Service providing system, service providing method, and program

Abstract

To provide a service so as to meet a request from an individual user of the service, while protecting data privacy.SOLUTION: A service providing system includes: a storage unit which stores service information formed by associating the contents of services to be provided by a service provider with personal information to be provided to the service provider for the use of the services; a service catalog generation unit which extracts a service complying with a policy from the service information according to a notification of a natural language indicating the policy of the service that the user wants, and generates information in which the extracted service is associated with the personal information to be provided to the service provider, required for the user to use the service, as a service catalog indicating candidates of service to be recommended to the user; and a service use control unit which acquires the contents of a service selected from the service catalog and allows the service provider which provides the acquired service to obtain the personal information for the use of the service.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a service providing system, a service providing method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Various services are provided by service providers. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology that proposes comprehensive disclosure of personal information so that consent procedures for the disclosure of personal information can be omitted. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-191846 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Meanwhile, awareness of personal information (awareness of data privacy) is growing overseas. It is becoming essential for service providers to provide services with consideration for data privacy. Interest in data privacy is also gradually increasing in Japan, and efforts are expected to be made to provide services that properly manage the personal information of users. For example, with a view to expanding global business, companies are required to establish methods for managing personal information from the user's perspective.

[0005] Furthermore, in the days when the main advertising media for service provision were limited to mass media such as newspapers, magazines, and television, a promotional method known as mass marketing, which promoted the provision of services to an unspecified number of people using the same message and approach, was widely used. However, with the development of the Internet society, marketing targeted at individual consumers, known as "one-to-one marketing," has begun to attract attention. For this reason, service providers should not only approach an unspecified number of people, but also be able to propose services that individual users want.

[0006] Patent Document 1 leaves room for improvement in terms of data privacy and providing services tailored to individual users. For example, Patent Document 1 suggests services used by users similar to the target user from a list of services provided by businesses, along with reasons for recommending them. However, since services used by similar users are not necessarily services that the target user would like to use, the system does not necessarily suggest services that meet the needs of individual users. Furthermore, Patent Document 1 allows the use of personal information comprehensively for each industry and purpose. For example, if a retailer uses users' allergies and food preferences to improve their services, such use is comprehensively permitted. However, since users typically intend to disclose more personal information to businesses that can provide better service, it is difficult to say that a system that allows the use of personal information comprehensively to multiple businesses in the same industry, regardless of the quality of the services they provide, is capable of managing personal information in a user-centered manner.

[0007] In view of the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a service providing system, a service providing method, and a program that can provide services that meet the individual needs of service users while protecting data privacy. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, one aspect of the present invention is a service provision system comprising: a memory unit that stores service information that corresponds the content of a service provided by a service provider with personal information that the user provides to the service provider in order to use the service; a service catalog generation unit that reads service information from the memory unit in response to notification of natural language indicating the direction of a service that the user wishes to use, extracts services that are in line with the direction from the read service information, and generates information that corresponds the extracted services with personal information that the user provides to the service provider in order to use the service as a service catalog that shows candidate services to be recommended to the user; and a service usage control unit that obtains the content of a service selected from the service catalog obtained from the user terminal by notifying the user terminal of the service catalog generated by the service catalog generation unit, and requests the service provider that provides the obtained service to enable the service provider to obtain the personal information required to use the service and to start providing the service to the user.

[0009] One aspect of the present invention is a service provision method performed by a service provision system having a memory unit that stores service information that corresponds the content of a service provided by a service provider with personal information to be provided to the service provider in order to use the service, wherein a service catalog generation unit reads the service information from the memory unit in response to notification of natural language indicating the direction of a service that the user wishes to use, extracts services that are in line with the direction from the read service information, and generates information that corresponds the extracted services with personal information that the user will provide to the service provider in order to use the service as a service catalog that indicates candidate services to be recommended to the user, a service usage control unit notifies the user terminal of the service catalog generated by the service catalog generation unit, thereby obtaining the content of the selected service from the service catalog obtained from the user terminal, and requests the service provider that provides the obtained service to enable the service provider to obtain the personal information required to use the service and to begin providing the service to the user.

[0010] One aspect of the present invention is a program that, in response to notification of natural language indicating the direction of a service that a user wishes to use, reads the service information from the memory unit to a service management server, which is a computer used in a service provision system having a memory unit that stores service information that corresponds the content of a service provided by a service provider with personal information that the user provides to the service provider in order to use the service, extracts services that are in line with the direction from the read service information, generates information that corresponds the extracted services with personal information that the user provides to the service provider in order to use the service as a service catalog indicating candidate services to recommend to the user, notifies the user terminal of the generated service catalog to obtain the content of the service selected from the service catalog obtained from the user terminal, and requests the service provider that provides the obtained service to enable the service provider to obtain the personal information required to use the service and to begin providing the service to the user. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide services that meet the individual needs of service users while protecting data privacy. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a service providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a process performed by the service providing system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a process performed by the service providing system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a process performed by the service providing system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a service management server according to the present embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of service information according to the embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of service information according to the embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of service information according to the embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of service information according to the embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of service information according to the embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of a service registration process performed by the service providing system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of a service usage start process performed by the service providing system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of a service usage stop process performed by the service management server according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0014] <1. Service provision system> The configuration of a service providing system according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a service providing system according to this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the service providing system 1 includes a service management server 10, a service provider server 20, a DB server 30, and a user terminal 40.

[0015] The service management server 10 is a server that manages the use of services by users. The service management server 10 is configured with one or more servers, for example, cloud servers. The service management server 10 is connected to a service provider server 20, a DB server 30, and a user terminal 40 via a network NW so as to be able to communicate with them.

[0016] The service provider server 20 is a server managed by a service provider, for example, a company. The service provider server 20 registers the details of the services provided by the service provider in the service management server 10. The service provider server 20 is notified by the service management server 10 of information about users who wish to start using the services provided by the service provider, and provides the services to the users in response to this notification.

