other words, since past search results are used to train the AI, it becomes difficult to respond in a short period of time when there is an increase in specific inquiries, or when the service, business environment, or the service itself changes. In addition, when conventional AI is adopted, a large amount of data is required for individual tuning for each search target (e.g., service), and cleansing the large amount of data requires many engineering resources, resulting in high costs.

[0079] As such, conventional approaches and methods using conventional AI, etc., are nothing more than evaluating the relationship between the character string entered by the user and the article (including simply evaluating the relationship between whether or not the string is included), and have the problems described above. In contrast, users who use the chat-style UI of this service, which uses "keyword-based FAQ," can easily find the information they want (FAQs and their answer articles), unlike the conventional FAQ search sites mentioned above. The reason for this is explained below.

[0080] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the concept of intention expansion in this service. In the example of FIG. 10, the target text T1 to be presented to the user is a FAQ titled "Guide to Refund Methods" and an article (related text, etc.) that answers the question. Note that the information actually presented to users by this service is not the FAQ "Guide to Refund Methods" and the article with its answer, but information based on the FAQ and its answer. Here, "information based on the FAQ and its answer" has the following meaning. In other words, because this service uses a chat-type UI, the "FAQ and its answer" is not presented to the user as is, but is presented as a natural language answer generated by an AI chatbot. This natural language answer generated by the AI ​​chatbot is the "information based on the FAQ and its answer." However, for the sake of convenience, the following description will be given on the assumption that the target sentence, etc. is presented to the user. In this case, an article (purpose text, etc.) called "Guidelines for Refund Methods" is something that should be presented to users of an online shopping site, etc. who are "in trouble after receiving a defective product," or who "received a product different from the one they ordered," or who, for some reason, want their money back.

[0081] Therefore, in this service, a technical writer expands the target text, etc. T1, into an intended expression (intermediate) T2 (expanded three times in the example of Figure 8). That is, the technical writer develops the expression taking into consideration the intention of the user. That is, in Fig. 8, for example, the technical writer develops the expression assuming a user who intends to get an answer by conveying the fact that "there is a problem with the product". Also, for example, the technical writer develops the expression assuming a user who intends to get an answer by conveying the fact that "the wrong product was delivered". Also, for example, the technical writer develops the expression assuming a user who intends to get an answer by conveying the desire (solution) of "I want a refund". In this way, technical writers develop target text etc. T1 into intended expression (intermediate) T2 from the perspective of what intention the article should be presented to users with.

[0082] Then, the intention expression (intermediate) T2 is further expanded by the server 1. That is, the server 1 expands the intention expression (intermediate) T2 to an intention expression T3 (expanded 16 times in the example of FIG. 8) by a predetermined algorithm. Specifically, for example, as shown in Fig. 8, the intention expression (middle) T2 "There is a defect" is expanded to "The product is broken", "The product was defective", etc. That is, for example, the server 1 expands by supplementing the subject, replacing the phrase with a synonym, etc., or changing the combination of endings and auxiliary verbs, etc., to make a synonymous sentence. The intention expression T3 thus generated (expanded) is stored in the above-mentioned question dictionary DB 181 as a question candidate. Similarly, each of a plurality of target sentences T1 is expanded through the stages of intention expression (intermediate) T2 and intention expression T3, and the expanded version is stored in the above-mentioned question dictionary DB 181 as a question candidate.

[0083] As a result, users can perform searches such as the following: FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of user guidance realized by the intention expansion of this service. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, a user can perform a search by selecting an intent such as "fugu," "different," or "refund" and inputting it as a word (keyword) that comes to mind. In other words, multiple questions (intent expressions) are generated for a "certain article" (target sentence, etc.), allowing the user to arrive at the article using a variety of phrases. In addition, in this service, even if the keywords entered by the user are different (for example, "defective" and "fuguai", "different" and "different", "give me my money back" and "refund"), appropriate question candidates are presented to the user as shown in Figures 10 and 11. This will be described later with reference to Figures 13 and 14.

