Programs, methods, and information processing devices.

Abstract

The present invention provides a program, method, and information processing device that makes it easier for professionals, such as lawyers, to manage appointment scheduling for consultations aligned with their intentions, thereby further promoting the provision of professional services in accordance with the professionals' intentions. [Solution] In a server, a program in the storage unit that manages information on the time slots of a second user who will receive a reservation causes one or more computer processors to execute the following steps: acquire information on a channel that accepts inquiries from a first user who wishes to make a reservation to the second user who will receive the reservation; determine a time slot for the second user to receive the reservation according to the information on the channel of the acquired inquiry; and confirm the reservation request from the first user as a reservation within the determined time slot.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to a program, a method, and an information processing apparatus.

Background Art

[0002] In order for a client to receive a service, a service provider may reserve the time period during which the service is provided. For example, in order for a client to use the services of an expert in law such as a lawyer, a meeting reservation may be made. Also, like a relaxation reservation, it may be possible for a client to specify an available time frame for reservation and thus make a reservation.

[0003] Thus, accepting reservations via the Internet has been carried out. In Patent Document 1, assuming viewing via the Internet, "A method is conceivable in which registration of a lawyer is performed on the Internet, presenting the telephone number, address, and various information regarding the lawyer obtained at the time of registration, thereby making it easier to select a desired lawyer or law firm. However, when using Internet viewing, any person can perform the above registration, so there is a risk of fraudulent registration pretending to be a lawyer." A technology having this as an issue is described. Thus, according to Patent Document 1, a technology aimed at "providing a lawyer introduction system that makes it easier to select a desired lawyer or law firm and can prevent fraudulent registration" is described.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] For professionals like lawyers, simply having meetings and interviewing clients is not enough to complete the job.

[0006] As a specialist, your work will involve tasks such as drafting documents to be submitted in litigation proceedings, including complaints and answers, based on the information gathered during interviews, as well as drafting documents for transactions between parties, such as contracts and terms of service.

[0007] Therefore, it is sometimes important to allocate time for tasks other than meetings.

[0008] Therefore, for professionals such as lawyers, there is a need for technology that makes it easier to manage appointment scheduling for consultations that align with their intentions, thereby further promoting the provision of professional services according to the professional's intent. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] According to one embodiment shown in this disclosure, a program is provided for operating a computer having one or more computer processors. The memory unit is configured to manage information about the time slots of a second user who will receive a reservation. The program causes one or more computer processors to perform the following steps: acquire information about a channel for receiving inquiries from a first user who wishes to make a reservation to a second user who will receive the reservation; determine a time slot for the second user to receive a reservation according to the channel information of the acquired inquiry; and confirm the reservation request from the first user as a reservation within the determined time slot. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to this disclosure, it is possible to make it easier for professionals such as lawyers to manage appointments for consultations that align with their intentions, thereby further promoting the provision of professional services in accordance with the intentions of the professionals. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] Figure 1 shows the configuration of System 1. [Figure 2] Figure 2 shows the configuration of server 20. [Figure 3] Figure 3 shows the configuration of terminal 10. [Figure 4] Figure 4 shows the data structure of the user database 211. [Figure 5] Figure 5 shows the data structure of the consultation response history database 212. [Figure 6] Figure 6 shows the data structure of the question item setting database 213. [Figure 7] Figure 7 shows the data structure of the reservation slot database 214. [Figure 8] Figure 8 shows the data structure of the chat consultation history database 215. [Figure 9] Figure 9 shows the data structure of the LLM usage history database 216. [Figure 10] Figure 10 shows the data structure of the item-by-item response database 217. [Figure 11] Figure 11 shows the data structure of the matching database 218. [Figure 12] Figure 12 shows the process flow for receiving weighting settings for each question item from expert users. [Figure 13] Figure 13 shows the process flow for receiving settings from expert users regarding the conditions for accepting reservations for each time slot. [Figure 14] Figure 14 shows the process flow for receiving inquiries from users via chat and updating the input of the inquiry details for each item. [Figure 15] Figure 15 shows the process flow for matching experts with clients based on whether each expert meets the user's specific requirements. [Figure 16] Figure 16 shows an example of an operation screen that accepts weighting settings for each question item from expert users. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is an example of an operation screen that receives settings of conditions for releasing a reserved time frame from an expert user. [Figure 18] FIG. 18 is an example of an operation screen that receives consultations by chat from a user who is a counselor. [Figure 19] FIG. 19 is an example of an operation screen for matching a counselor and an expert. [Figure 20] FIG. 20 is a diagram showing the data structure of the reservation condition database 219 for each channel. [Figure 21] FIG. 21 is a diagram showing the data structure of the reservation request database 220. [Figure 22] FIG. 22 is a diagram showing the flow of a process in which an intermediary receives a consultation from a requester and finalizes a reservation. [Figure 23] FIG. 23 is a diagram showing the flow of a process in which a consultation from a requester is received, an available time frame is extracted, and a reservation is finalized according to the designation from the requester. [Figure 24] FIG. 24 is an example of an operation screen that receives an operation of making a reservation according to the content of a request from a user who is an intermediary. [Figure 25] FIG. 25 is an example of an operation screen that receives an operation of making a reservation for a time frame extracted according to the content of a request from a user who is a requester.

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described while referring to the drawings. In the following description, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals. Their names and functions are also the same. Therefore, detailed descriptions thereof will not be repeated.

[0013] <Outline of the Embodiment> In the first embodiment, a technology is described in which a lawyer, as a professional, sets a list of questions to ask a client, a chat system presents the content of those questions to the client, the client's answers are accumulated, and the client can contact a lawyer according to a threshold set by each lawyer.

[0014] This eliminates the situation where clients are not encouraged to use professional services because they don't know which lawyer to consult, facilitates matching with professionals who can address their specific issues, and further promotes the resolution of legal consultations.

[0015] Furthermore, from a professional's perspective, the chat system allows them to be matched with clients whose consultations align with their own interests, making it easier for them to focus on consultations that meet their specific needs. In this way, professionals can reduce the time and effort spent responding to unintended inquiries or inquiries with a low probability of being accepted, making it easier for them to focus on the consultations they intend to handle.

[0016] As described above, the following technologies will be explained in the first embodiment. • The lawyer can set the questions. • Legal consultations are accepted from clients via chat. Questions are presented to clients according to each category, and their answers are accepted. The content of the clients' answers is stored for each category. Based on the accumulated data from each item, the client's consultation content will be presented to the lawyer. • Match clients with lawyers and allow clients to schedule appointments with lawyers. <1.1 System Configuration Diagram> Figure 1 shows the configuration of System 1.

[0017] System 1, shown in Figure 1, includes a legal consultation service server 20, a user terminal 10, a case law search service server 91, a legal law search service server 92, a book browsing service server 93, an information media service server 94, an artificial intelligence (large-scale language model) service server 95 (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "large-scale language model service server 95"), a service provider server 96, an SNS server 97, and a user terminal 10A. These devices are connected via a network 80.

[0018] In the illustrated example, terminals 10, terminal 10A, etc., are shown as terminals used by users of the legal consultation service provided by server 20, and each user operates their own terminal.

[0019] In this embodiment, each device (terminal device, server, etc.) can also be considered as an information processing device. That is, the collection of each device can be considered as a single "information processing device," and System 1 may be formed as a collection of multiple devices. The way in which the multiple functions required to realize System 1 according to this embodiment are distributed to one or more hardware can be appropriately determined in view of the processing capacity of each hardware and / or the specifications required for System 1.

[0020] Terminal 10 is a device operated by the user. In this embodiment, users who consult with experts regarding legal matters, and users who conduct legal research, make judgments, etc., operate Terminal 10. Terminal 10 and Terminal 10A have similar functional configurations. Terminal 10 is implemented, for example, as follows. • Handheld mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets • Stationary PCs (Personal Computers), Laptop PCs • Wearable devices worn by the user (watch-type, glasses-type, etc.) Terminal 10 includes a communication interface (IF) 12, an input device 13, an output device 14, memory 15, storage 16, and a processor 19.

[0021] The communication interface 12 is an interface for inputting and outputting signals so that terminal 10 can communicate with an external device.

[0022] The input device 13 is a device for receiving input operations from the user (for example, a touch panel, touchpad, pointing device such as a mouse, keyboard, etc.).

[0023] The output device 14 is a device (such as a display or speaker) for presenting information to the user.

[0024] Memory 15 is for temporarily storing programs and data processed by programs, etc., and is a volatile memory such as DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory).

[0025] Storage 16 is for storing data, and can be, for example, flash memory or an HDD (Hard Disk Drive).

[0026] The processor 19 is hardware for executing the instruction set described in the program, and consists of an arithmetic unit, registers, peripheral circuits, etc.

[0027] Server 20 is a device for providing legal consultation services to users. In this embodiment, Server 20 receives legal consultation input from the user of Terminal 10 in a chat format as free text, has the server 95 of the artificial intelligence (large-scale language model) service generate a response to the received legal consultation, and provides the legal consultation service by responding to the user with the generated result.

[0028] In this embodiment, the server 20 provides legal consultation services to the following types of users. • Users who are considering legal consultation with legal professionals such as lawyers. These users may include general consumers and businesses. Server 20 may accept requests for legal consultations from clients to experts by matching users who provide legal consultation services as professionals, such as law firms, with users who request legal consultations from experts such as lawyers, such as businesses or individuals. For example, the content of the consultation may be posted on a bulletin board that is accessible to third parties, and the expert's response may also be made public, or the content of the consultation may be kept private and not disclosed to third parties, allowing the consultation to take place in a confidential manner. Server 20 stores the content of such consultations from clients and the content of the expert's response in the consultation response history database 212, which will be described later.

[0029] The server 20 includes a communication interface 22, an input / output interface 23, memory 25, storage 26, and a processor 29.

[0030] Communication IF22 is an interface for inputting and outputting signals so that the server 20 can communicate with external devices.

[0031] Input / Output IF23 functions as an interface between an input device for receiving user input operations and an output device for presenting information to the user.

[0032] Memory 25 is for temporarily storing programs and data processed by programs, etc., and is a volatile memory such as DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory).

[0033] Storage 26 is for storing data, and can be, for example, flash memory or an HDD (Hard Disk Drive).

[0034] The processor 29 is hardware for executing the instruction set described in the program, and consists of an arithmetic unit, registers, peripheral circuits, etc.

[0035] Server 91 of the case law search service has a database of case law, allowing users to search for judgments made by courts and other authorities.

[0036] Server 92 of the legal search service has a database of laws and regulations and allows users to search for those laws and regulations.

[0037] Server 93 of the book browsing service provides access to electronic content such as magazines and books. For example, users can access ebooks in fields such as law by paying a fixed fee on a regular basis.

[0038] Server 94 of the Information Media Services provides information services, such as collecting and making available blog posts, Q&A sites, news articles, and IR information. Server 94 of the Information Media Services also stores information on interpretations based on laws and regulations, as well as guidelines from government agencies and other organizations prepared to disseminate operational rules.

[0039] Server 95 of the Large-Scale Language Model Service is a server that executes language processing tasks using language models built through learning processes including artificial intelligence (AI). An LLM (Large Language Model) is a model that has been pre-trained on large amounts of data (such as text data), for example, a large amount of web content on the internet, or a large amount of data stored in a designated database, and can perform various language processing tasks by being given a task.