[0017] The DB server 30 is a database that stores service information 301 and user information 302 as information for using the services. The service information 301 is information about the content of the services provided by the service provider. The user information 302 is information about users who wish to use the services by using the service providing system 1.

[0018] The user terminal 40 is a terminal used by a user who uses a service. The user terminal 40 is, for example, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a PC (Personal Computer), etc. The user terminal 40 is connected to the service management server 10 via the network NW so as to be able to communicate with the service management server 10.

[0019] The service providing system 1 according to this embodiment is a system for users to use services provided by service providers. In the service providing system 1, a dedicated application (hereinafter also referred to as a "dedicated app") is distributed to the service provider and users, and users can use the services provided by the service provider by communicating via the dedicated app.

[0020] Specifically, the service provider installs a dedicated app for the provider distributed from the service provision system 1 into the service provider server 20. The dedicated app for the provider is, for example, an API (Application Programming Interface) that realizes communication between the service management server 10 and the service provider server 20. The service provider server 20 performs service registration with the service management server 10 via the dedicated app for the provider. In service registration, the service provider server 20 notifies the service management server 10 of the content of the service provided by the service provider. In response to the service registration, the service management server 10 generates service information 301 based on the content of the service notified by the service provider server 20, and stores the generated service information 301 in the DB server 30.

[0021] Meanwhile, the user installs a dedicated app for the user distributed from the service providing system 1 into the user terminal 40. The user terminal 40 performs user registration with the service management server 10 via the dedicated app for the user. In user registration, the user terminal 40 enters the user's personal information, such as the user's name, gender, date of birth, age, address, telephone number, and email address, in accordance with an input form for user registration displayed on the user terminal 40 via the dedicated app, and performs a send operation, whereby the user terminal 40 notifies the service management server 10 of this personal information. The service management server 10 issues a user ID in response to the user registration, associates the issued user ID with the personal information notified from the user terminal 40, and stores the user's personal information associated with the user ID in the DB server 30 as user information 302.

[0022] In the above description, a case where personal information of the user, such as the user's name, is entered during user registration has been exemplified, but this is not limiting. A configuration may be adopted in which a user ID is issued without the user's personal information being entered during user registration. In this case, when the user starts using a service, the user enters personal information that needs to be disclosed in order to use the service and performs a transmission operation, and the user terminal 40 notifies the service management server 10 of this personal information. The service management server 10 associates the personal information notified from the user terminal 40 with the user ID and stores the information in the DB server 30 as user information 302.

[0023] In the above, the dedicated app functions by being installed on a terminal (service provider server 20 or user terminal 40) as an example, but is not limited to this. The functions of the dedicated app may be provided by a web system (i.e., a web app). When the dedicated app is provided by a web system, the functions are provided via a web browser.

[0024] Here, the service providing system 1 of this embodiment handles services whose contents vary depending on the personal information of the user that is disclosed to the service provider.

[0025] For example, in the case of a bento delivery service that delivers bento boxes, if the user does not disclose personal information, the user can use the service of service content SA1. Service content SA1 is, for example, a service that allows the user to view images of bento boxes and their nutritional values. If the user discloses the user's home address and name as personal information, the user can use the service of service content SA2. Service content SA2 is, for example, a service that allows the user to have the ordered bento box delivered to their home. If the user discloses the address and name of a delivery destination other than the user's home (e.g., workplace) as personal information, the user can use the service of service content SA3. Service content SA3 is, for example, a service that allows the ordered bento box to be delivered to a delivery destination other than the user's home. For example, the user can specify the school that the user's child attends as the delivery destination, in which case the user can use the service to have the bento box delivered to the school that the user's child attends.

[0026] In the service provision system 1 of this embodiment, the content of services corresponding to the personal information that must be disclosed is registered with the service provider, so that the user can be offered suggestions for using services that correspond to the personal information to be disclosed.

[0027] Specifically, in the service providing system 1, the service management server 10 transmits to the user terminal 40 a service catalog that associates the content of a service with the personal information that needs to be disclosed to the service provider in order to use that service. The user terminal 40 displays the service catalog notified by the service management server 10 on the display unit of the user terminal 40. This allows the user to easily understand the content of the service and the personal information that needs to be disclosed in order to use the service by looking at the service catalog displayed on the user terminal 40. Therefore, the user can consider whether or not to start using the service after understanding what personal information needs to be disclosed, and personal information can be managed with the user as the main player.

[0028] In the service providing system 1 of this embodiment, when a user starts using a service, only personal information that the user has agreed to be disclosed is disclosed to the service provider. This prevents personal information unrelated to the use of the service from being disclosed, thereby protecting data privacy. Here, personal information may be disclosed to the service provider by, for example, granting the service provider server 20 permission to access the relevant personal information in the DB server 30. Alternatively, personal information may be disclosed to the service provider by transmitting the personal information to the service provider server 20 after a contract or other agreement prohibits the use of the personal information for purposes other than those intended, i.e., for purposes other than providing the service.

[0029] Furthermore, the service providing system 1 of this embodiment controls the service provider to appropriately manage the disclosed personal information even after the user's personal information has been disclosed to the service provider. Specifically, when the user stops using the service, the service provider is prevented from viewing the personal information (personal information disclosed to the service provider when the user started using the service). For example, if the user is granted permission to access the personal information in the DB server 30 when the user starts using the service, the service management server 10 changes the permission so that the service provider cannot access the personal information in the DB server 30. Alternatively, if the user sends personal information to the service provider server 20 when the user starts using the service, prohibiting use for purposes other than those intended, the service management server 10 requires the user to submit a report indicating that the personal information received when the user started using the service has been completely deleted from the service provider server 20. In this way, it is possible to prevent the personal information from leaking from the service provider for some reason after the user stops using the service, thereby protecting data privacy.

[0030] 2 to 4 are diagrams for explaining the processing performed by the service providing system according to this embodiment.