[0084] Above, we have explained intention expansion, which is one of the differences between this service and conventional FAQ search sites. Below, we will explain other functions of this service that improve user convenience.

[0085] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of user guidance realized by intention prediction in this service. As shown in Fig. 12, the server 1 of this service has a function of predicting the user's intention by inputting only one character from the user. This allows the user to check question candidates without inputting the entire question (keyword). In other words, this service has a prediction function that predicts what keyword the user will ultimately enter, based on the characters being entered at that time, while the user is entering a keyword. The prediction function is adjusted for each service that is the subject of this service's search. For example, in the case of an FAQ search site for a service that uses the term "point," if a user types "po," the keyword "point" is predicted to be entered. For example, in the case of an FAQ search site for a service that uses the term "portfolio," when a user enters "po," the keyword "portfolio" is predicted to be entered.

[0086] Even when the prediction function is functioning, as described above, question candidates containing the keyword are presented to the user. That is, normally, when a user inputs the keyword "points," even a natural person cannot understand the user's intention regarding what he or she wants to do with the points. However, in this service, question candidates containing the keyword are presented to the user, so the user can always arrive at the answer by selecting the question candidate that matches their intention.

[0087] The following provides a supplementary explanation of the feature that question sentence candidates containing the keywords input by the user are presented to the user. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of presentation of question candidates in this service. As shown in Fig. 13, when a keyword is input by the user, question candidates containing the keyword are presented to the user. The user can then check the target sentence, etc. by selecting the question candidate that matches his / her intention from the presented question candidates. The server 1 associates definitions of terms, explanatory text, synonyms, paraphrases, etc., and stores and manages them as a definition database. Specifically, for example, in the example of Fig. 13, "automatic braking device" and "ASV" are associated with each other and stored in the definition database. Then, when the server 1 searches for question candidates based on the keywords input by the user, it uses the definition database to search for question candidates and presents them to the user. As a result, the intention expansion T3 of "What is an automatic braking device?" is hit. Here, if the user searches using the keyword “ASV”, the word “ASV” is substituted for “automatic braking device” in the intention expansion T3 “What is an automatic braking device?”, and the resulting question is presented to the user as a candidate question. This allows the user to be presented with question candidates that are independent of the user's search level, since the user's words are "always" included in the question. In other words, the system (server 1) can present question candidates that are in line with the level of the user's words. From the user's perspective, it allows the user to search using their own words, making it easy to select from multiple question candidates. In other words, the user only needs to input a keyword, and question sentence candidates expressed using the keyword that the user inputted are presented, making it easy for the user to select from multiple question sentence candidates.

[0088] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example in which a user selects a question candidate in this service. As shown in FIG. 14, question candidates including the keywords input by the user are presented to the user. This allows the user to search in his / her own words, as explained with reference to Fig. 13. Then, the user can select a question candidate that contains the keyword that he / she inputted, and arrive at a target sentence or the like that corresponds to the question.

[0089] The above describes the target sentences as FAQs and related sentences, which are answer sentences (articles), but as mentioned above, the service can apply as target sentences specific words, phrases, or sentences that are presented to the user to achieve the user's specified purpose.

[0090] That is, for example, the objective text may be an explanatory text of a product (service). For example, assume that a user has the intention of "I am worried about my child's education funds" in relation to financial services. In this case, the user enters a keyword such as "children" into an input field that is displayed together with a sentence such as "What would you like to ask?" on a financial service site. As a result, the user is presented with possible questions such as "I want to prepare funds for my child's education," "Up to what age is XX applicable?", etc. Here, "XX" is the name of a service for preparing funds for a child's education, i.e., the service name of a so-called education insurance. Next, the user can select the question candidate “I want to prepare funds for my child’s education,” which has not yet been verbalized and entered as a keyword, and view a product description page for “XX,” an education insurance product.