[0040] The server 95 of the large-scale language model service accepts prompt input in the form of text, images, audio, etc., and generates and responds with answers to those prompts. Examples of LLMs include GPT-3 and GPT-4 developed by OpenAI, and BERT developed by Google.

[0041] Server 96, operated by the service provider, stores data generated as a result of the service provider's business activities. Access to this data is restricted, with viewing permissions set for users belonging to the service provider and external users not belonging to the service provider, depending on the type of data.

[0042] SNS Server 97 provides services that facilitate interaction between users, such as a service that allows users to mutually view each other's posts. For example, there are services that can be viewed via internet search even without a user account on the SNS, and services that allow users with a user account to view each other's posts.

[0043] <1.2 Functional Configuration of Server 20> Figure 2 shows the configuration of server 20. As shown in Figure 2, server 20 functions as a communication unit 201, a storage unit 202, and a control unit 203.

[0044] The communications unit 201 performs processing to enable the server 20 to communicate with external devices.

[0045] The memory unit 202 stores various databases, including a user database 211, a consultation response history database 212, a question item setting database 213, a reservation slot database 214, a chat consultation history database 215, an LLM usage history database 216, an item-by-item response database 217, a matching database 218, a channel-by-channel reservation condition database 219, and a reservation request database 220.

[0046] User database 211 is a database that manages information for each user. Further details will be provided later.

[0047] The Consultation and Response History Database 212 is a database that manages the history of expert responses posted to consultations submitted by users. Further details will be provided later.

[0048] The Question Item Setting Database 213 is a database that manages the items of questions that experts present to clients via the chat system. Further details will be provided later.

[0049] The reservation slot database 214 is a database that manages the time slots when experts are available to accept reservations from clients, as well as the conditions under which reservations are possible. Further details will be provided later.

[0050] The chat consultation history database 215 is a database that shows the history of consultations that users have had using the service provided by server 20. Further details will be provided later.

[0051] The LLM usage history database 216 is a database that shows the history of responses generated by the artificial intelligence service server 95 to user inquiries. Further details will be described later.

[0052] The item-by-item answer database 217 is a database that manages the answers that users have accumulated for each question item through the chat system. Further details will be provided later.

[0053] Matching Database 218 is a database that manages the matching process, enabling clients to make appointments with experts. Further details will be provided later.

[0054] The channel-specific booking conditions database 219 is a database that manages the conditions under which experts accept bookings for consultations with experts, for each channel. Further details will be provided later.

[0055] The reservation request database 220 is a database for managing reservations for specialists. Further details will be provided later. The control unit 203 is realized when the processor 29 reads a program stored in the memory unit 202 and executes instructions contained in the program. By operating according to the program, the control unit 203 performs the functions shown as the reception control module 2041, transmission control module 2042, user management module 2043, chat consultation processing module 2044, LLM utilization module 2045, learning processing module 2046, matching processing module 2047, question setting module 2048, reservation condition setting module 2049, and schedule setting module 2050.

[0056] The receive control module 2041 controls the process by which the server 20 receives signals from external devices according to a communication protocol.

[0057] The transmission control module 2042 controls the process by which the server 20 transmits signals to external devices according to a communication protocol.

[0058] The user management module 2043 is a module for managing information for each user using System 1. Specifically, the user management module 2043 accepts registration of each user's information and updates the user database 211.

[0059] The chat consultation processing module 2044 is a program module that receives and responds to user inquiries via chat.

[0060] Specifically, the chat consultation processing module 2044 receives input of the consultation content from the user, generates a response using the large-scale language model service server 95, and updates the chat consultation history database 215.

[0061] The LLM utilization module 2045 is a program module that generates prompts based on the content of inquiries entered by the user in the form of free text, voice, images, etc., and sends the generated prompts to the server 95 of the large-scale language model service to generate an answer.

[0062] Specifically, the LLM usage module 2045 manages the text entered by the user as a series and updates the LLM usage history database 216 based on the prompts sent to the Large-Scale Language Model Service server 95 and the responses from the Large-Scale Language Model Service server 95.

[0063] The learning processing module 2046 is a program module that trains a pre-trained model that outputs answers to consultation content based on data stored on the server 20, such as the consultation response history database 212 and the chat consultation history database 215.

[0064] The matching processing module 2047 is a program module that extracts candidate experts who can make reservations with clients, matches clients with experts, and updates the matching database 218, etc.

[0065] The question setting module 2048 is a program module that receives question settings from expert users via the chat system to be presented to the consultant, and updates the question item setting database 213 accordingly.

[0066] The reservation condition setting module 2049 is a program module that receives settings from expert users, such as the time slots and conditions under which reservations will be accepted, and updates the reservation slot database 214 accordingly.

[0067] In the second embodiment, the reservation condition setting module 2049 updates the per-channel reservation condition database 219 in response to the operation of a specialist user.

[0068] The scheduling module 2050 is a program module that updates the reservation request database 220 by processing the reservation of expert time slots, as will be mainly described in the second embodiment.

[0069] <1.3 Configuration of Terminal 10> Figure 3 shows the configuration of terminal 10.

[0070] As shown in Figure 3, terminal 10 includes multiple antennas (antenna 111, antenna 112), communication units corresponding to each antenna (first communication unit 120, second communication unit 121), an input device 130 (including a touch-sensitive device 131), a display 132, an audio processing unit 140, a microphone 141, a speaker 142, a position information sensor 150, a camera 160, a motion sensor 170, a storage unit 180, and a control unit 190. Terminal 10 also has functions and configurations not specifically shown in Figure 3 (for example, a battery for maintaining power, a power supply circuit for controlling the supply of power from the battery to each circuit, etc.). As shown in Figure 3, each block included in terminal 10 is electrically connected by a bus or the like.

[0071] Antenna 111 radiates signals emitted by terminal 10 as radio waves. Antenna 111 also receives radio waves from space and provides the received signals to first communication unit 120.

[0072] Antenna 112 radiates signals emitted by terminal 10 as radio waves. Antenna 112 also receives radio waves from space and provides the received signals to the second communication unit 121.

[0073] The first communication unit 120 performs modulation and demodulation processing, etc., for the terminal 10 to transmit and receive signals via the antenna 111 in order to communicate with other wireless devices. The second communication unit 121 also performs modulation and demodulation processing, etc., for the terminal 10 to transmit and receive signals via the antenna 112 in order to communicate with other wireless devices. The first communication unit 120 and the second communication unit 121 are a communication module that includes a tuner, an RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) calculation circuit, a CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) calculation circuit, a high-frequency circuit, etc. The first communication unit 120 and the second communication unit 121 perform modulation and demodulation, frequency conversion, etc., of the wireless signals transmitted and received by the terminal 10, and provide the received signal to the control unit 190.

[0074] The input device 130 has a mechanism for receiving user input operations. Specifically, the input device 130 is configured as a touchscreen and includes a touch-sensitive device 131. The touch-sensitive device 131 receives user input operations of the terminal 10. The touch-sensitive device 131 detects the user's contact position with the touch panel, for example, by using a capacitive touch panel. The touch-sensitive device 131 outputs a signal indicating the user's contact position detected by the touch panel to the control unit 190 as an input operation.

[0075] The display 132 displays data such as images, videos, and text in accordance with the control of the control unit 190. The display 132 is implemented by, for example, an LCD or an organic EL display.

[0076] The audio processing unit 140 modulates and demodulates the audio signal. The audio processing unit 140 modulates the signal received from the microphone 141 and provides the modulated signal to the control unit 190. The audio processing unit 140 also provides the audio signal to the speaker 142. The audio processing unit 140 is implemented, for example, by an audio processing processor. The microphone 141 receives an audio input and provides the audio signal corresponding to that audio input to the audio processing unit 140. The speaker 142 converts the audio signal received from the audio processing unit 140 into sound and outputs the sound to the outside of the terminal 10.

[0077] The location information sensor 150 is a sensor that detects the location of the terminal 10, and is, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) module. A GPS module is a receiving device used in a satellite positioning system. In a satellite positioning system, signals are received from at least three or four satellites, and the current location of the terminal 10, which is equipped with a GPS module, is detected based on the received signals.

[0078] Camera 160 is a device that receives light using a photodetector and outputs it as an image. Camera 160 is, for example, a depth camera that can detect the distance from camera 160 to the object being photographed.

[0079] The motion sensor 170 includes an acceleration sensor, an angular velocity sensor, etc., and detects the movement of the terminal 10.

[0080] The storage unit 180 is composed of, for example, flash memory and stores data and programs used by the terminal 10. The various types of information stored in the storage unit 180 will be described later.

[0081] The control unit 190 controls the operation of the terminal 10 by reading the program stored in the memory unit 180 and executing the instructions contained in the program. The control unit 190 is, for example, an application processor. By operating according to the program, the control unit 190 performs the functions of an operation reception unit 191, a transmission / reception unit 192, a data processing unit 193, a notification control unit 194, and a memory control unit 195.

[0082] The operation reception unit 191 processes input operations from the user to an input device such as a touch-sensitive device 131. Based on the coordinate information of the touch-sensitive device 131 where the user's finger or the like has made contact, the operation reception unit 191 determines the type of operation, such as whether the user's operation is a flick operation, a tap operation, or a drag (swipe) operation.

[0083] The transmitting / receiving unit 192 performs processing to enable the terminal 10 to send and receive data with an external device such as a server 20 in accordance with a communication protocol.

[0084] The data processing unit 193 performs calculations on the data received as input by the terminal 10 according to the program and outputs the calculation results to memory or other locations.

[0085] The notification control unit 194 performs the following processes: displaying the display image on the display 132, outputting sound to the speaker 142, and generating vibrations.

[0086] The memory control unit 195 controls the storage of data to the memory unit 180.

[0087] The various types of information stored by the memory unit 180 will now be explained. In a given situation, the memory unit 180 stores various types of information, such as user information 181.

[0088] User information 181 is information about a user who uses the services of server 20.

[0089] <2 Data Structure (First Embodiment)> Figure 4 shows the data structure of the user database 211. The user database 211 includes the following fields: "User ID", "Name", "Email Address", "Attributes", "Business ID", "Qualifications", "Registration Date", "Status", "Field", and "Evaluation Value".

[0090] The "User ID" field is information that identifies each user.

[0091] The "Name" field contains information indicating the user's name.

[0092] The "Email Address" field contains the user's email address information for contact purposes.

[0093] The "Attributes" field contains information that indicates the user's attributes.

[0094] Specifically, the "Attributes" field includes the following as user attributes: • Person seeking legal advice • Experts who provide legal advice and answers. For example, qualified professionals such as lawyers. The "Business ID" field is information that identifies the organization to which the user belongs.

[0095] Specifically, the "Business ID" field is information that identifies the organization to which the user belongs, and the following types of organizations are possible: ·Law firm • Business company The "Qualifications Held" item contains information indicating the qualifications held by the user.

[0096] Specifically, the item "Qualifications Held" may include the following qualifications, which serve as information to identify the qualifications held by the user. • National qualifications such as lawyers • Qualifications certified by businesses, general incorporated associations, and other organizations. The "Registration Date" field indicates the date and time the user registered for the service.

[0097] The "Status" field indicates the user's status regarding legal consultation.