[0031] FIG. 2 shows an example of an input form displayed on the user terminal 40. As shown in FIG. 2, in the service providing system 1 of this embodiment, an input form is displayed on the user terminal 40 via a dedicated user app. In this input form, the user can freely input, from their own perspective, what they want to do, what they want to try, or what they are worried about, as a direction for the service. This figure shows an example in which the natural language (text sentence) "I would like to study abroad. Do you have any recommendations?" is entered into the input form. The service management server 10 searches for services to recommend to the user from registered services based on the text sentence entered into the input form.

[0032] 3 shows an example of a service catalogue displayed on the user terminal 40 as a search result based on the text entered in the input form. In this figure, for the text "I'm thinking of studying abroad. Do you have any recommendations?", overseas study services, study abroad services, travel procedure support services, and overseas travel services are each extracted as services similar to the text.

[0033] Figure 4 shows an example of abstract text entered into an input form. In this figure, the following text is shown as an example of abstract text entered into an input form: "My eldest daughter will be going to a school that doesn't provide school lunches starting in April. I'm worried about whether I'll be able to make her lunch every day." The vague impression of users, such as "I'm worried about making bento," is only shown, but the content of the service is not directly indicated. Therefore, while it can be assumed that the service is related to bento, it is unclear what kind of service users want. Specifically, it is unclear whether attending a cooking class that teaches bento making would alleviate users' anxieties, whether receiving a wake-up call so that they can get up early in the morning to make bento would alleviate users' anxieties, whether being able to view recipes that can be used as reference for making bento would alleviate users' anxieties, or whether outsourcing bento making would alleviate users' anxieties. However, since users will certainly have concerns, it would be better to be able to understand their concerns and suggest services that can alleviate them.Even if the text entered into the input form does not directly indicate the content of the service, if it provides clues that can help users find the direction of the service in relation to what they want to do, what they want to try, or what they are worried about, it may be possible to suggest the service that the user wants. Therefore, in the service management server 10 of the embodiment, even if an abstract sentence that does not directly indicate the content of the service is entered in the input form, it is possible to search for a service recommended to the user from registered services based on the text entered in the input form. This makes it possible to propose services desired by each individual user based on the request from that individual user. In the example shown in Figure 4, the search results based on the text entered in the input form show that a lunch box viewing service, a lunch box ingredient delivery service, a lunch box home delivery service, and a lunch box school delivery service have each been extracted as services similar to the text. Users feel positive because they feel that their concerns are being addressed by the service that searches for recommended services based on the text they entered in the input form. Also, by learning about the various services available in the service catalog, users can consider which services they should use to alleviate their concerns. As a result, the service providing system 1 of this embodiment can propose services desired by individual users based on requests from the individual users.

[0034] Below, we will explain the service management server 10, and in particular, a mechanism that allows users to search for services recommended to them based on the text entered into the input form when a sentence that does not directly indicate the content of the service is entered into the input form.

[0035] <2. About the service management server 10> The service management server 10 according to this embodiment will now be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the service management server 10 according to this embodiment. The service management server 10 includes, for example, a communication unit 101, a storage unit 102, a service registration reception unit 103, a service content analysis unit 104, a user registration reception unit 105, a usage request reception unit 106, a service catalog generation unit 107, and a service usage control unit 108.

[0036] The communication unit 101 has a function of transmitting and receiving various information. The communication unit 101 communicates with each of the service provider server 20, the DB server 30, and the user terminal 40 via the network NW, and transmits and receives various information.

[0037] The storage unit 102 has a function of storing various types of information. The storage unit 102 is configured by a storage medium provided as hardware in the service management server 10, such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a flash memory, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a random access read / write memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), or any combination of these storage media.

[0038] The storage unit 102 stores programs for realizing the operations of the functional units (including a service registration reception unit 103, a service content analysis unit 104, a user registration reception unit 105, a usage request reception unit 106, a service catalog generation unit 107, and a service usage control unit 108) of the service management server 10. These functional units are realized, for example, by causing a CPU provided as hardware in the service management server 10 to execute the programs stored in the storage unit 102.

[0039] The service registration acceptance unit 103 accepts service registrations from service providers. The service registration acceptance unit 103 acquires information indicating the content of the service notified from the service provider server 20 via the communication unit 101. The service registration acceptance unit 103 stores information associating the acquired content of the service with the provider that provides the service, in the DB server 30, as service information 301.

[0040] Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of service information according to this embodiment. Fig. 6 shows an example of information indicating the content of a service notified from the service provider server 20. In this diagram, the information indicating the content of the service shows information corresponding to each of the service level items, essentials, and content. The service level items show information related to the service level (service quality) and the content of the service, and show the service availability rate, response time, notification of failure occurrence, service overview, and each of the service contents SA1 to SA3.

[0041] The service availability, response time, and failure notification are information indicating the performance when providing an online service, and indicate that the online service availability is 99.5%, the response time is about 1 second, and failure notification is within 1 hour, respectively. Such information regarding service levels may be set values ​​described in so-called SLA (Service Level Agreement) or SLO (Service Level Objective).

[0042] Each of the service overview and service contents SA1 to SA3 shows a service overview, personal information that must be disclosed to use the service, and the service content for each service. In this figure, the service overview is shown as a text sentence: "This is a lunch box reservation and delivery service..." Service content SA1 also shows that by disclosing account information, which is personal information that must be disclosed, such as a user ID issued at the time of user registration, a list of lunch boxes and nutritional information for each lunch box can be viewed. Service content SA2 shows that by disclosing the user's name and address, a reserved lunch box can be delivered to the user's home. Service content SA3 shows that by disclosing the user's child's name and the name and address of the child's school, a reserved lunch box can be delivered to the child's school.

[0043] The service registration reception unit 103 outputs information indicating the content of the acquired information service to the service content analysis unit 104. The service content analysis unit 104 acquires the information indicating the content of the service from the service registration reception unit 103, analyzes the service content by linguistically analyzing the acquired information, and stores the analysis result in the DB server 30 as service information 301.

[0044] In this way, in this embodiment, by analyzing the service content notified by the service provider, it is possible to search for services recommended to the user based on the text entered into the input form, even if a sentence that does not directly indicate the content of the service is entered into the input form.