[0091] In addition, the above-mentioned keywords and question candidates also function appropriately for users who are planning to use XX's service and have the intention of "wanting to know up to what age group children the service is aimed at." Also, as mentioned above, if a product introduction is adopted as the purpose text of this service, the chat-type UI can function as a dedicated page for product introductions, rather than as part of the FAQ search site. In this way, the present service can be applied not only to FAQs, but also to specific words, phrases, or sentences that are presented to a user to achieve a specific goal of the user. In the above embodiment, the user inputs a keyword on the assumption that the user intends to input his / her intention in the form of a question. However, what is presented to the user is not limited to a question, and may be any guidance text desired (intended) by the user, as long as it expresses the user's intention.

[0092] The functional configuration of the server 1 that presents such guidance sentence candidates, target sentences, and the like will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 15 is a functional block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of the server in FIG. 8 for executing a process of allowing a user to search for and present a target sentence or the like.

[0093] 15, when the server 1 executes the nudge sentence dictionary generation process, a dictionary generation unit 111 functions in the CPU 11. When the server 1 executes the chat-type target sentence etc. extraction process, a keyword etc. reception unit 112, a nudge sentence candidate extraction unit 113, a nudge sentence candidate presentation unit 114, a nudge sentence selection reception unit 115, a target sentence etc. presentation unit 116, and a chat-type UI control unit 119 function in the CPU 11. When the server 1 executes the nudge sentence dictionary improvement process, a history management unit 117 and a dictionary improvement unit 118 function in the CPU 11.

[0094] Moreover, a guidance message dictionary DB 182 is provided in one area of ​​the storage unit 18 of the server 1. The guidance message dictionary DB 182 stores a guidance message dictionary.

[0095] The dictionary generation unit 111 stores guidance sentence candidates that are words related to the whole of the target sentence etc. or its components and that include more general keywords in the guidance sentence dictionary of the guidance sentence dictionary DB182 by associating the keywords, guidance sentence candidates, and target sentence etc. so that they are extracted when the keywords are input. In this way, a guide sentence dictionary is generated to enable a user searching for a target sentence or the like to easily arrive at desired information.

[0096] The keyword etc. receiving unit 112 receives a keyword K inputted in an input field of the chat type UI. Specifically, for example, in the above-mentioned example of education insurance, when words such as "children" and "education funds" or their synonyms are input, the keyword receiving unit 112 receives keywords such as "children" and "education funds" via the chat-type UI control unit 119 (AI chatbot).

[0097] The guidance message candidate extraction unit 113 extracts one or more guidance message candidates that at least partially include the keywords accepted by the keyword etc. acceptance unit 112 from the guidance message dictionary of the guidance message dictionary DB 181 .

[0098] The guidance sentence candidate presentation unit 114 presents one or more guidance sentence candidates extracted by the guidance sentence candidate extraction unit 113 to the user. Specifically, the guidance sentence candidate presentation unit 114 executes control to display one or more guidance sentence candidates extracted by the guidance sentence candidate extraction unit 113 on the user terminal 2, thereby presenting them to the user.

[0099] When one guidance sentence candidate is selected from one or more guidance sentence candidates presented to the user by the guidance sentence candidate presentation unit 114, the guidance sentence selection receiving unit 115 confirms this as the guidance sentence from the user. Here, the selection of one nudge sentence candidate includes not only the case where it is explicitly selected by the user's operation, but also the case where the chat-type UI control unit 119 (AI chatbot) predicts the intention and selects it based on the content entered in the input field in this service.

[0100] The target sentence etc. presenting unit 116 extracts the target sentence etc. associated with the guidance message confirmed by the guidance message selection receiving unit 115, and presents it to the user via the chat-type UI control unit 119 (AI chatbot). Here, presenting to the user via the chat-type UI control unit 119 (AI chatbot) refers not only to presenting the target text, etc. as is, but also to the chat-type UI control unit 119 (AI chatbot) processing the target text, etc. and presenting it, or presenting a text generated by the chat-type UI control unit 119 (AI chatbot) based on the target text, etc.