[0098] Specifically, the "Status" field includes the following as a representation of the user's condition: • Consultation Available: This means that expert users are available to receive consultations from clients. • Consultation suspended: This means that the expert user is not currently accepting consultations. For example, they may not be accepting new consultations because they have reached a certain number of existing consultations. The "Field" field indicates the area of ​​expertise the user possesses.

[0099] Specifically, the item "Field" includes information on each field classified as a field of legal consultation. For example, if the information media service server 94 provides a service that introduces experts such as lawyers and classifies the fields of experts according to the type of consultation (debt restructuring, traffic accidents, divorce, inheritance, etc.), then it may include information on each of these classified fields.

[0100] The "Evaluation Value" item is information that shows an evaluation value that assesses the nature of the user's legal consultation.

[0101] Specifically, the item "Rating Value" includes the following as user ratings: • Expert evaluation score: An evaluation score based on the track record of answering consultations from clients (number of cases, frequency, etc.). • Evaluation score as a consultant: An evaluation score based on factors such as the consultant's track record of consulting with experts and being retained by those experts, and the consultant's track record of organizing (inputting) the consultation content using the legal consultation service provided by Server 20. Figure 5 shows the data structure of the consultation response history database 212. The consultation response history database 212 includes the following items: "Consultation ID", "Consultant User ID", "Expert User ID", "Consultation Content", "Consultation Date and Time", "Answer Content", "Answer Date and Time", "Consultant Rating", "Consultation Category", and "Best Answer Designation". The server 20 accepts consultation submissions from users regarding legal consultations, accepts answer submissions from one or more experts, and provides a service that allows users to view these user submissions and expert answers, and manages the history of these submissions in the consultation response history database 212.

[0102] The "Consultation ID" field is information that identifies each consultation by the person seeking advice.

[0103] The item "Consultant User ID" is information that identifies the person seeking advice.

[0104] Specifically, the item "Consultant User ID" corresponds to the item "User ID" in user database 211.

[0105] The "Expert User ID" field identifies the expert who will answer the user's question.

[0106] Specifically, the item "Expert User ID" corresponds to the item "User ID" in user database 211.

[0107] The item "Consultation Details" contains information about the content of the consultation.

[0108] Specifically, the item "Consultation Details" includes the following information regarding the consultant's consultation details: • Text-based questions • Video or audio questions The item "Consultation Date and Time" contains information about when the person making the consultation registered.

[0109] The item "Response Content" contains information about the expert's response to the consultation.

[0110] The "Response Date and Time" field indicates the timing when the expert registered their response.

[0111] The item "Consultant Evaluation" contains information on the evaluation conducted on the expert's response.

[0112] Specifically, the item "Client Evaluation" may include the following evaluations: • Evaluation by the person who asked the question. • Evaluation by users who view questions and answers The "Consultation Category" item indicates the field of consultation.

[0113] Specifically, the "Consultation Category" item includes information on each field classified as a legal consultation area. For example, it includes information that identifies each field, such as the following. Furthermore, it may also include information on further subdivided fields within each field. • Divorce and relationship issues (divorce alimony, child support, custody, etc.) ·debt ·inheritance ·Traffic accident ·internet • Consumer damage ·Crime / Criminal case • Labor • Debt collection Real estate and construction • International and foreign issues ·medical care ·Corporate legal affairs Tax litigation ·Administrative cases • Procedures for resolving civil disputes ·Civil The "Best Answer" item indicates the best answer chosen by the person who submitted the question from among the responses provided by experts.

[0114] Figure 6 shows the data structure of the question item setting database 213. The question item setting database 213 includes the items "Question Item ID", "Major Category", "Expert User ID", "Question Content", "Question Category", "Weighting", "Setting Date", "Enabled / Disabled", "Reason for Question Setting", and "Disclosure of Weighting Setting".

[0115] The item "Question Item ID" is information that identifies each item of the question set by the expert.

[0116] The "Main Category" item indicates the broad division of the question's subject area.

[0117] Specifically, the item "Major Category" may be one in which the server 20 pre-stores information on each field of the major category, for example, corresponding to the information on each field shown in the item "Consultation Category" of the consultation response history database 212. Alternatively, the information on the major category of the question field may be arbitrarily set by the expert user.

[0118] Alternatively, the server 20 may refer to the consultation and answer history database 212, identify consultations and answers similar to the content of the questions included in the item "Question Content," and set the question category corresponding to the item "Major Category" in the question item setting database 213 based on the field associated with the consultation and answer (item "Question Category" in the consultation and answer history database 212). The "Expert User ID" field identifies the expert user who is asking the question to the person seeking advice.

[0119] Specifically, the item "Expert User ID" corresponds to the item "User ID" in user database 211.

[0120] The item "Question Content" contains information indicating the content of the questions asked to the person seeking advice.

[0121] Specifically, the item "Question Content" includes information on the question content set by each expert according to the field of the question. For example, the server 20 may acquire information on each item of the hearing sheet (interview items) used when an expert responds to a client's consultation and register it as the content of the questions to the client in the question item setting database 213.

[0122] The "Question Category" field provides information indicating a more detailed category of question within the classifications shown in the "Major Category" field.

[0123] Specifically, the item "Question Category" may include information about the category, which is set as follows: • Categories pre-configured by the operator of Server 20 • Categories that expert users can set as they wish. • Server 20 analyzes the content of the questions included in the item "Question Content" and sets the category. For example, based on the information about the content of the question included in the item "Question Content," the server 95 of the large-scale language model service may identify the category of the question, and then store that identified question category in the item "Question Category." Alternatively, the consultation and answer history database 212 may be referenced to identify consultations and answers similar to the content of the questions included in the item "Question Content," and the question category may be set based on the field associated with those consultations and answers (the item "Question Category" in the consultation and answer history database 212). The "Weighting" item contains information about the weighting set by expert users for each question.

[0124] Specifically, the "Weighting" item may allow you to set the following weighting information. • Multiple-level evaluation • Any numerical value (If there is an answer to the item in question, that value will be added, and if the number of answers from the person seeking advice exceeds the threshold, the person seeking advice may be released to make a reservation for a consultation.) • Specific answers are required (If there is no answer to the question or the information is insufficient, we may not open up the consultation reservation for the person seeking advice). The "Setting Date" field contains information about when the expert user set the question items.

[0125] The "Valid / Invalid" item indicates whether or not the expert will present the question to the client, and whether or not the answers to the question will be used as material for scheduling a consultation with the client.

[0126] Specifically, the "Enabled / Disabled" item may accept user designations from each expert for each question item, as follows: • In cases where legal revisions or changes in the interpretation of precedents render a question unnecessary or create new questions, expert users can set whether to enable or disable the question, and when to enable or disable it. The item "Reason for Question Setting" contains information about the reason why the expert set the question in the item "Question Content". Specifically, the item "Reason for setting the question" may require experts to input information such as the following as the reason for setting the question. (Regarding questions about the presence or absence of evidence) Having evidence increases the likelihood of winning the case. • (Regarding questions about the amount of damages desired, etc.) There are specific precedents. Furthermore, the server 20 may present the content entered by each expert in the item "Reason for setting the question" to the consultant along with the question, while also accepting input from the consultant. In this case, the server 20 may also present to the consultant, along with the question presented, the situation in which the expert has set the question based on the question item setting database 213. For example, the server 20 may present to the consultant the following information as information about the situation in which the expert has set the question. Many lawyers include this as a question item. • Many lawyers consider this question important (many lawyers assign a high weight to this question, and the average, median, and standard scores of the weights assigned to this question are higher than those of other questions), etc. This allows clients to understand the reasons behind the questions set by the experts and the circumstances under which the experts set them, which can further increase their motivation to provide answers to the experts' questions. This can lead to a clearer understanding of the clients' concerns and a better match between clients and experts. The item "Disclosure of Weighting Settings" is information related to whether or not an expert will disclose to other experts the weighting settings they have set for each question in the item "Weighting." Specifically, the item "Disclosure of weighting settings" may allow experts to specify whether or not to disclose the weighting information for each question they have set, or for all questions they have set, to other experts (or clients). This allows for a more accurate realization of the intentions of each expert, as follows: Some experts may aim to train other experts by disclosing their questioning methods to them. • Some experts may visualize their competence as practitioners by having their practical methods evaluated by other experts. Some experts may present to clients in advance the items they consider important in their questions, with the intention of making it easier for clients to communicate their concerns and facilitating a better understanding of those concerns. Server 20 may also accept settings indicating whether or not to disclose each question set by an expert to other experts. Furthermore, when an expert discloses the weightings they have set for each question to other experts, the server 20 may accept payment from the expert receiving the disclosure and grant the expert who disclosed the question weightings monetary value or other benefits for disclosing the weightings. In this case, the server 20 may, The field of expertise for which weighting is disclosed (e.g., the "Field" item in User Database 211), The expert's track record in responding to inquiries from clients (Consultation response history database 212, Matching database 218), The number of times and frequency (chat consultation history database 215) that questions set by experts (question item setting database 213) were presented to the person seeking advice, etc. The following may be presented to experts who wish to receive disclosure of weightings, and then the expert may request the disclosure of weightings. As described above, by enabling the disclosure of information among experts regarding the questions they have set and the weighting of those questions, the following can be achieved. • It can provide useful information to professionals who need training as trainees, making it easier to train trainees. • When a lawyer becomes independent immediately after obtaining their legal qualification, they may be required to handle a variety of consultations. Therefore, it is important that the lawyer can easily obtain information that will be helpful when asking questions to clients. • This can serve as a practical reference for what kinds of questions experts ask in areas they are unfamiliar with. Figure 7 shows the data structure of the reservation slot database 214. The reservation slot database 214 includes the items "Reservation Slot ID", "Expert User ID", "Available Time Slots", "Number of Meetings Allowed", "Meeting Time", "Repeat Setting", "Reservation Release Conditions", and "Reservation Availability".

[0127] The "Reservation Slot ID" field is information that identifies each reserved time slot in which a specialist will provide consultation to a client.

[0128] The "Expert User ID" field identifies the expert who will answer the user's question.

[0129] Specifically, the item "Expert User ID" corresponds to the item "User ID" in user database 211.

[0130] The item "Available Booking Time Slots" indicates the time slots during which bookings are accepted.

[0131] The item "Number of available meetings" indicates the number of times a meeting can be scheduled within the time slot for which reservations are accepted.

[0132] Specifically, the item "Number of meetings that can be scheduled" may be set to allow the user to specify the number of meetings to be held, depending on the circumstances of the expert, as follows: • The number of meetings allowed is less than the maximum number of meetings that can be scheduled based on the meeting time settings (for example, while meetings may be possible within a certain time frame, the number of meetings may be limited to a certain level in order for experts to secure their own work time). • No restrictions are placed on the number of meetings (for example, there may be no limit on the number of meetings to build up experience in handling a particular case. Also, there may be cases where there is no need to limit the number of meetings based on the estimated workload in the near future). The item "Meeting Time" is used to set the time range for the meeting.

[0133] Specifically, the item "Meeting Time" can be used to set the time range for meetings as follows: • Fixed within a certain time period (for example, a shorter time than the time period specified in the "Available Booking Time Slots" item) • Unlimited (No specific meeting time is set; for example, all time slots set in the "Available Time Slots" field are eligible for booking.) The "Repeat Setting" item indicates whether the reservation is scheduled regularly or not for the available time slots.