[0045] Specifically, the service content analysis unit 104 sets a document indicating the content of the service as a target document, extracts words indicating the content of the service by morphologically analyzing the target document, and calculates the strength of the connection (co-occurrence relationship) between the extracted words. As a result of calculating the co-occurrence relationship, the service content analysis unit 104 may generate a graph structure indicating the co-occurrence relationship of the words extracted from the target document, or may generate a data structure indicating the co-occurrence relationship.

[0046] Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of service information according to this embodiment. Fig. 7 shows an example of a target document. As shown in this example, the service content analysis unit 104 selects, as the target document, a document showing the service content, such as a service overview or service contents SA1 to SA3, from documents showing the service content as shown in Fig. 6.

[0047] Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of service information according to this embodiment. Fig. 8 shows an example of morphological analysis of a target document. As shown in the example of this figure, the service content analysis unit 104 performs morphological analysis on the target document shown in Fig. 7 to divide the words included in the target document into morphemes. Among the morphemes extracted from the target document, nouns such as "bento," "reservation," and "delivery" are extracted, and words that co-occur with the extracted nouns, i.e., words that are strongly associated with them, are extracted. Any method can be used to extract words that co-occur, and for example, books such as specialized books, general books, magazines, and dictionaries available on the Internet can be used. The service content analysis unit 104 extracts co-occurrence relationships between nouns such as bento, reservation, and delivery extracted from the target document, as well as phrases that have co-occurrence relationships with each of the nouns such as bento, reservation, and delivery, using books, etc., and generates a graph structure showing the co-occurrence relationships.

[0048] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of service information according to this embodiment. FIG. 9 shows an example of a graph structure generated by the service content analysis unit 104. In this diagram, the terms "reservation" and "delivery" are extracted from the service summary of the target document as terms that co-occur with the term "lunch box" in the same service summary. In addition, the terms "dessert" and "prepared food" are extracted from books and the like as terms that co-occur with the term "lunch box" in the target document. In addition, the terms "location" and "school" are extracted from service contents SA2 and SA3 as terms that co-occur with the term "delivery" in the service summary.

[0049] Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of service information according to this embodiment, in which the grab structure shown in Fig. 9 is shown in data structure.

[0050] 9 or 10 is associated with the service and stored as service information 301 in the DB server 30. Using such co-occurrence relationships generated from the service content, a similar search is performed on the text sentence entered in the input form.

[0051] Returning to the explanation of FIG. 5, the user registration acceptance unit 105 accepts user registration from a user. The user registration acceptance unit 105 acquires information indicating the content of the user registration notified from the user terminal 40 via the communication unit 101. The user registration acceptance unit 105 stores the acquired content of the user registration in the DB server 30 as user information 302. The user registration acceptance unit 105 also issues a user ID corresponding to the user registration and notifies the user terminal 40 of the issued user ID as a response to the user registration.

[0052] The usage request receiving unit 106 receives a service usage request from a user. This service usage request is executed by inputting a text sentence into an input form and performing a send operation. In other words, when a send operation is performed on the text sentence input into the input form, the text sentence is sent from the user terminal 40 to the service management server 10. The usage request receiving unit 106 receives the usage request by acquiring the text sentence sent from the user terminal 40 via the communication unit 101. The usage request receiving unit 106 outputs the text sentence corresponding to the acquired usage request to the service catalog generation unit 107.

[0053] The service catalog generation unit 107 generates a service catalog. The service catalog generation unit 107 acquires the text sentence output from the usage request receiving unit 106 and extracts terms from the acquired text sentence. Any method can be used to extract terms from the text sentence, such as morphological analysis. The service catalog generation unit 107 reads service information 301 from the DB server 30 and searches the read service information 301 for services that include the terms extracted from the text sentence in their co-occurrence relationships. The service catalog generation unit 107 classifies the services extracted as search results as services similar to the text sentence. The service catalog generation unit 107 sorts the services extracted as search results in order of similarity. The similarity here can be set arbitrarily, but for example, the higher the proportion of services that include the terms extracted from the text sentence in their co-occurrence relationships, the higher the similarity (i.e., the more similar) the services are determined to be. The service catalog generation unit 107 generates a service catalog by associating the sorted services with personal information that needs to be disclosed in order to use the services.

[0054] Here, the service catalog generation unit 107 may display, as the personal information that needs to be disclosed in order to use the service, only personal information excluding personal information that has already been disclosed at the time of user registration or when using another service, that is, only personal information indicated as "missing information only" in Figures 3 and 4. Furthermore, among the personal information that needs to be disclosed in order to use the service, personal information that has already been disclosed at the time of user registration or when using another service and is stored in the user information 302 may be displayed separately from information that is not stored in the user information 302.

[0055] The service usage control unit 108 controls the use of services by users, that is, the start and stop of service usage. For example, when a user starts using a service, the service usage control unit 108 notifies the service provider server 20 of personal information necessary to use the service and requests the service provider to start providing the service. On the other hand, when a user stops using a service, the service usage control unit 108 notifies the service provider server 20 of a request to stop providing the service, and requests that the personal information disclosed by the user be deleted so that it cannot be used by the service provider server 20. The service catalog generation unit 107 may request the service provider server 20 to notify a deletion completion report indicating that the deletion of the personal information has been completed.

[0056] Alternatively, when the user starts using a service, the service usage control unit 108 grants the service provider server 20 permission to access the relevant personal information (personal information necessary to use the service) in the DB server 30 and requests the service provider to start providing the service. On the other hand, when the user stops using a service, the service usage control unit 108 changes the access permission so that the service provider cannot access the personal information in the DB server 30, and notifies the service provider server 20 of a request to stop providing the service. The service catalog generation unit 107 may request the service provider server 20 to notify the service provider server 20 of a confirmation result report confirming that the personal information in the DB server 30 cannot be accessed. Furthermore, if personal information is temporarily stored in the service provider server 20 during the period in which the service was provided to the user, the service usage control unit 108 may request the service provider server 20 to delete the personal information and request that a deletion completion report be notified indicating that the deletion has been completed.