[0101] The history management unit 117 manages, as history information, the keywords accepted by the keyword etc. accepting unit 112, the guidance sentence candidate selected by the user from one or more guidance sentence candidates presented to the user by the guidance sentence candidate presentation unit 114, and the target sentence etc. presented to the user by the target sentence etc. presentation unit 116 in response to the selection. Furthermore, the history management unit 117 extracts keywords that were accepted by the keyword etc. accepting unit 112 but were not presented by the target sentence etc. presentation unit 116 due to the target sentence etc. not being selected by the user.

[0102] When a guidance sentence candidate is presented to the user by the guidance sentence candidate presentation unit 114 as history information by the history management unit 117 but is not confirmed by the guidance sentence selection receiving unit 115, the dictionary improvement unit 118 improves the guidance sentence dictionary including the correspondence between the keywords included in the guidance sentence candidate and the guidance sentence candidate.

[0103] The chat-type UI control unit 119 displays a chat-type UI screen C on the user terminal and executes control for the AI ​​chatbot to chat (converse) with the user, while controlling the exchange of information between the keyword etc. receiving unit 112 and the target sentence etc. presentation unit 116 and the AI ​​chatbot, thereby causing the AI ​​chatbot to generate an appropriate response based on the target sentence etc. extracted by the target sentence etc. presentation unit 116 in response to a sentence containing a keyword input by the user.

[0104] The above describes an example of the functional configuration of the server 1 when this service is applied not only to FAQs but also to object texts including product descriptions. The features of the service realized by the above-mentioned server 1 will be summarized below.

[0105] The search using intent expansion of this service can be said to be a search method that fits well with the behavioral characteristics of users. Specifically, users are amateurs when it comes to the products (services) they are searching for. Therefore, they often do not understand the technical terms usually used in FAQs and product descriptions. In other words, they are unable to recall keywords for searches using such technical terms. Furthermore, even if they input a keyword, it is difficult for them to select the correct answer (the one that matches the user's own intention) from a list of articles that simply contain that keyword. In addition, the reality is that many users give up if they are unable to reach the desired text or sentence after several attempts (on average about three attempts). As described above, this service can solve such problems.

[0106] In addition, the search using intent expansion of this service can be said to be a mechanism for searching for predicted leading sentences (question sentences) rather than searching for target sentences that serve as answers from keywords entered by the user. Specifically, it is difficult for users to choose the appropriate answer even if the answer they want to know (target sentence, etc.) is presented. With this service, the question the user is thinking of (guiding sentence) is presented, making it easier for the user to make a selection. This improves the rate at which users reach the correct answer.

[0107] Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and modifications, improvements, etc. within the scope that can achieve the object of the present invention are considered to be included in the present invention.

[0108] For example, in the above embodiment, the related sentences, which are an example of the target sentences, are regarded as answers to one FAQ, but may be answers to two or more FAQs.

[0109] Also, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned specific example. For example, assume that an incorrect payment process is performed for three users who use online payment. In this case, each of the three users inputs natural sentences, etc., including the keywords "defect," "refund," and "defective" into the chat-type UI screen C of the present service, and selects each of the displayed question candidates (including the case where the AI ​​chatbot predicts the intention and selects). Then, answers to the same FAQ desired by the three users are extracted as related sentences, etc., and sentences based on the same related sentences, etc. are presented to each of the three users. Note that although the sentences presented to each of the three users are based on the same related sentences, etc., they are generally different for each of the three users because they are generated by the AI ​​chatbot according to the chat (conversation) history of each of the three users.