[0134] Specifically, the "Repeat Settings" item may be configured to accept time zone specifications from expert users, as follows: • Specific dates and time slots (meetings can be arranged on a spot basis) • Time period during which recurring settings are accepted (weekly, monthly, daily, etc.) The item "Reservation Opening Conditions" contains information about whether or not to open up the consultation to clients so they can make reservations for meetings.

[0135] Specifically, the item "Reservation Release Conditions" may be set up so that each expert can specify the conditions for releasing reservations, as follows: • When a client answers questions presented in the Question Item Setting Database 213 (each expert has a "weighting" setting for each item), a numerical value corresponding to the weighting is accumulated for each expert (in the Item-Specific Answer Database 217). When these accumulated values ​​exceed a threshold, the appointment with the client is released. Because the weighting settings differ for each expert, the accumulation of numerical values ​​for the client's answers may differ for each expert. Furthermore, since the threshold settings may also differ for each expert, whether or not an appointment is released may vary depending on the expert (for example, some experts may be more likely to accept appointments from clients by setting a low threshold, while others may be less likely to accept appointments from clients if there are no answers to certain questions by setting low weightings for all but those items). • If there is no answer to a specific question, the appointment will not be accepted. For example, the expert may specify the conditions under which an appointment will be accepted, depending on the conditions under which the expert considers accepting the case, and in relation to the status of accumulated answers. It may also be possible to set whether or not to open up an appointment depending on whether the answer is specific or not. For example, if the client's answer to a question is entered in the item-by-item answer database 217 but is an unclear sentence, the answer may be treated as not having an answer because it is not specific enough. • If you can answer the questions, we will accept your reservation. The "Reservation Availability" item indicates whether or not the service accepts reservations from clients during the available time slots.

[0136] Specifically, the item "Reservation Availability" may store information about the status of whether or not a reservation is available, as follows: • Reservation unavailable (no slots available). The maximum number of meetings that can be scheduled has been reached, and no further reservations can be accepted for that time slot. • Reservations available • Reservations unavailable (other). For example, a professional may set a time slot during which they do not accept reservations (due to holidays, etc.). Figure 8 shows the data structure of the chat consultation history database 215. The chat consultation history database 215 includes the following items: "Consultation Thread ID", "Consultant User ID", "Post ID", "Post Content", "Related Posts", "Post Date and Time", "Search Target Database", "Search Results", "LLM Output", "Answer", and "User Rating".

[0137] The item "Consultation Thread ID" is information that identifies each consultation thread in the legal consultation service provided by Server 20, where a user is seeking advice via chat.

[0138] The item "Consultant User ID" is information that identifies the user making the consultation.

[0139] Specifically, the item "Consultant User ID" corresponds to the item "User ID" in user database 211.

[0140] The "Post ID" field is information that identifies each post associated with a thread.

[0141] The item "Post Content" contains information that shows the content posted by the user.

[0142] The "Related Posts" field provides information about other posts related to the post indicated in the "Post ID" field, for multiple posts managed within a thread.

[0143] Specifically, the item "Related Posts" is information that identifies the most recent post made by the user among multiple posts managed within a thread. In this way, each time a user posts a consultation in the thread indicated by the item "Consultation Thread ID," it is managed in the chat consultation history database 215 by associating it with the item "Post ID" of the most recent post already made, thereby managing the order of a series of posts in the thread.

[0144] The "Posting Date and Time" field indicates when the user made the post.

[0145] Specifically, the "Posting Date and Time" field could be defined as the time when the user submitted the question via free text or similar means.

[0146] The item "Search Target Database" is information that identifies the databases referenced by the server 95 of the large-scale language model service when generating answers through searches.

[0147] Specifically, the item "Search Target Database" may include the following information as the database to be referenced: • Information provided by server 91 of the case law search service • Information provided by server 92 of the legal search service. • Information provided by server 93 of the book browsing service. • Information provided by server 94 of the information media service • Information provided by server 95 of the artificial intelligence (large-scale language model) service • Information provided on the service provider's server 96 • Information provided on SNS server 97 The "Search Results" item displays the search results obtained by searching the target database based on user-submitted content.

[0148] Specifically, the item "Search Results" includes the results of a search performed by server 20 based on the user's post content indicated in the item "Post ID," as follows: • User-submitted content is semantically analyzed and vectorized using methods such as Word2Vec. Documents in the referenced database are similarly vectorized, and documents stored in the database are searched based on the proximity of the vectors. The item "LLM Output" is information that shows the results generated by server 95 of the Large-Scale Language Model Service based on user submissions.

[0149] Specifically, the item "LLM Output" includes the results of generating responses on server 95 of the Large-Scale Language Model Service, as follows: • Results summarized by server 95 of the large-scale language model service, based on the results obtained by referencing each database shown in the item "Search Results". • When generating the response, the server 95 of the large-scale language model service was prompted to include background information such as "a user in the legal department will make the decision," and the response was generated as a result. The item "Answer" contains information indicating the answer provided to the user.

[0150] Specifically, the "Answer" item may present the user with an answer that includes the results generated by server 95 of the large-scale language model service based on the user's post, as well as information generated by server 20. Regarding the results summarized by server 95 of the large-scale language model service, please provide a response that includes links to the source information. Furthermore, the server 20 identifies the field of the consultation content based on the consultation content input by the consultant (item "Posted Content"). For example, the server 20 may identify the field indicated in the "Consultation Category" item of the consultation response history database 212, or the field indicated in the "Major Category" item of the question item setting database 213, based on keywords included in the consultation content. Alternatively, the server 20 may identify the field of the consultation content based on the results obtained by prompting the server 95 of the large-scale language model service to determine which field the consultant's consultation content belongs to. Depending on the field of the consultation content, the server 20 may present the consultant with questions for each field included in the question item setting database 213 and store the consultant's answers in the item-specific answer database 217. The item "User Rating" is information that shows the user's evaluation of the answers provided by Server 20.

[0151] Figure 9 shows the data structure of the LLM usage history database 216. The LLM usage history database 216 includes the fields "Usage ID", "Consultation Thread ID", "Post ID", "Prompt", "LLM Output Result", and "Usage Date and Time".

[0152] The item "User ID" is information that identifies each history of response generated by server 95 of the large-scale language model service.

[0153] The item "Consultation Thread ID" is information that identifies the thread in which a user seeks advice within the legal consultation service provided by Server 20.

[0154] Specifically, the item "Consultation Thread ID" corresponds to the item "Consultation Thread ID" in chat consultation history database 215.

[0155] The "Post ID" field is information that identifies a user-submitted consultation post, which is then used to generate an answer from server 95 of the large-scale language model service.

[0156] Specifically, the item "Post ID" corresponds to the item "Post ID" in chat consultation history database 215.

[0157] The item "Prompt" contains information indicating the content of the prompt applied when sending data to server 95 of the large-scale language model service.

[0158] Specifically, the item "Prompt" may include the content of the prompt that was defined as follows and sent to the server 95 of the large-scale language model service. This prompt template is modified to include search results obtained by searching various databases based on the user's input (item "Search Results" in the chat consultation history database 215), and then sent to the server 95 of the large-scale language model service. The item "LLM Output Result" is information indicating the content output by the server 95 of the Large-Scale Language Model Service when a prompt is sent to the server 95 of the Large-Scale Language Model Service.

[0159] The item "Date and Time of Use" contains information about the date and time when the response was generated by server 95 of the large-scale language model service.

[0160] Figure 10 shows the data structure of the item-by-item response database 217. The item-by-item response database 217 includes the items "Consultation Thread ID", "Consultant User ID", "Category", "Content of Item 1", "Response Status of Item 1", "Content of Item 2", "Response Status of Item 2", "Content of Item 3", and "Response Status of Item 3". The chat consultation processing module 2044 of server 20 presents the user with questions stored in the question item setting database 213 within the chat system, and stores the user's answers to those questions in the item-specific answer database 217. In the illustrated example, the questions presented to the user include the first to third items, but depending on the number of questions presented to the user, more question items and the user's answers may be stored. The chat consultation processing module 2044 may refer to the question item setting database 213 and, for questions set by each expert, if the questions are of the same nature (for example, if the "Major Category" and "Question Category" items in the question item setting database 213 are the same, and the questions entered by each expert are set to the same nature), it may present a question from one of the experts, and if the consultant answers that question, it may be treated as if an answer has been given to each expert's question of the same nature, and processing may be carried out according to the "Weighting" item.

[0161] The item "Consultation Thread ID" is information that identifies the thread in which a user seeks advice within the legal consultation service provided by Server 20.

[0162] Specifically, the item "Consultation Thread ID" corresponds to the item "Consultation Thread ID" in chat consultation history database 215.

[0163] The item "Consultant User ID" is information that identifies the user making the consultation.

[0164] Specifically, the item "Consultant User ID" corresponds to the item "Consultant User ID" in chat consultation history database 215.

[0165] The "Category" field contains information about the area of ​​the client's consultation.

[0166] Specifically, the "Category" item may be used to store information about the field of consultation as follows: • Fields specified by the client • Fields pre-associated according to keywords in the consultation content Depending on the content of the consultation, the server 20 identifies the field by referring to the consultation response history database 212 to identify similar answers. The results of classifying the field of inquiry using server 95 of the large-scale language model service The item "Content of Item 1" is information indicating the content of the question presented to the user seeking advice by referring to the question item setting database 213.

[0167] The item "Response Status to Item 1" contains information about the user's response to the question in item "Content of Item 1".

[0168] The item "Content of Item 2" contains information indicating the content of the questions presented to the user seeking advice, referencing the question item setting database 213.

[0169] The item "Response Status to Item 2" contains information about the user's response to the question in item "Content of Item 2".

[0170] The item "Content of the third item" is information indicating the content of the question presented to the user seeking advice by referring to the question item setting database 213.

[0171] The item "Response Status to Item 3" contains information about the user's response to the question in item "Content of Item 3".

[0172] Figure 11 shows the data structure of the matching database 218. The matching database 218 includes the following items: "Matching ID", "Consultant User ID", "Expert User ID", "Consultation Thread ID", "Matching Date and Time", "Status", "Reservation Slot ID", "Reservation Time", and "Release Condition".

[0173] The "Matching ID" field identifies each match for which a consultation time slot with a specialist has been made available for booking by the client.

[0174] The item "Consultant User ID" is information that identifies the user making the consultation.

[0175] Specifically, the item "Consultant User ID" corresponds to the item "Consultant User ID" in chat consultation history database 215.

[0176] The "Expert User ID" field identifies the expert user who is asking the question to the person seeking advice.

[0177] Specifically, the item "Expert User ID" corresponds to the item "User ID" in user database 211.

[0178] The item "Consultation Thread ID" is information that identifies the thread in which a user seeks advice within the legal consultation service provided by Server 20.

[0179] Specifically, the item "Consultation Thread ID" corresponds to the item "Consultation Thread ID" in chat consultation history database 215.

[0180] The "Matching Date and Time" field indicates the timing when a reservation becomes available within the time slot set by the expert.

[0181] The "Status" field indicates the appointment status between the client and the expert.

[0182] Specifically, the "Status" field may include information about the following situations: • Consultation under consideration (A reservation can be made for a time slot set by the expert, but the reservation has not yet been confirmed) • Reservation confirmed (A reservation has been made with the client for a time slot set by the expert.) • Reservation not confirmed, closed. The "Reservation Slot ID" field is information that identifies each reserved time slot in which a specialist will provide consultation to a client.