[0057] <3. Processing flow> Here, the flow of processing according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 11 to Fig. 13. Fig. 11 to Fig. 13 are sequence diagrams showing the flow of processing performed by the service providing system according to this embodiment.

[0058] 11 shows the flow of the service registration process. The service provider server 20 notifies the service management server 10 of a service registration request indicating a request for service registration (step S10). In response to receiving the service registration request from the service provider server 20, the service management server 10 notifies the service provider server 20 of the API and provides the API to the service provider (step S11). The API is a set of programs for connecting to the service management server 10 and the DB server 30 in the service providing system 1, and is an example of a dedicated application on the provider side. By installing the API in the user terminal 40, service registration can be performed between the service provider server 20 and the service management server 10 via the API. In addition, via the API, the service provider server 20 can refer to personal information and the like that has been granted access rights among the information stored in the DB server 30. The service provider server 20 transmits the terms of use of the service to the service management server 10 (step S12). The service management server 10 receives the terms of use of the service from the service provider server 20 and stores the received terms of use in the service information 301 of the DB server 30 (step S13). The service provider server 20 prepares to register the service (step S14). For example, the service provider server 20 prepares to register the service by preparing a tabular document describing the quality of the service and the details of the service according to the service level items. The service provider server 20 transmits the tabular document describing the details of the service, for example, the details of the service prepared in step S14, to the service management server 10 (step S15). The service management server 10 receives the service content from the service provider server 20 and stores the received service content in the service information 301 of the DB server 30 (step S16). The service management server 10 extracts a document indicating the service content from the service content received from the service provider server 20, performs morphological analysis on the extracted document as a target document, and calculates co-occurrence relationships by extracting, from the target document or a book, words that have a co-occurrence relationship with the morphemes extracted from the target document, particularly nouns (step S17). The service management server 10 generates a graph structure indicating the calculated co-occurrence relationships and stores the generated graph structure in the service information 301 of the DB server 30 (step S18). The service management server 10 generates a data structure indicating the calculated co-occurrence relationships and stores the generated data structure in the service information 301 of the DB server 30 (step S19).

[0059] FIG. 12 shows the flow of processing from user registration to the start of service use. The user terminal 40 performs user registration with the service management server 10 (step S20). For example, the user performs an application startup operation on the user terminal 40, which starts a dedicated application and displays a user registration screen. The user follows the user registration screen to input all or part of the information required for user registration, such as the user's name, gender, date of birth, age, address, telephone number, and email address, and performs a send operation. In response to the send operation, the user terminal 40 sends the information required for user registration to the service management server 10. This completes the user registration. The service management server 10 receives the user's name and other information notified by the user registration from the user terminal 40, and stores the received information such as the user's name in the user information 302 of the DB server 30 (step S21). The user terminal 40 makes a service usage request to the service management server 10 (step S22). The user performs an application startup operation on the user terminal 40, launches the dedicated application, logs in to the dedicated application using the user ID, and displays an input form. The user follows the input form to freely input what the user wants to do, what they want to try, or what they are worried about, from their own perspective as the direction of the service, and performs a send operation. In response to the send operation, the user terminal 40 sends the text entered in the input form to the service management server 10. This completes the service usage request. The service management server 10 receives the text entered into the input form from the user terminal 40 and generates a service catalog based on the received text (step S23). The service management server 10 searches the service information 301 in the DB server 30 for services that have a co-occurrence relationship with the phrase extracted from the text, and classifies the services extracted as search results as services similar to the text. The service management server 10 generates a service catalog by sorting the services extracted as search results in order of similarity and associating the sorted services with personal information that needs to be disclosed in order to use the services. The service management server 10 sends the generated service catalog to the user terminal 40 (step S24). The user terminal 40 displays the service catalog notified by the service management server 10, allowing the user to view the service catalog. The user selects a service that the user wishes to use from the service catalog (step S25).

[0060] In response to the user's operation to select a service, a confirmation form (not shown) for confirming whether or not the user consents to the disclosure of personal information is displayed on the user terminal 40. The user responds by indicating that they consent to the disclosure of their personal information in order to use the selected service, and performs a send operation. In response to the send operation, the user terminal 40 sends to the service management server 10 the service selected by the user from the service catalog and information indicating that the user consents to the disclosure of personal information in order to use this service (step S26). Here, if the personal information to be disclosed in order to use the service selected by the user is not stored in the user information 302 of the DB server 30, an input field for entering the personal information is displayed on the user terminal 40. The user enters the personal information in the input field and performs a send operation. In response to the send operation, the user terminal 40 transmits to the service management server 10 the service selected by the user from the service catalog and the personal information entered by the user in order to use this service.

[0061] The service management server 10 receives information indicating the service selected by the user from the user terminal 40, and requests the service provider server 20 to start providing the service based on the received information (step S27).

[0062] The service management server 10 notifies the service provider server 20 of the disclosure of personal information that needs to be disclosed in order for the user to use the service selected by the user (step S28). For example, if personal information that the user needs to disclose in order to use the selected service is already stored in the user information 302 of the DB server 30, the service management server 10 notifies the service provider server 20 of the relevant personal information based on the user's consent to the disclosure of the personal information, and requests the service provider to start providing the service. Alternatively, if personal information that the user needs to disclose in order to use the selected service is not stored in the user information 302 of the DB server 30, and the personal information entered in the input field from the user terminal 40 is notified, the service management server 10 stores the notified personal information in the user information 302, notifies the service provider server 20 of the personal information, and requests the service provider to start providing the service. Furthermore, if personal information that the user needs to disclose in order to use the selected service is already stored in the user information 302 of the DB server 30, the service management server 10 may grant access authority to the relevant personal information so that the service provider server 20 can access it, and may request the service provider server 20 to start providing the service. Alternatively, if personal information that the user needs to disclose in order to use the selected service is not stored in the user information 302 of the DB server 30, and the personal information entered in the input field is notified from the user terminal 40, the service management server 10 may store the notified personal information in the user information 302, grant access authority so that the service provider server 20 can access the personal information, and may request the service provider server 20 to start providing the service.