[0110] Also, for example, in the above embodiment, a question candidate including a word related to a specific word, phrase, or sentence and having a higher generality is extracted when the specific word is input, but this is not limited to the above. It is also possible to extract a question candidate including a word related to a specific word, phrase, or sentence and having a lower generality or a similar generality when the specific word is input. Specifically, for example, when the word "delete" is input in the search box, a sentence including the word "delete" may be extracted.

[0111] Moreover, the system configuration shown in FIG. 6 and the hardware configuration of the server 1 shown in FIG. 7 are merely examples for achieving the object of the present invention, and are not particularly limited.

[0112] In addition, the functional block diagrams shown in Figures 8 and 15 are merely examples and are not particularly limited. In other words, it is sufficient that the information processing system in Figure 6 is provided with a function capable of executing the above-mentioned various processes as a whole, and the functional blocks and databases used to realize this function are not particularly limited to the examples in Figures 8 and 15.

[0113] Furthermore, the locations of the functional blocks and databases are not limited to those shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 15, and may be arbitrary. For example, at least some of the functional blocks and databases arranged on the server 1 side may be provided on the user terminal 2 side or on another information processing device (not shown).

[0114] Furthermore, the above-described series of processes can be executed by hardware or software. Furthermore, one functional block may be configured as a single piece of hardware, a single piece of software, or a combination of both.

[0115] When the series of processes is executed by software, the program constituting the software is installed into a computer or the like from a network or a recording medium. The computer may be a computer implemented with dedicated hardware. Furthermore, the computer may be a computer capable of executing various functions by installing various programs thereon, such as a server, a general-purpose smartphone, or a personal computer.

[0116] A recording medium containing such a program may be composed not only of a removable medium (not shown) that is distributed separately from the device body in order to provide the program to the user, but also of a recording medium that is provided to the user in a pre-installed state in the device body.

[0117] In this specification, the steps of describing a program to be recorded on a recording medium include not only processes that are performed chronologically according to the order, but also processes that are not necessarily performed chronologically but are executed in parallel or individually.

[0118] In summary, it is sufficient for an information processing device to which the present invention is applied to have the following configuration, and various embodiments can be adopted. That is, the information processing device to which the present invention is applied is A receiving unit (e.g., keyword receiving unit 102 in FIG. 8 or keyword receiving unit 112 in FIG. 15) for receiving a word (e.g., keyword) related to a target sentence (e.g., a related sentence such as an answer to an FAQ) that is a predetermined word, phrase, or sentence presented to a user in order to achieve a predetermined purpose of the user, and an extraction means stage (e.g., the question sentence candidate extraction unit 103 in FIG. 8, the guidance sentence candidate extraction unit 113 in FIG. 15) for extracting one or more guidance sentence candidates (e.g., question sentence candidates) including at least a part of the word or a word similar thereto from a guidance sentence dictionary (e.g., the question sentence dictionary DB 181 in FIG. 8, e.g., the guidance sentence dictionary DB 182 in FIG. 15) in which a plurality of guidance sentence candidates (e.g., FAQ question sentence candidates) intended by the user to reach the target sentence or the like are associated with the target sentence or the like and registered in advance; A first presentation means (e.g., the question candidate presentation unit 104 in FIG. 8 or the nudge candidate presentation unit 114 in FIG. 15 ) presents the one or more question candidates extracted by the extraction means to the user (e.g., presents the question candidate QK1 in FIG. 1 ); a second presentation means (e.g., the related sentence etc. presentation unit 106 in FIG. 8, e.g., the target sentence etc. presentation unit 116 in FIG. 15) for extracting from the guidance sentence dictionary the target sentence etc. associated with the guidance sentence candidate selected from the one or more guidance sentence candidates presented to the user by the first presentation means and presenting the target sentence etc. to the user; a chat control means (e.g., the chat-type UI control unit 109 in FIG. 8 and the chat-type UI control unit 119 in FIG. 15) for controlling the exchange of information between the reception means and the second presentation means and the chatbot while executing control for the chatbot to chat with the user (e.g., while displaying a chat-type UI screen C on the user terminal 2 as shown in FIGS. 1 to 5), thereby causing the chatbot to generate an answer (e.g., the answer A1 in FIG. 3) based on the target sentence, etc. to be presented by the second presentation means in response to a sentence input by the user (e.g., a sentence input in the input field B1 in FIG. 3); Any information processing device having the above will suffice. For example, the guidance sentence candidates may be question sentence candidates, and the guidance sentence dictionary may be a question sentence dictionary.