[0183] Specifically, the item "Reservation Slot ID" corresponds to the item "Reservation Slot ID" in Reservation Slot Database 214.

[0184] The "Reservation Time" field contains information about the time slot in which the reservation was confirmed.

[0185] The "Opening Conditions" item indicates the conditions under which the time slots set by experts are available for reservation.

[0186] Specifically, the item "Release Conditions" includes information on the conditions under which a reservation is deemed possible, based on the conditions shown in the item "Reservation Release Conditions" in the reservation slot database 214 (for example, when the sum of the consultant's answers to the questions in each item and the weighting values ​​assigned to those questions exceeds a threshold set by the expert).

[0187] <3. Operation (First Embodiment)> Figure 12 shows the process flow for receiving weighting settings for each question item from expert users.

[0188] In step S1221, the question setting module 2048 of the server 20 presents the expert with an operation screen in which the expert can set the question items, weighting, and threshold for accepting reservations as conditions for notifying the expert of a consultation from a client.

[0189] Server 20 manages the question items to be presented to the first user, who is the consultant, in the question item setting database 213. In the question item setting database 213, each of the multiple second users, who are experts responding to the consultant's inquiries, is configured to manage the setting of notification conditions based on the question items.

[0190] In step S1211, terminal 10 receives an operation from an expert user to set the content of the question items and the weighting of each item on the operation screen.

[0191] In step S1223, the question setting module 2048 of the server 20 updates the question item setting database 213 based on the settings for each item of the question received from the expert (question content, weighting, etc.).

[0192] Specifically, the question setting module 2048 accepts operations from multiple second users to set weights for each of the multiple question items. In response to receiving weight settings from second users, the question setting module 2048 stores the second user's settings in the question item setting database 213.

[0193] In step S1225, the question setting module 2048 of the server 20 analyzes the content of the question, sets the question category, and updates the question item setting database 213.

[0194] Figure 13 shows the process flow for receiving settings from expert users regarding the conditions for accepting reservations for each time slot.

[0195] In step S1321, the reservation condition setting module 2049 of the server 20 presents the expert with an operation screen that allows them to set the time slots for which they will accept consultation reservations from clients.

[0196] In step S1311, the expert's terminal 10 accepts an operation from the expert's user on the operation screen to set the time slots for which reservations will be accepted and the conditions for accepting reservations for each time slot.

[0197] In step S1323, the reservation condition setting module 2049 of the server 20 updates the reservation slot database 214 based on the time-slot settings received from the expert.

[0198] In this way, the reservation condition setting module 2049 receives settings from each of several second users (experts) for the time slots in which they will provide consultations with the first user (consultant), and the conditions for using those time slots for reservations with the first user, and stores them in the reservation slot database 214.

[0199] Figure 14 shows the process flow for receiving inquiries from users via chat and updating the input of the inquiry details for each item.

[0200] In step S1421, the chat consultation processing module 2044 of the server 20 presents the user seeking consultation with an operation screen that accepts consultation input in chat format.

[0201] In step S1411, the client's terminal 10 receives the client's input for the consultation on its operation screen.

[0202] In step S1423, the chat consultation processing module 2044 of the server 20 generates an answer to the received consultation using a large-scale language model. The chat consultation processing module 2044 presents the consultation to the consultant by referring to the information of the expert's question items in the question item setting database 213. The chat consultation processing module 2044 updates the item-specific answer database 217 according to the consultant's input for each item of the question.

[0203] In this manner, the chat consultation processing module 2044 presents a question to the first user (consultant) based on the question items in the question item setting database 213. The chat consultation processing module 2044 receives input from the first user who presented the question, answering the question. The chat consultation processing module 2044 stores the answers received from the first user in the item-specific answer database 217, associating them with the items related to the question.

[0204] Server 20 accepts responses from the first user by having the chat system respond through processing by the chat consultation processing module 2044. Based on the input from the first user in the chat system, the chat consultation processing module 2044 stores the answers in the corresponding items among multiple questions in the item-by-item answer database 217.

[0205] The chat consultation processing module 2044, in order to present a question to the first user, may refer to the question item setting database 213 and the item-specific answer database 217, and if the accumulated number of answers from the first user for any of the multiple question items is below a certain level (for example, if there is no answer, or the answer is not specific enough to provide sufficient information), it may present a question based on that item to the first user.

[0206] Server 20 stores the content of the consultation by the consultant and the expert's response to that consultation in the consultation response history database 212. The question setting module 2048 may generate questions to present to the first user based on the content of the consultation by the consultant and the expert's response stored in the consultation response history database 212, present them to the expert user, and register them in the question item setting database 213.

[0207] Furthermore, the chat consultation processing module 2044 may generate questions to present to the first user based on the consultation content of the consultant and the expert's answers stored in the consultation response history database 212, and present them to the first user. For example, the chat consultation processing module 2044 may identify the field of the consultant's consultation based on the information entered by the consultant, and refer to the consultation content of the consultant and the expert's answers stored in the consultation response history database 212 for that field, to present to the consultant, for example, matters that the expert has confirmed with the consultant (such as facts), or the content of the consultation (for example, if there is a collection of consultations asking about possible measures or possibilities, such as "Is it possible to do...?", the chat system will ask the consultant "Do you want to do...?" to confirm the consultant's intentions).

[0208] In step S1413, the caller's terminal 10 presents a question to the caller and accepts input from the caller for their answer. Terminal 10 displays the answer generated by the chat consultation processing module 2044 to the caller's consultation.

[0209] In step S1425, the chat consultation processing module 2044 of server 20 presents a question to the consultant and accepts input from the consultant via chat. The matching processing module 2047 refers to the item-by-item answer database 217 and the reservation slot database 214 to identify experts who can accept reservations based on the accumulated answers from the consultant, and updates the matching database 218.

[0210] In this way, the matching processing module 2047 determines whether the accumulation status of the first user's input for each item in the item-by-item response database 217 satisfies the conditions for notifying the experts managed in the reservation slot database 214.

[0211] The matching processing module 2047 refers to the reservation slot database 214 and determines whether the notification conditions for each of the multiple second users are met, based on the accumulated status of the first user's input for each question item in the item-by-item response database 217 and the weighting settings for each question item for each second user stored in the question item setting database 213.

[0212] For example, the matching processing module 2047 checks the reservation slot database 214 based on the accumulated status of the first user's input for each question item in the item-by-item answer database 217 and the weighting settings for each question item for each second user stored in the question item setting database 213, and determines whether the first user's input exceeds a threshold to determine if the notification conditions are met.

[0213] Alternatively, for example, the matching processing module 2047 may determine that the conditions for notifying an expert are met if there are answers to predetermined items among the multiple questions in the question item setting database 213.

[0214] Figure 15 shows the process flow for matching experts with clients based on whether each expert meets the user's specific requirements.

[0215] In step S1521, the matching processing module 2047 of the server 20 refers to the matching database 218 and presents the client with information on experts who meet the conditions for availability during the reserved time slot.

[0216] The matching processing module 2047 may present the first user with different pricing plans for the cost of consultation provided by the second user, depending on whether or not the first user has answered multiple questions and the content of those answers.

[0217] In step S1511, the client's terminal 10 displays information about the expert and the available time slots for appointments with the expert, and accepts the client's request to make an appointment.

[0218] In step S1523, the matching processing module 2047 of the server 20 updates the matching database 218 and the reservation slot database 214 in response to the user's operation to make a reservation with a specialist, thereby completing the reservation between the user and the specialist.

[0219] The matching processing module 2047 schedules a consultation by updating the matching database 218, associating a time slot for consultation with the first user with a second user who meets the notification criteria.

[0220] The matching processing module 2047 refers to the item-by-item answer database 217, the reservation slot database 214, and the question item setting database 213, and if the input content of the first user satisfies the conditions used for reservation regarding the time slot, it reserves a consultation between the second user and the first user using the time slot that satisfies those conditions.

[0221] In step S1525, the matching processing module 2047 of the server 20 notifies the consultant and the expert that a reservation has been made between the consultant and the expert.

[0222] The matching processing module 2047 may output the content of the first user's consultation to the second user who set the notification conditions if it determines that the conditions for notification are met. In this way, if the person seeking advice is able to make a reservation with an expert, the module may output the person's information and the content of their consultation to the expert.

[0223] In step S1513, the client's terminal 10 displays that an appointment with the expert has been made. <4. Screen Example (First Embodiment)> Figure 16 shows an example of an operation screen that accepts weighting settings for each question item from expert users.

[0224] The operation screen 1600 is a screen that accepts the setting of question items from an expert user to a counselor.

[0225] The operation screen 1600 corresponds to the example of the process described in FIG. 12.

[0226] The account area 1602 is an area that displays information about the expert user's account.

[0227] In the illustrated example, the account area 1602 displays the user's name, the organization to which the user belongs, the qualifications held, etc.

[0228] The question setting area 1604 is an area that displays the details of the question items.

[0229] The setting specification unit 1606 is an operation member that accepts detailed specifications from an expert user for the question items.

[0230] In the illustrated example, the setting specification unit 1606 accepts the following specifications from an expert user. · Large category (corresponding to the item "Large category" in the question item setting database 213. For example, the large category may be set in advance by the server 20, and it may also be acceptable to accept specifications from an expert user) · Question content (accept input from an expert user) · Weighting for question items (used for calculating the accumulation status of answers when there are answers from counselors) · Medium category (corresponding to the item "Question category" in the question item setting database 213. For example, the server 20 may prepare the medium category in advance for an expert user to specify, or an expert user may be able to set an arbitrary medium category, or the server 20 may analyze the input content of the question content and automatically set the medium category) • Specify whether to enable or disable a question (corresponds to the "Enable / Disable" item in Question Item Setting Database 213. For example, situations in which a question may be disabled include when experts do not consider the question item important, or when the question itself becomes unnecessary due to legal revisions or changes in the interpretation of precedents. In this case, even if a respondent answers the question, it may be decided that the answer status score used for comparison with a threshold will not be added.) The question item acquisition unit 1608 is an operating component that accepts an operation to acquire a file containing the items of the question.

[0231] The question item acquisition unit 1608 acquires files such as document files and spreadsheet files from expert users. The server 20 may extract the question items contained in the files and present the extraction results in an editable format for the expert user in the setting specification unit 1606. This makes it even easier for expert users to set question items by utilizing document files and the like that they already use.

[0232] The template loading operation unit 1610 is an operation component that accepts an operation to load a template prepared by the server 20 as a question item.

[0233] The template loading operation unit 1610 may also present template question items prepared in advance by the server 20 for each major category, in an editable format in the setting specification unit 1606, when specified by an expert user.

[0234] The performance area 1612 displays the number of times a client has booked a consultation with a specialist.

[0235] In the example shown, the performance area 1612 displays not only past booking cases of expert users logged into the service, but also cases where other expert users have successfully booked appointments with clients. For example, by accepting an operation from the client user to allow the sharing of booking cases, various experts can refer to the booking cases. This makes it easier for expert users to set the content of the question items, and also makes it easier to set the weighting (which also serves as a criterion for whether or not to accept a booking) of the question items.

[0236] Detailed display area 1614 is an area that displays past cases that met the matching criteria.