[0063] The service provider server 20 receives the notification requesting the start of service provision from the service management server 10, and starts providing the service to the user based on the received notification (step S29).

[0064] 13 shows the flow of the process for stopping service usage. The user terminal 40 requests the service management server 10 to stop service usage (step S30). The user performs an application start-up operation on the user terminal 40, starts up the dedicated application, logs in to the dedicated application using the user ID, enters the necessary information in the input fields for stopping service usage, and performs a send operation. In response to the send operation, the user terminal 40 sends a request to stop service usage to the service management server 10. The service management server 10 receives a request to stop using the service from the user terminal 40, and requests the service provider server 20 to stop providing the service based on the received request (step S31).

[0065] The service management server 10 notifies the service provider server 20 to delete the personal information that the user disclosed in order to use the selected service (step S32). For example, when personal information is notified to the service provider server 20 at the start of service use, the service management server 10 requests the service provider server 20 to notify a deletion completion report indicating that the deletion of the personal information has been completed. For example, when the service usage starts, if the access authority is set so that the service provider server 20 can access the personal information stored in the user information 302 of the DB server 30, the service management server 10 changes the access authority so that the service provider server 20 cannot refer to the personal information. The service management server 10 may request the service provider server 20 to notify a confirmation result report confirming that the personal information in the DB server 30 cannot be accessed. Furthermore, if personal information is temporarily stored in the service provider server 20 during the period in which the service is provided to the user, the service management server 10 may request that the personal information be deleted, and may request that a deletion completion report be notified indicating that the deletion has been completed.

[0066] In response to the request from the service management server 10, the service provider server 20 stops providing the service, erases any personal information stored in the service provider server 20, and notifies a deletion completion report (step S33). Furthermore, if the service provider server 20 has been granted access authority, it notifies a confirmation result report confirming that the relevant personal information in the DB server 30 cannot be accessed. The service management server 10 receives the deletion completion report from the service provider server 20, and notifies the user terminal 40 that the suspension of service use has been completed based on the received deletion completion report (step S34).

[0067] <4. Summary> As described above, the service providing system 1 according to the embodiment includes the DB server 30, the service catalog generation unit 107, and the service usage control unit 108. The DB server 30 is an example of a storage unit and stores service information 301. The service information 301 is information in which the content of a service provided by a service provider is associated with personal information provided to the service provider in order to use the service. The service catalog generation unit 107 generates a service catalog that shows candidate services recommended to the user. The service catalog is information in which services that are in line with the direction of the service the user wants to use are associated with personal information provided to the service provider in order to use the service. In response to being notified of a text sentence (an example of natural language indicating the direction of the service the user wants to use) entered into the input form, the service catalog generation unit 107 reads the service information 301 from the DB server 30 and extracts services similar to the text sentence from the read service information 301 as services in line with the direction of the service the user wants to use, thereby generating a service catalog. The service usage control unit 108 acquires a service selected from the service catalog generated by the service catalog generation unit 107 by notifying the user terminal 40 of the service catalog, and requests the service provider providing the acquired service to acquire personal information required for using the service and to begin providing the service to the user. This allows the service provision system 1 according to this embodiment to present a service catalog that associates the content of the service with the personal information provided to the service provider in order to use the service. This allows the user to consider which service to use while balancing the content of the service with the personal information that must be disclosed in order to use the service. This allows data privacy to be protected. Furthermore, because a service catalog of services that match the direction of the service desired by the user is presented based on the direction of the service indicated by the user, it is possible to provide services that meet the individual needs of the service user.

[0068] The service providing system 1 according to the embodiment further includes a service content analysis unit 104. The service content analysis unit 104 performs morphological analysis on natural language indicating the content of a service provided by a service provider to generate relationship information indicating co-occurrence relationships between morphemes included in the natural language indicating the content of the service. The DB server 30 stores, as service information 301, information associating the relationship information generated by the service content analysis unit 104 with the content of the service. The service catalog generation unit 107 extracts from the service information 301 services that include, as morphemes, the terms extracted from the notified natural language and defines the extracted services as services in line with the directionality. If the text entered into the input form contains terms that co-occur in the content of the service, there is a high probability that the service is one that the user would like to use. Therefore, even if the text entered into the input form does not directly indicate the service the user would like to use, it is possible to recommend services that the user potentially wants to use, thereby providing services that meet the user's individual needs.

[0069] Furthermore, in the service providing system 1 according to the embodiment, the service content analysis unit 104 generates, as relationship information, a graph structure or a data structure indicating co-occurrence relationships of morphemes extracted from natural language indicating the content of the service. As a result, the service providing system 1 according to the embodiment can use the graph structure or the data structure to recommend services that the user potentially wants to use, and can provide services that meet the individual needs of the user.

[0070] Furthermore, in the service providing system 1 according to the embodiment, in response to a notification of a stop request to stop use of a service, the service usage control unit 108 prevents the service provider that provided the service that is the subject of the stop request from using personal information. As a result, the service providing system 1 according to the embodiment can take measures to prevent personal information from leaking after use of the service is stopped, thereby protecting data privacy.

[0071] Furthermore, in the service providing system 1 according to the embodiment, the service usage control unit 108 notifies the service provider server 20 of a confirmation request requesting confirmation that the service provider has made the personal information used when providing the service that is the subject of the suspension request unusable, receives a response from the service provider server 20 in response to the confirmation request, and notifies the user terminal 40 of the received response. As a result, the service providing system 1 according to the embodiment can notify the user that measures have been taken to prevent the leakage of personal information after the suspension of service use based on the evidence (the response obtained from the service provider server 20 in response to the confirmation request), and can appeal to the user that data privacy is being protected.

[0072] The service providing system 1 according to the embodiment can be a system including a DB server 30 and a service management server 10. The DB server 30 stores service information 301. The service management server 10 includes a service catalog generation unit 107 and a service usage control unit 108.