[0119] This enables the user to easily reach a desired target sentence or the like through chat and obtain an appropriate reply based on the target sentence or the like.

[0120] The chatbot may be configured to perform one or more processes before generating a response to the user's input in the chat based on an intent predictive search algorithm generated using a predetermined machine learning method. This makes it possible to present to the user, for example, answer A1 in the example of FIG. 3 in response to the content entered in input field B1 in the example of FIG.

[0121] The chatbot can execute the one or more processes, including a process of extracting the words accepted by the accepting means, based on the input content of the user. For example, in the example in Figure 2, the sentence "Will it be in time for the delivery date?" is entered in input field B1. The AI ​​chatbot can then extract the word "in time*" from the sentence along with "delivery date."

[0122] The chatbot can execute one or more of the processes, including a process of extracting the words accepted by the reception means based on the content of the user's current input as well as the content of previous chats and the processing history of the reception means through the second presentation means based on the previous chats. For example, continuing from the example of FIG. 3, assume that the user inputs, "By what time should I submit the manuscript?" as shown in FIG. In this case, the AI ​​chatbot has memorized the questions and answers mentioned above (see Figures 1 to 3), and so can generate answer A2 in the example of Figure 4 based on the premise that "the reception needs to be completed by the end of the day."

[0123] The chatbot is embedded in a specified website and is capable of executing the one or more processes, including a process of extracting the words accepted by the accepting means, based on the content of one or more web pages contained in the website in addition to the user's current input content. For example, in the example in Figure 5, with the page "Price list for printing A4-size leaflets and flyers" open, the user types "Where should I enter the data?" in input field B4 on chat-type UI screen C and presses the Enter key. The AI ​​chatbot can then generate an answer in A4 size based on the context "I want to print a flyer" based on the page "Price list for printing A4 size leaflets and flyers." [Explanation of symbols]

[0124] 1...server, 2...user terminal, 11...CPU, 12...ROM, 13...RAM, 14...bus, 15...input / output interface, 16...input section, 17...output section, 18...storage section, 19...communication section, 20...drive, 40...removable media, 101...dictionary generation section, 102...keyword etc. reception section, 103...question candidate extraction section, 104...question candidate presentation section, 105...question determination section, 106... related sentence etc. presentation unit, 107, history management unit, 108, dictionary improvement unit, 109, chat-type UI control unit, 111, dictionary generation unit, 112, keyword etc. reception unit, 113, guidance sentence candidate extraction unit, 114, guidance sentence candidate presentation unit, 115, guidance sentence selection reception unit, 116, target sentence etc. presentation unit, 117, history management unit, 118, dictionary improvement unit, 119, chat-type UI control unit, 181, question sentence dictionary DB, 182, question sentence dictionary DB