[0237] The detailed display area 1614 may refer to the matching database 218 and display the following as reservation history, as shown in the figure. • The content of the consultation entered by the user via chat (It may also be possible to refer to the answer database 217 for each item and display the extent of consultation input for each question item.) • Whether the reservation was successful or not (By referring to Matching Database 218 and displaying cases where the matching conditions were met and a reservation was made, as well as cases where the matching conditions were met but a reservation was not made, expert users can use this as a reference when setting up question items, making it even easier to set up question items.) The performance search operation unit 1616 is an operation component that accepts operations to search for cases that have previously met the matching conditions.

[0238] The performance search operation unit 1616 provides an operation screen that allows expert users to search various databases, such as the item-specific answer database 217 and the matching database 218, in response to the operations of the expert user.

[0239] Figure 17 shows an example of an operation screen that accepts settings from expert users regarding the conditions for releasing reservation time slots.

[0240] The reservation slot setting screen 1618 is an operation screen that allows users to set the time slots for which reservations will be accepted and the conditions for accepting those reservations.

[0241] The reservation slot setting screen 1618 corresponds to the example of the process described in Figure 17.

[0242] The detailed settings area 1620 is where you can see the detailed settings for the time slots during which reservations are accepted and the conditions under which reservations are accepted.

[0243] The reservation slot designation unit 1622 is an operating component that accepts the designation of various settings for accepting reservations.

[0244] The reservation slot specification unit 1622 receives settings as shown in the diagram from expert users and updates the reservation slot database 214. The server 20 may also communicate with a computer that provides a tool for managing the schedules of expert users to obtain information on available time slots from the user's calendar (for example, time slots specified by the user in the calendar tool, or time slots set by specific strings such as "available" in the schedule) and reflect this information in the reservation slot specification unit 1622.

[0245] The pricing plan area 1624 is the area that displays the pricing plans presented by expert users to users seeking advice.

[0246] The plan details specification unit 1626 is an operating component that accepts the specification of details for the pricing plan.

[0247] As shown in the figure, the plan detail specifying section 1626 allows an expert user to set multiple fee plans and present the corresponding fee plan to the user of the counselor according to the accumulation status of the answers input by the user of the counselor in the chat system (chat consultation history database 215, item-by-item answer database 217), or the conditions that led to the release of the reservation with the expert (reservation slot database 214, matching database 218). In the example shown in the figure, different fee plans are set to be presented according to whether there is evidence regarding the consultation content.

[0248] FIG. 18 is an example of an operation screen for receiving consultations by chat from a user of the counselor.

[0249] The chat operation screen 1628 is an operation screen for receiving input by chat from the counselor regarding legal consultations and presenting questions to the counselor while the chat system provides answers.

[0250] The chat operation screen 1628 corresponds to the example of the process described in FIG. 14.

[0251] The counselor account area 1630 is an area for displaying information about the account of the user of the counselor.

[0252] The chat display area 1632 is an area for displaying the content of the consultation input by the counselor, the answer generated by the server 95 of the large language model service, and the questions presented to the counselor.

[0253] The chat display area 1632 corresponds to step S1421 etc. in FIG. 14.

[0254] The posted content area 1634 is an area for displaying the question text input by the user as the content of the consultation.

[0255] The answer question area 1636 is an area that displays the answer generated by the server 95 of the large-scale language model service in response to the question entered by the user, as well as the question presented to the person seeking advice by referring to the question item setting database 213.

[0256] The answer question area 1636 corresponds to step S1423 in Figure 14, etc. In the illustrated example, the server 20 refers to the item "Reason for setting the question" in the question item setting database 213 and displays to the user the question (in the illustrated example, "Do you have any evidence?"), the reason why the expert set the question (in the illustrated example, "Reason for setting the question: Having evidence makes it easier to win the case"), and the circumstances under which the expert has set the question (in the illustrated example, "Many lawyers have set this as a question"). This can increase the consultant's motivation to answer the question and encourage them to input details about their consultation.

[0257] The consultation content specification unit 1638 is an operating component that receives the user's specification of an area to receive the consultation input.

[0258] The consultation content specification section 1638 may accept input from the consultant in text format, as shown in the diagram, or it may accept input in the form of voice, images, etc. In the illustrated example, the response content "...gather evidence" is displayed in the answer question area 1636, and the user who is consulting has entered the answer to the question "I already have the evidence."

[0259] The past consultation display area 1640 is an area that displays an operation screen that accepts user requests to search for past consultations and answers stored in the consultation and answer history database 212.

[0260] The past consultation display area 1640 may be set by the consultant to make it public in the consultation response history database 212, and the history of expert responses to consultations that have been made public may be searchable.

[0261] The field designation section 1642 is an operating component that accepts the designation of the field of consultation.

[0262] The field specification unit 1642 may also allow the user to specify a field from the "Consultation Category" item in the consultation response history database 212, as shown in the figure. This makes it even easier to search for past consultations and answers.

[0263] Search result area 1644 is the area that displays search results for past consultation and answer examples.

[0264] The search results area 1644 may refer to the consultation response history database 212 and, for example, prioritize presenting responses with a high "consultant evaluation" to the consultant.

[0265] The refined search operation unit 1646 is an operating component that accepts operations to search for past consultation content, specifically cases where a user has made an appointment with an expert after communicating with the chat system, by referring to the matching database 218.

[0266] The refined search operation unit 1646 may accept user requests to search for cases by targeting each item in the matching database 218, in response to user operations. Alternatively, the refined search operation unit 1646 may accept searches for cases that have been set to be publicly available (for example, set to be publicly available by the consultant).

[0267] Figure 19 shows an example of a user interface for matching clients with experts.

[0268] The reservation slot area 1648 displays the time slots that have become available for booking, based on the accumulated responses from users seeking advice, meeting the conditions set by the experts.

[0269] The expert designation unit 1650 is an operating component that receives a designation from the client to specify the expert with whom they wish to make an appointment.

[0270] The expert designation unit 1650 refers to the matching database 218 and presents the client with information to help them decide whether or not to make a reservation, as shown in the diagram, and accepts requests from the client to specify the time slot for the reservation and the expert to make the reservation with.

[0271] The reservation slot operation unit 1652 is an operating component that accepts the operation to make a reservation for a specified time slot and specialist.

[0272] The reservation slot operation unit 1652 updates the matching database 218 as a confirmed reservation in response to the user's actions.

[0273] <Second Embodiment> Next, a second embodiment will be described.

[0274] The second embodiment describes a technique that allows a lawyer, as a professional, to schedule appointments with clients during times when the lawyer is available for meetings, without the lawyer having to personally confirm the appointment. This reduces the effort required for scheduling and prevents appointment times from being filled with unintended content.

[0275] In the second embodiment, a telephone answering service provider or a user designated by the lawyer (such as a secretary) may act as an intermediary for scheduling appointments with clients.

[0276] In the second embodiment, as described in the first embodiment, the server 20 will respond to the user in a chat format, and depending on the accumulated content of the consultation, it may also be possible to schedule a meeting with a lawyer.

[0277] In the second embodiment, reservations may also be accepted via SNS messaging or calling functions.

[0278] In this second embodiment, the range of available time slots for consultations can be set according to the route (channel) through which the consultation is received. For example, if a telephone answering service or secretary is taking reservations, a wide range of times when the lawyer is available for consultations may be accepted, while the range of available time slots may be narrowed for inquiries from other channels. In this way, by setting reservation times without the lawyer having to confirm the reservation themselves, the effort required for the lawyer to make arrangements can be reduced, while preventing unintended reservations from being filled.

[0279] Furthermore, in the second embodiment, by setting the nature of the meetings (for example, specific types of legal consultations or job interviews) for the time slots in which reservations can be made, and accepting reservations according to that nature, it is possible to prevent an excessive bias in the content of work (for example, if a ratio is set between specific types of legal consultations and other types of legal consultations, the work will be in accordance with that ratio), which makes it easier for lawyers to perform the work they intend and to provide professional services.

[0280] As described above, the second embodiment describes an example of determining the degree to which reservation slots are released depending on the content of the reservation or the route (channel) of the reservation.

[0281] <5 Data Structure (Second Embodiment)> Figure 20 shows the data structure of the channel-specific reservation condition database 219. The channel-specific reservation condition database 219 includes the following items: "Reservation Slot ID", "Expert User ID", "Available Reservation Time Slot", "Number of Available Meetings", "Meeting Time", "Repeat Setting", "Reservation Authority Setting", "Reservation Availability", "Nature of Reservation Slot", and "Reservation Conditions".

[0282] The "Reservation Slot ID" field, like the reservation slot database 214, is information that identifies each reserved time slot in which a specialist will provide consultation to a client.

[0283] The "Expert User ID" field, like the reservation slot database 214, identifies the expert who will answer the client's question.

[0284] The item "Available Booking Time Slots" is information about the time slots during which bookings are accepted, similar to booking slot database 214.

[0285] The item "Number of available meetings" is similar to the reservation slot database 214, indicating the number of times a meeting can be scheduled within the time slot for which reservations are accepted.

[0286] The "Meeting Time" item, like in the reservation slot database 214, sets the time range for the meeting.

[0287] The "Repeat Setting" item, similar to the reservation slot database 214, indicates whether or not the available reservation time slots are set regularly.

[0288] The "Reservation Permission Settings" item indicates the permissions set for which reservations can be made for each channel that accepts reservations, specifically for the time slots in which reservations are accepted.

[0289] Specifically, the "Reservation Permission Settings" item stores information on whether or not reservations are accepted for available time slots, depending on the channel. For example, the reservation settings may differ for each channel; for instance, reservations might be allowed for telephone answering services, but reservations from clients contacting the service via social media might not be accepted. • Reservations mediated by a telephone answering service provider (a telephone answering service provider contracted by a professional user) • Reservations mediated by a specific user (such as a user acting as a secretary) designated by a specialist user. • Reservation requests from the chat consultation system provided by server 20 (the chat consultation processing module 2044 responds to consultations from the consultant in chat format while referring to the chat consultation history database 215). • Reservations made through communication methods such as SNS (SNS Server 97, etc.) (messaging function, telephone function, etc.) • Bookings made through a service that matches clients with experts. The "Reservation Availability" item, similar to the reservation slot database 214, indicates whether or not reservations are accepted from clients for available time slots.

[0290] The item "Nature of the reservation slot" contains information about the nature of the meeting for which the reservation is being accepted.

[0291] Specifically, the item "Nature of the reservation slot" allows experts to pre-specify the nature of the meeting, providing telephone answering service providers and others with information to decide whether or not to set a reservation based on the content of the meeting. Alternatively, server 20 may analyze the content of the consultation and extract available time slots that match the item "Nature of the reservation slot," and present them to the consultation, expert, intermediary, etc. • Legal consultation (Furthermore, it may be necessary to include the specification of fields such as the "Major Category" and "Question Category" items in the Question Item Setting Database 213.) ·Recruitment interview The "Reservation Conditions" section contains information about the conditions under which reservations are accepted for available time slots.

[0292] Specifically, the item "Reservation Conditions" may be to accept the specifications of the conditions under which reservations will be accepted from experts, as follows: • The person seeking advice has the intention to take action (for example, if the meeting is a job interview, the person seeking advice has either specified their intention to change jobs or the intermediary has set it up). • The client's consultation topic must fall under a specific field (for example, if the nature of the available time slot is "legal consultation," and more specifically "divorce consultation," the client's consultation topic must be related to divorce). • The content of the consultation must be sufficiently specific (for example, there must be enough information to identify the field of the consultation; for example, the server 95 of the large-scale language model service must be able to determine the field of the consultation based on the text entered by the consultant). Figure 21 shows the data structure of the reservation request database 220. The reservation request database 220 includes the items "Reservation Request ID", "Consultation Channel", "Expert User ID", "Reservation Slot ID", "Reservation Time", "Participants", and "Request Conditions".