[0073] <Modifications of the embodiment> A modification of the embodiment will now be described. This modification differs from the above-described embodiment in that options are presented instead of or together with the input form. Some users may find it difficult to verbalize what they want to do, what they want to try, or what they are worried about. Or, even if they do verbalize it, they may not be able to find a direction for the service from the verbalized text. Even in such cases, it is better to be able to recommend the service the user desires from the user's perspective. From this perspective, in this modified example, options are presented to allow the user to select the direction of the service they wish to use. By presenting the options, the user can use the options as a clue to more clearly identify the service they desire.

[0074] The usage request accepting unit 106 presents options instead of or together with the input form. For example, a keyword button is displayed on the user terminal 40 along with an input form as shown in FIG. 2, and when the user presses the keyword button, the usage request receiving unit 106 causes the user terminal 40 to display options via a dedicated app for the user. Furthermore, if a sending operation is performed without inputting any text into the input form, the usage request receiving unit 106 causes the user terminal 40 to display options via a dedicated application for the user. Alternatively, if a send operation is performed with text entered into the input form, but a service to be recommended to the user cannot be extracted based on the text, the usage request receiving unit 106 may display options on the user terminal 40 via a dedicated app for the user.

[0075] The options displayed here may be any options that can indicate the direction of the service. For example, options such as "overseas," "travel," "sightseeing," "study," and "study abroad" are displayed, and the user selects what they want to do, such as "overseas" or "study abroad," from the displayed options and performs a transmission operation. In response to the transmission operation, information indicating the selection result is transmitted from the user terminal 40 to the service management server 10. The usage request receiving unit 106 receives a usage request by acquiring the information indicating the selection result transmitted from the user terminal 40 via the communication unit 101. The usage request receiving unit 106 outputs the acquired information indicating the selection result to the service catalog generation unit 107.

[0076] The service catalog generation unit 107 acquires the selection results output from the usage request receiving unit 106, reads service information 301 from the DB server 30 based on the wording corresponding to the acquired selection results, and searches for services that have a co-occurrence relationship with the wording corresponding to the selection results from the read service information 301. The service catalog generation unit 107 sorts the services extracted as search results in order of similarity, and generates a service catalog by associating each sorted service with personal information that needs to be disclosed in order to use the service.

[0077] Here, it is desirable that the use request receiving unit 106 generates options without using the content of the service stored in the service information 301. If options are generated using the content of the service stored in the service information 301, it is likely that the service provider will be the one to force the service on the user. This is because, in a situation where the service provider forces the service, it is difficult to recommend a service that meets the user's needs from the user's perspective, and it becomes difficult to provide a service that meets the individual user's needs. For example, the usage request receiving unit 106 generates options using an input history of text sentences previously input by the user into an input form. In this case, the usage request receiving unit 106 associates history information indicating the input history of text sentences previously input by the user into an input form with the user and stores the history information in the user information 302 of the DB server 30.

[0078] In response to a user pressing a keyword button, the usage request receiving unit 106 reads the user information 302 from the DB server 30 and acquires, from the read user information 302, history information indicating the input history of text sentences previously entered by the user into the input form. The usage request receiving unit 106 generates options using the acquired history information. For example, for a user who has previously entered "I would like to study abroad. Do you have any recommendations?" into the input form, the usage request receiving unit 106 generates options that are closely related to phrases such as "overseas" and "study abroad," such as "travel and sightseeing" and "English conversation." Alternatively, the usage request receiving unit 106 may generate options that are more specific than the phrases closely related to "overseas" and "study abroad," such as "participating in an overseas marathon," "visiting an overseas art museum," "going to the theater," "immigrating," and "support for finding a job overseas."

[0079] The usage request receiving unit 106 generates options using the usage history of services that the user has used in the past. In this case, the usage request receiving unit 106 stores the usage history of services that the user has used in the past in the user information 302 of the DB server 30 as history information indicating information associated with the user. For example, for a user who has used a driver's license acquisition service in the past, the usage request receiving unit 106 generates options from words that are found in that service, such as a driver's license, or words that are closely associated with vehicles, such as tribe, rental car, car ferry, and motor show.

[0080] For a user who has never input text into the input form before or who has never used the service before, the usage request receiving unit 106 may generate options using history information from other users. For example, if there is an input history in which another user has input "I would like to study abroad. Do you have any recommendations?" into the input form, the usage request receiving unit 106 may generate options for that user, such as phrases like "travel, sightseeing," and "English conversation," or phrases like "participating in an overseas marathon," "visiting an overseas art museum," "going to the theater," "immigrating," and "overseas employment support."

[0081] Furthermore, when presenting the options, the usage request receiving unit 106 may display a guide message such as "These keywords have been entered by other users." For a user who has never entered text into an input form before, if they know what words other users have entered, they can use that as a clue to consider whether they would like to try something similar. Furthermore, they may be able to use the presented options as a clue to enter what they want into the input form.

[0082] As described above, in the service providing system 1 according to the modified embodiment, when the service catalog generation unit 107 is unable to extract a service that matches the direction (the direction of the service the user wants to use), the service catalog generation unit 107 notifies the user terminal 40 of multiple options for confirming the direction, and extracts a service that matches the direction from the service information 301 based on the selection result obtained by notifying the user terminal 40 of multiple options for confirming the direction. In response to the service catalog generation unit 107's failure to extract a service corresponding to the text entered in the input form (a service that matches the direction of the service the user wants to use), the usage request receiving unit 106 generates multiple options for confirming the direction of the service the user wants to use and notifies the user terminal 40 of the generated options via the communication unit 101. The user terminal 40 displays the options notified by the service management server 10 on the display unit of the user terminal 40, instead of or together with the input form. Thus, the service providing system 1 according to the modified embodiment can present the direction of the service the user wants to use as options. Therefore, even if the user has difficulty verbalizing what they want to do, what they want to try, or what they are worried about, the options can serve as clues to more clearly identify the service they want.