Claims

1. a receiving means for receiving a word related to a target sentence, etc., which is a predetermined word, phrase, or sentence presented to a user in order to achieve a predetermined purpose of the user; an extraction means for extracting one or more navigation sentence candidates including at least a part of the word or a word similar thereto from a navigation sentence dictionary in which a plurality of navigation sentence candidates intended by the user to reach the target sentence or the like are registered in advance in association with the target sentence or the like; a first presentation means for presenting to the user the one or more nudge sentence candidates extracted by the extraction means; a second presentation means for extracting from the guidance sentence dictionary the target sentence or the like associated with a selected guidance sentence candidate from among the one or more guidance sentence candidates presented to the user by the first presentation means, and presenting the target sentence or the like to the user; a chat control means for controlling a chatbot to chat with the user and for controlling the exchange of information between the reception means and the second presentation means and the chatbot, thereby causing the chatbot to generate a response to a sentence input by the user based on the target sentence or the like to be presented by the second presentation means; Equipped with The chatbot, under the control of the chat control means, Executing one or more processes until generating the reply to the input of the user in the chat based on an intention prediction search algorithm generated using a predetermined machine learning, executes the one or more processes including a process of extracting the word accepted by the accepting means based on the current input content of the user, the previous chat content, and a history of processes from the accepting means to the second presenting means based on the previous chat, among the input contents of the user; Information processing device.

2. A receiving means for receiving a word related to a target sentence, etc., which is a predetermined word, phrase, or sentence presented to a user in order to achieve a predetermined purpose of the user, and the target sentence, etc.; an extraction means for extracting one or more navigation sentence candidates including at least a part of the word or a word similar thereto from a navigation sentence dictionary in which a plurality of navigation sentence candidates intended by the user to reach the target sentence or the like are registered in advance in association with the target sentence or the like; a first presentation means for presenting to the user the one or more nudge sentence candidates extracted by the extraction means; a second presentation means for extracting from the guidance sentence dictionary the target sentence or the like associated with a selected guidance sentence candidate from among the one or more guidance sentence candidates presented to the user by the first presentation means, and presenting the target sentence or the like to the user; a chat control means for controlling a chatbot to chat with the user and for controlling the exchange of information between the reception means and the second presentation means and the chatbot, thereby causing the chatbot to generate a response to a sentence input by the user based on the target sentence or the like to be presented by the second presentation means; Equipped with The chatbot, under the control of the chat control means, Executing one or more processes until generating the reply to the input of the user in the chat based on an intention prediction search algorithm generated using a predetermined machine learning, the one or more processes are executed, the one or more processes including a process of extracting the word accepted by the accepting means based on the current input content among the input contents of the user and the contents of one or more web pages included in the website; Information processing device.

3. The guidance sentence candidate is a question sentence candidate, and the guidance sentence dictionary is a question sentence dictionary.

3. The information processing device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. An information processing method executed by an information processing device, a receiving step of receiving words related to a target sentence, etc., which is a predetermined word, phrase, or sentence presented to the user in order to achieve a predetermined purpose of the user; an extraction step of extracting one or more guidance sentence candidates including at least a part of the word or a word similar thereto from a guidance sentence dictionary in which a plurality of guidance sentence candidates intended by the user to reach the target sentence or the like are registered in advance in association with the target sentence or the like; a first presentation step of presenting to the user the one or more nudge sentence candidates extracted in the extraction step; a second presentation step of extracting from the guidance sentence dictionary the target sentence or the like associated with a selected guidance sentence candidate from among the one or more guidance sentence candidates presented to the user in the first presentation step, and presenting the target sentence or the like to the user; a chat control step of controlling the chatbot to chat with the user and controlling the exchange of information between the chatbot and the chatbot in the reception step through the second presentation step, thereby causing the chatbot to generate a response to the sentence input by the user based on the target sentence or the like that is the presentation target of the second presentation step; Including, The chatbot, under the control of the chat control step, Executing one or more processes until generating the reply to the input of the user in the chat based on an intention prediction search algorithm generated using a predetermined machine learning, executes the one or more processes including a process of extracting the word accepted in the accepting step based on the current input content of the input content of the user, the previous chat content, and a history of processes in the accepting step through the second presenting step based on the previous chat. Information processing methods.