[0293] The "Reservation Request ID" field is information that identifies each reservation request to a specialist.

[0294] The item "Consultation Channels" provides information on channels for consulting with experts.

[0295] The "Expert User ID" field identifies the expert who will answer the user's question.

[0296] The "Reservation Slot ID" field is information that identifies each reserved time slot in which a specialist will provide consultation to a client.

[0297] Specifically, the item "Reservation Slot ID" corresponds to the item "Reservation Slot ID" in the channel-specific reservation condition database 219.

[0298] The "Reservation Time" field, like in matching database 218, contains information about the time slot in which the reservation was confirmed.

[0299] The "Participants" field contains information about the participants in the meeting related to the reservation.

[0300] Specifically, the "Participants" item retrieves and stores information about the meeting participants as follows: • Information such as the participant's name and email address, which is voluntarily entered by the person mediating the reservation. • Information such as the names and email addresses of participants voluntarily entered by the person seeking advice. The "Request Conditions" field contains information about the conditions under which a reservation was accepted for the available time slots.

[0301] <6 Operation (Second Embodiment)> Figure 22 shows the process flow from when a client contacts an intermediary to when the appointment is confirmed.

[0302] In step S2211, terminal 10 receives access to the operation screen from the user, who is acting as an intermediary for the consultation request.

[0303] In step S2221, the scheduling module 2050 of the server 20 refers to the channel-specific reservation condition database 219 according to the information of the channel that accepts consultations with experts, and presents the intermediary user with candidate time slots in which experts can make reservations.

[0304] Server 20 is configured to manage information about the time slots of the second user who will receive the reservation in the per-channel reservation condition database 219. The scheduling module 2050 obtains information about the channels that accept inquiries from the first user who wishes to make a reservation to the second user who will receive the reservation.

[0305] The scheduling module 2050 accepts requests from a second user to specify candidate time slots for reservations from a first user, associated with each of multiple channels. Based on the second user's specifications, the scheduling module 2050 updates the time slot information for reservations made by the second user in the channel-specific reservation condition database 219, for each channel. The scheduling module 2050 then determines the time slots for reservations made by the second user based on the time slot information corresponding to the channel information queried by the first user.

[0306] More specifically, the channel-specific reservation condition database 219 includes, as channel information, at least one of the following: information about a telephone answering service provider that mediates reservation requests; information about a chat system that communicates with the first user in a chat format; and information about a messaging tool that can send and receive messages with the first user.

[0307] The scheduling module 2050 acquires at least one of the following as channel information: information about a telephone answering service provider that mediates reservation requests, information about a chat system that interacts with the first user in a chat format, and information about a messaging tool that can send and receive messages with the first user.

[0308] In the channel-specific reservation condition database 219, the time slot information of the second user who will receive the reservation and the number of reservations that can be received within a certain period are managed for each channel in association with the channel information. When the number of reservations that can be received within a certain period for a channel reaches the upper limit, the scheduling module 2050 determines that the time slots for reservations for that channel within that period cannot be reserved and updates the channel-specific reservation condition database 219 accordingly.

[0309] Here, the schedule setting module 2050 may refer to the schedule information of the second user (for example, the server 20 communicates with the schedule management service used by the second user and obtains schedule information registered in the second user's calendar. This schedule information includes information such as the schedule title and meeting time slots. Alternatively, for example, the server 20 obtains information about the second user's tasks from the task management service used by the second user) and refer to the business task information of the second user to determine the time slot for accepting reservations with the first user according to the business tasks of the second user.

[0310] For example, if the scheduling module 2050 has a specific task scheduled or task as part of the second user's work (e.g., working towards a court hearing date, or dealing with a case of a particular nature such as a criminal case), it will determine a time slot for booking with the first user that avoids that schedule or is timed to allow the task to be completed.

[0311] The scheduling module 2050 may also determine the time frame for accepting reservations with the first user based on information about the nature of the content of the first user's inquiry.

[0312] For example, if the client's consultation request is not urgent (for instance, if it is not closely related to a specific case and is a general question about legal knowledge, etc.), the scheduling module 2050 may set the meeting to a later time slot than the most recent one.

[0313] Furthermore, the scheduling module 2050 allows for adjustment of the nearest available time slot if the client's consultation request is urgent (for example, if they have received a warning letter in a dispute, or if they want to prioritize a job interview). In addition, the scheduling module 2050 may prioritize such urgent consultation requests over other available time slots (for example, over internal 1-on-1 meetings, where the number of participants is limited and the timing is relatively easy to adjust).

[0314] The scheduling module 2050 may also refer to an external service that evaluates the first user's performance, and based on that evaluation score, determine the time slots available for the second user to accept reservations from the first user. For example, external services may include messaging services, payment services, deposit and withdrawal management services, and these services may calculate the user's evaluation score. The scheduling module 2050 may also set up reservations with the user in a way that enhances the convenience of the user, such as by widening the range of available time slots or allowing reservations in priority time slots, depending on the user's score in the external service, if the score is good.

[0315] In step S2213, terminal 10 receives from the intermediary user information about the person seeking the reservation and an operation to specify a time slot.

[0316] In step S2223, the scheduling module 2050 of server 20 updates the reservation request database 220, indicating that a reservation has been made according to the time slot specified by the intermediary, provided that the conditions for accepting a reservation are met. The scheduling module 2050 then notifies the intermediary that a reservation has been made between the consultant and the expert.

[0317] In this way, the scheduling module 2050 determines the time slot for the second user to make a reservation based on the information of the query channel it has obtained, updates the reservation request database 220, and confirms the reservation request from the first user as a reservation for the determined time slot.

[0318] The scheduling module 2050 determines the time slots for receiving reservations from the first user without requiring the second user to perform any action to confirm them.

[0319] The scheduling module 2050, at the request of a second user (expert), has a third user (intermediary) receive inquiries from the first user (consultant). The scheduling module 2050 receives an operation from the third user to determine the time slots for reservations between the first user and the second user. The scheduling module 2050 receives an operation from the third user to determine one or more time slots for reservations for each of the multiple inquiries from the first user. The scheduling module 2050 receives reservations from the intermediary user for multiple inquiries from the consultant in a batch and updates the reservation request database 220.

[0320] In step S2215, terminal 10 displays that a reservation has been made between the consultant and the expert.

[0321] Figure 23 shows the process flow for receiving inquiries from clients, extracting available time slots, and confirming reservations based on the client's specifications.

[0322] In step S2311, terminal 10 accepts access to the operation screen from the user who is seeking advice.

[0323] In step S2321, the scheduling module 2050 of the server 20 presents the user with an operation screen that accepts input of the details of the consultation regarding the reservation request.

[0324] In step S2313, terminal 10 receives input from the client regarding the conditions for accepting a reservation request.

[0325] In step S2323, the scheduling module 2050 of the server 20 refers to the channel-specific reservation condition database 219 according to the information of the channel that receives inquiries from the consultant, and if the conditions for accepting reservations are met, extracts time slots in which reservation requests can be accepted and presents them to the consultant.

[0326] The scheduling module 2050 performs the following actions: presents the first user with time slots in which reservation requests can be accepted; accepts an operation from the first user to specify the time slot to be reserved from among the presented time slots; and confirms the reservation based on the time slot specified by the first user and updates the reservation request database 220.

[0327] The scheduling module 2050 accepts requests from a second user to specify candidate time slots for reservations from a first user, associated with each of multiple channels. Based on the second user's specifications, the scheduling module 2050 updates the time slot information for reservations made by the second user in the channel-specific reservation condition database 219, for each channel. The scheduling module 2050 then determines the time slots for reservations made by the second user based on the time slot information corresponding to the channel information queried by the first user.

[0328] In the channel-specific reservation condition database 219, the time slot information of the second user who will receive the reservation and the number of reservations that can be received within a certain period are managed for each channel in association with the channel information. When the number of reservations that can be received within a certain period for a channel reaches the upper limit, the scheduling module 2050 determines that the time slots for reservations for that channel within that period cannot be reserved and updates the channel-specific reservation condition database 219 accordingly.

[0329] Here, the schedule setting module 2050 may refer to the schedule information of the second user (for example, the server 20 communicates with the schedule management service used by the second user and obtains schedule information registered in the second user's calendar. This schedule information includes information such as the schedule title and meeting time slots. Alternatively, for example, the server 20 obtains information about the second user's tasks from the task management service used by the second user) and refer to the business task information of the second user to determine the time slot for accepting reservations with the first user according to the business tasks of the second user.

[0330] The scheduling module 2050 may also determine the time frame for accepting reservations with the first user based on information about the nature of the content of the first user's inquiry.

[0331] The scheduling module 2050 may also refer to the evaluation score that the first user obtains from the external service, and based on that evaluation score, determine the time slot for the second user to accept the reservation from the first user.

[0332] In step S2315, terminal 10 receives an operation from the client to request a reservation by specifying a time slot.

[0333] In step S2325, the scheduling module 2050 of server 20 updates the reservation request database 220 as having accepted a reservation for the specified time slot and notifies the consultant and the expert.

[0334] The scheduling module 2050 may determine the time slots for receiving reservations from the first user without requiring the second user to perform any action to confirm the time slots.

[0335] In step S2315, terminal 10 displays that the reservation has been accepted.

[0336] <7. Screen Example (Second Embodiment)> Figure 24 shows an example of an operation screen that accepts reservations from intermediary users according to the content of their requests.

[0337] Operation screen 2400 is an operation screen that accepts requests from intermediary users to make reservations with experts on behalf of the person seeking advice.

[0338] The operation screen 2400 corresponds to the example in Figure 22.

[0339] Account area 2402 is the area that displays the account information of the intermediary user.

[0340] The client information area 2404 is the area that displays the client's information.

[0341] The consultant name designation unit 2406 is an operating component that accepts the designation of information that identifies the consultant, such as the consultant's name or title.

[0342] The consultation content specification unit 2408 is an operating component that receives the consultation content specification from the person seeking advice.

[0343] The consultation content specification section 2408 corresponds to step S2213 in Figure 22, etc.

[0344] The reservation slot area 2410 is where reservations for consultations with experts regarding the client's consultation are displayed.

[0345] The reservation slot area 2410 corresponds to step S2213 in Figure 22, etc.

[0346] The expert designation unit 2412 is an operating component that receives the designation of the time slot to be reserved by the client from the intermediary.

[0347] As shown in the figure, the expert designation unit 2412 refers to the channel-specific reservation condition database 219 and displays candidate time slots in which experts are available for booking, depending on the channel through which the caller's consultation is received (in the example in Figure 24, an intermediary such as a telephone answering service provider), the content of the caller's consultation, etc.

[0348] The reservation confirmation unit 2414 is an operating component that accepts the operation to confirm a reservation with an expert for a specified time slot.

[0349] The reservation confirmation unit 2414 updates the reservation request database 220 as a confirmed reservation in response to the user's actions as an intermediary.

[0350] Figure 25 shows an example of an operation screen that accepts requests from users to make reservations for time slots extracted according to the content of their requests.