[0083] Furthermore, in the service providing system 1 according to the modified embodiment, the DB server 30 stores history information indicating the input history of text sentences (natural language indicating directionality) entered into the input form. The use request receiving unit 106 reads the history information from the DB server 30 (without reading the service information 301) when the service catalog generating unit 107 is unable to extract a service recommended to the user (a service in line with the directionality). The use request receiving unit 106 generates options based on the read history information. As a result, in the service providing system 1 according to the modified embodiment, options can be generated based on the input history without using the service information 301, and therefore options are not generated from the perspective of the service provider. Therefore, it is possible to provide services that meet the individual needs of the user without forcing services on the user.

[0084] The above describes an embodiment of the present invention. Note that some or all of the functions of the service providing system 1, service management server 10, and DB server 30 in the above-described embodiment may be implemented by a computer. In this case, a program for implementing these functions may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program may be loaded into a computer system and executed. Note that the term "computer system" as used herein includes hardware such as an OS and peripheral devices. Furthermore, the term "computer-readable recording medium" refers to portable media such as flexible disks, optical magnetic disks, ROMs, and CD-ROMs, as well as storage devices such as hard disks built into a computer system. Furthermore, the term "computer-readable recording medium" may also include devices that dynamically store programs for a short period of time, such as communication lines used when transmitting programs via networks such as the Internet or telephone lines, or devices that store programs for a fixed period of time, such as volatile memory within a computer system serving as a server or client. The program may be designed to implement some of the above-described functions, or may be capable of implementing the above-described functions in combination with a program already stored in the computer system, or may be implemented using a programmable logic device such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

[0085] The embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, but the specific configuration is not limited to that described above, and various design changes can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0086] 1. Service provision system 10 Service Management Server 20 Service provider server 30 DB servers 40 User terminal 101 Communications Department 102 Storage section 103 Service Registration Reception Department 104 Service Content Analysis Unit 105 User Registration Reception Department 106 Usage Request Reception Department 107 Service Catalog Generation Unit 108 Service Usage Control Unit 301 Service Information 302 User information

Claims

1. a storage unit that stores service information in which the content of a service provided by a service provider is associated with personal information to be provided to the service provider in order to use the service; a service catalog generation unit that reads out the service information from the storage unit in response to notification of a natural language indicating a direction of a service that the user wishes to use, extracts services that are in line with the direction from the read service information, and generates information that associates the extracted services with personal information that the user will provide to the service provider in order to use the services, as a service catalog indicating candidate services to be recommended to the user; a service usage control unit that notifies a user terminal of the service catalog generated by the service catalog generation unit, thereby acquiring the content of the service selected from the service catalog obtained from the user terminal, and requests the service provider that provides the acquired service to enable the service provider to acquire personal information for using the service and to start providing the service to the user; A service providing system comprising:

2. a service content analysis unit that performs morphological analysis on a natural language that indicates the content of a service provided by the service provider to generate relationship information that indicates a co-occurrence relationship of morphemes included in the natural language that indicates the content of the service; the storage unit stores, as the service information, information in which the relationship information generated by the service content analysis unit is associated with the content of the service; the service catalog generation unit extracts services that include the words extracted from the notified natural language as morphemes in a co-occurrence relationship from the service information, and defines the extracted services as services in line with the directionality; The service providing system according to claim 1 .

3. the service content analysis unit generates, as the relationship information, a graph structure or a data structure indicating co-occurrence relationships of morphemes extracted from natural language indicating the content of the service; The service providing system according to claim 2 .

4. When the service catalog generation unit is unable to extract a service that is in line with the directionality, the service catalog generation unit extracts a service that is in line with the directionality from the service information based on a selection result obtained by notifying the user terminal of a plurality of options that confirm the directionality. The service providing system according to claim 1 .

5. the storage unit stores history information indicating an input history of the natural language indicating the directionality; a usage request receiving unit that reads the history information from the storage unit when the service catalog generating unit is unable to extract a service that matches the directionality, and generates the options based on the read history information, The service providing system according to claim 4 .

6. the service usage control unit, in response to being notified of a stop request to stop use of a service, prevents the service provider that provided the service that is the subject of the stop request from using personal information that was used when providing the service that is the subject of the stop request after the use of the service is stopped; The service providing system according to claim 1 .

7. the service usage control unit notifies a service provider server of the service provider that provided the service that is the subject of the stop request of a confirmation request to confirm that the service provider has made the personal information used when providing the service that is the subject of the stop request unavailable, receives a response to the confirmation request from the service provider server, and notifies the user terminal of the received response; The service providing system according to claim 6 .

8. a database server having the storage unit; a service management server having the service catalog generation unit and the service usage control unit; The service providing system according to claim 1 , comprising:

9. A service providing method performed by a service providing system having a storage unit that stores service information in which the content of a service provided by a service provider is associated with personal information to be provided to the service provider in order to use the service, the method comprising: a service catalog generation unit, in response to notification of a natural language indicating a direction of a service that the user wishes to use, reads the service information from the storage unit, extracts services that are in line with the direction from the read service information, and generates information that associates the extracted services with personal information that the user will provide to the service provider in order to use the services, as a service catalog indicating candidate services to be recommended to the user; a service usage control unit notifying a user terminal of the service catalog generated by the service catalog generation unit, thereby acquiring the content of the selected service from the service catalog obtained from the user terminal, and requesting the service provider providing the acquired service to enable the service provider to acquire personal information for using the service and to start providing the service to the user; Service delivery methods.

10. a service management server, which is a computer used in a service providing system, having a storage unit that stores service information in which the content of a service provided by a service provider is associated with personal information to be provided to the service provider in order to use the service; In response to notification of a natural language indicating the direction of a service that the user wishes to use, the service information is read from the storage unit, services that are in line with the direction are extracted from the read service information, and information that associates the extracted services with personal information that the user will provide to the service provider in order to use the services is generated as a service catalog indicating candidate services to be recommended to the user; by notifying the user terminal of the generated service catalog, the content of the selected service is acquired from the service catalog obtained from the user terminal, and the service provider that provides the acquired service is requested to enable the service provider to acquire personal information for providing the service and to start providing the service to the user. program.

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