5. An information processing method executed by an information processing device, a receiving step of receiving words related to a target sentence, etc., which is a predetermined word, phrase, or sentence presented to the user in order to achieve a predetermined purpose of the user; an extraction step of extracting one or more guidance sentence candidates including at least a part of the word or a word similar thereto from a guidance sentence dictionary in which a plurality of guidance sentence candidates intended by the user to reach the target sentence or the like are registered in advance in association with the target sentence or the like; a first presentation step of presenting to the user the one or more nudge sentence candidates extracted in the extraction step; a second presentation step of extracting from the guidance sentence dictionary the target sentence or the like associated with a selected guidance sentence candidate from among the one or more guidance sentence candidates presented to the user in the first presentation step, and presenting the target sentence or the like to the user; a chat control step of controlling the chatbot to chat with the user and controlling the exchange of information between the chatbot and the chatbot in the reception step through the second presentation step, thereby causing the chatbot to generate a response to the sentence input by the user based on the target sentence or the like that is the presentation target of the second presentation step; Including, The chatbot, under the control of the chat control step, Executing one or more processes until generating the reply to the input of the user in the chat based on an intention prediction search algorithm generated using a predetermined machine learning, the one or more processes are executed, the one or more processes including a process of extracting the word accepted in the accepting step, based on the current input content among the input content of the user and the content of one or more web pages included in the website; Information processing methods.

6. On the computer, a receiving step of receiving words related to a target sentence, etc., which is a predetermined word, phrase, or sentence presented to the user in order to achieve a predetermined purpose of the user; an extraction step of extracting one or more guidance sentence candidates including at least a part of the word or a word similar thereto from a guidance sentence dictionary in which a plurality of guidance sentence candidates intended by the user to reach the target sentence or the like are registered in advance in association with the target sentence or the like; a first presentation step of presenting to the user the one or more nudge sentence candidates extracted in the extraction step; a second presentation step of extracting from the guidance sentence dictionary the target sentence or the like associated with a selected guidance sentence candidate from among the one or more guidance sentence candidates presented to the user in the first presentation step, and presenting the target sentence or the like to the user; a chat control step of controlling the chatbot to chat with the user and controlling the exchange of information between the chatbot and the chatbot in the reception step through the second presentation step, thereby causing the chatbot to generate a response to the sentence input by the user based on the target sentence or the like that is the presentation target of the second presentation step; Executing a control process including The chat control step further includes: The chatbot is caused to execute one or more processes until generating the answer to the input of the user in the chat based on an intention prediction search algorithm generated using a predetermined machine learning, and executes the one or more processes including a process of extracting the word accepted in the accepting step based on the current input content of the input content of the user, the previous chat content, and a history of processes in the accepting step through the second presenting step based on the previous chat; Executing a control process including the steps of: program.

7. A computer comprising: a receiving step of receiving words related to a target sentence, etc., which is a predetermined word, phrase, or sentence presented to the user in order to achieve a predetermined purpose of the user; an extraction step of extracting one or more guidance sentence candidates including at least a part of the word or a word similar thereto from a guidance sentence dictionary in which a plurality of guidance sentence candidates intended by the user to reach the target sentence or the like are registered in advance in association with the target sentence or the like; a first presentation step of presenting to the user the one or more nudge sentence candidates extracted in the extraction step; a second presentation step of extracting from the guidance sentence dictionary the target sentence or the like associated with a selected guidance sentence candidate from among the one or more guidance sentence candidates presented to the user in the first presentation step, and presenting the target sentence or the like to the user; a chat control step of controlling the chatbot to chat with the user and controlling the exchange of information between the chatbot and the chatbot in the reception step through the second presentation step, thereby causing the chatbot to generate a response to the sentence input by the user based on the target sentence or the like that is the presentation target of the second presentation step; Executing a control process including The chat control step further includes: The chatbot is caused to execute one or more processes until generating the answer to the input of the user in the chat based on an intention prediction search algorithm generated using a predetermined machine learning, and the one or more processes including a process of extracting the word accepted in the accepting step, the process being embedded in a predetermined website and based on the current input content among the input content of the user and the content of one or more web pages included in the website; program.

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