[0351] The reservation slot area 2416 is an area that displays to the user seeking advice the time slots available for booking an appointment with an expert, based on the user's input of their consultation details in the chat system.

[0352] The reservation slot area 2416 corresponds to an example of processing such as step S2315 in Figure 23.

[0353] The expert designation unit 2418 is an operating component that receives requests from clients to specify the time slot in which they wish to book an appointment with an expert.

[0354] <Variation> The embodiments described above (the first embodiment and the second embodiment) may be combined. In addition to the embodiments described above, the following may also be used.

[0355] While several embodiments of this disclosure have been described above, these embodiments can be implemented in a variety of other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications are permitted without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their variations are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as in the claims and their equivalents.

[0356] The functions realized by the components described herein may be implemented in a circuitry or processing circuitry, including general-purpose processors, application-specific processors, integrated circuits, ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), CPUs (a Central Processing Unit), conventional circuits, and / or combinations thereof, programmed to realize the functions described herein. A processor includes transistors and other circuits and is considered a circuitry or processing circuitry. A processor may be a programmed processor that executes a program stored in memory.

[0357] In this specification, circuitry, unit, and means are hardware programmed to perform or execute the functions described herein. Such hardware may be any hardware disclosed herein, or any hardware known to be programmed to perform or execute the functions described herein.

[0358] If the hardware is a processor that is considered to be a type of circuitry, then the circuitry, means, or unit is a combination of hardware and software used to constitute the hardware and / or processor.

[0359] <Note> The details described in the above embodiment are added below.

[0360] <Notes on the first embodiment>

[0361] (Note 1) A program for operating a computer having one or more computer processors, wherein the memory unit is configured to manage a list of questions to be presented to a first user who is a consultant, and the memory unit is configured to allow each of several second users, who are experts responding to the consultant's consultation, to manage the setting of notification conditions based on the question items, and the program causes one or more computer processors to execute the steps of: presenting questions to the first user based on the question items; receiving input of answers to the items from the first user who presented the questions; storing the answers received from the first user in the memory unit in association with the items related to the questions; determining whether the accumulation status of the first user's input content for each item in the memory unit satisfies the notification conditions managed in the memory unit; and, if it is determined that the notification conditions are met, outputting the content of the first user's consultation to the second user who set the conditions.

[0362] (Note 2) The program, as described in Appendix 1, has one or more computer processors perform the steps of: receiving an operation from each of several second users to set weights for each of several question items; and, in response to receiving the weight settings, storing the settings of the second users in a memory unit; and in the step of making a determination, it determines whether the notification conditions for each of the several second users are met, in accordance with the accumulation status of the input content of the first user for each item and the weight settings for each item of each second user stored in the memory unit.

[0363] (Note 3) In the determination step, the program determines whether the notification conditions are met by determining whether the input content of the first user exceeds a threshold, in accordance with the accumulated status of the input content of the first user for each item and the weighting settings of each item for each second user stored in the memory unit. The program then causes one or more computer processors to execute the step of scheduling a consultation by associating a time frame for consultation with the second user who meets the notification conditions with the first user. (Appendix 2)

[0364] (Note 4) The program described in Note 3, which determines that the conditions for notification are met if, in the step of making a determination, answers are provided to certain items among multiple question items.

[0365] (Note 5) The program is one of the programs described in any of Appendix 3 to 4, which provides one or more computer processors with different pricing plans for the cost of consultations provided by a second user, depending on whether or not the first user has answered multiple questions and the content of those answers.

[0366] (Note 6) A program as described in any of Appendix 3 to 5, wherein, in the step of booking a consultation, the program receives and stores in memory the time slots for consultation with the first user and the conditions for using those time slots for booking with the first user from each of several second users, and if the input from the first user satisfies the conditions for using the time slots for booking, the program books a consultation between the second user and the first user using the time slots that satisfy those conditions.

[0367] (Note 7) A program as described in any of the appendices 1 to 6, wherein in the steps of presenting a question and receiving an answer, the chat system responds to the first user to receive an answer, and in the step of storing the answer, the chat system stores the answer in the appropriate item among multiple question items based on the input of the first user in the chat system.

[0368] (Note 8) The program described in Appendix 7, which, in the step of presenting a question, refers to a memory unit and, if the accumulated number of answers from the first user among multiple question items is below a certain level, presents a question based on that item to the first user.

[0369] (Note 9) The program described in Appendix 8 stores the content of the consultation by the person seeking advice and the expert's response to that consultation in a memory unit, and generates questions to be presented to the first user based on the content of the consultation by the person seeking advice and the expert's response stored in the memory unit.

[0370] (Note 10) A method performed by a computer having one or more computer processors, wherein a memory unit is configured to manage a list of questions to be presented to a first user who is a consultant, and the memory unit is configured to manage the setting of notification conditions based on the list of questions for each of several second users who are experts responding to the consultant's consultation, the method comprising: one or more computer processors presenting questions to the first user based on the list of questions; receiving input of answers to the items from the first user who presented the questions; storing the answers received from the first user in the memory unit in association with the items related to the questions; determining whether the accumulation status of the first user's inputs for each item in the memory unit satisfies the notification conditions managed by the memory unit; and, if it is determined that the notification conditions are met, outputting the content of the first user's consultation to the second user who set the conditions.

[0371] (Note 11) Information processing device, wherein the storage unit is configured to manage a list of questions to be presented to a first user who is a consultant, and the storage unit is configured to allow each of several second users, who are experts responding to the consultant's consultation, to manage the setting of notification conditions based on the question items, and the control unit of the information processing device performs the steps of: presenting questions to the first user based on the question items; receiving input of answers to the items from the first user who presented the questions; storing the answers received from the first user in the storage unit in association with the items related to the questions; determining whether the storage unit's accumulation status of the first user's inputs for each item satisfies the notification conditions managed by the storage unit; and, if it is determined that the notification conditions are met, outputting the content of the first user's consultation to the second user who set the conditions.

[0372] <Notes on the second embodiment>

[0373] (Note 1) A program for operating a computer having one or more computer processors, wherein the memory unit is configured to manage information about time slots for a second user who will receive a reservation, and the program causes one or more computer processors to execute the following steps: obtaining information about a channel for receiving inquiries from a first user who wishes to make a reservation to a second user who will receive the reservation; determining a time slot for the second user to receive a reservation according to the channel information of the obtained inquiry; and confirming the reservation request from the first user as a reservation within the determined time slot.

[0374] (Note 2) The program described in Appendix 1 determines the time slot for which the first user will make a reservation, without requiring the second user to perform an operation to confirm the time slot for which the first user will make a reservation.

[0375] (Note 3) The program described in Appendix 2 performs the following steps in the confirmation step: present the time slots determined in the decision step to the first user; accept an operation from the first user to specify a time slot to be reserved from among the presented time slots; and confirm the reservation based on the time slot specified by the first user.

[0376] (Note 4) A program as described in any of the appendices 1 to 3, wherein in the decision-making step, the program receives an operation from the second user to specify candidate time slots for which the first user can make a reservation, associated with each of multiple channels; in accordance with the specifications received from the second user, the storage unit updates the information on the time slots for which the second user can make a reservation for each channel; and the program determines the time slots for which the second user can make a reservation based on the time slot information corresponding to the channel information queried by the first user.

[0377] (Note 5) The program described in Appendix 4, which, in the acquisition step, acquires at least one of the following as information of the channel to be acquired: information of a telephone answering service provider that mediates reservation requests, information of a chat system that communicates with the first user in a chat format, and information of a messaging tool that can send and receive messages with the first user.

[0378] (Note 6) A program as described in any of Appendix 4 to 5, wherein in the memory unit, information about the time slots of the second user who will receive the reservation and information about the number of reservations to be received within a certain period are managed for each channel in association with the channel information, and in the decision step, if the number of reservations to be received within a certain period for each channel reaches the upper limit, the program determines the time slots so that it is not possible to reserve a time slot for that channel within that certain period.

[0379] (Note 7) A program as described in any of Appendix 1 to 6, which, in the decision-making step, refers to information on the second user's work tasks to determine the time slot for receiving reservations with the first user according to the second user's work tasks.

[0380] (Note 8) A program described in any of Appendix 1 to 7, which, in the decision-making step, determines a time slot for accepting a reservation with the first user, based on information about the nature of the content of the first user's inquiry.

[0381] (Note 9) In the decision-making step, the program as described in any of Appendix 1 to 8, wherein the first user references an evaluation score from an external service, which is evaluated by the first user through the use of that external service, and the second user determines the time slot for accepting the reservation from the first user according to the evaluation score.

[0382] (Note 10) The program is one of the programs described in any of Appendix 1 to 9, which causes one or more computer processors to perform the steps of: having a third user receive an inquiry from a first user at the request of a second user; and receiving an operation from the third user to determine a time slot for reservations between the first user and the second user; and receiving an operation from the third user to determine one or more time slots for reservations for each of the multiple inquiries from the first user.

[0383] (Note 11) A method performed by a computer having one or more computer processors, wherein a storage unit is configured to manage information about time slots for a second user to receive a reservation, the method comprising: one or more computer processors obtaining information about a channel for receiving queries from a first user who wishes to make a reservation to a second user to receive a reservation; determining a time slot for the second user to receive a reservation according to the channel information of the obtained query; and confirming the reservation request from the first user as a reservation within the determined time slot.

[0384] (Note 12) An information processing device, wherein the storage unit is configured to manage information about the time slots of a second user who will receive a reservation, and the control unit of the information processing device performs the following steps: obtaining information about a channel for receiving inquiries from a first user who wishes to make a reservation to a second user who will receive a reservation; determining a time slot for the second user to receive a reservation according to the information about the channel of the inquiry obtained; and confirming the reservation request from the first user as a reservation within the determined time slot.

Claims

1. A program for operating a computer having one or more computer processors, The memory unit is configured to manage information about the time slots of the second user who will be making the reservation. The program is configured on one or more computer processors. The steps include obtaining information about the channel through which inquiries are received from the first user who wishes to make a reservation to the second user who will receive the reservation, The steps include determining the time slot for the second user to make a reservation based on the information of the inquiry channel obtained, A program that executes the steps of confirming a reservation request from the first user as a reservation within a determined time frame.

2. The program according to claim 1, wherein in the step of determining the time slot, the program determines the time slot without requiring the second user to perform an operation to confirm the time slot for which the first user will make a reservation.

3. In the step of determining, the time frame determined in the step of deciding is presented to the first user, The system accepts an operation from the first user to specify the time slot to be reserved from among the presented time slots, The program according to claim 2, which confirms a reservation based on the time frame specified by the first user.

4. In the step of making the determination, the second user is asked to specify a candidate time slot for receiving a reservation from the first user, in association with each of the multiple channels. In response to the designation of the second user received, the storage unit updates the information of the time slots for which the second user will make a reservation for each channel. The program according to claim 1, which determines a time slot for the second user to make a reservation based on time slot information corresponding to the channel information from which the first user makes an inquiry.

5. In the acquisition step, the information of the channel to be acquired is: Information on telephone answering service providers that mediate reservation requests. Information of the chat system that interacts with the first user in a chat format, Information about a messaging tool that can send and receive messages with the aforementioned first user, The program according to claim 4, which obtains at least one of the following.

6. In the aforementioned storage unit, information regarding the time frame of the second user who will receive the reservation and information regarding the number of reservations to be received within a certain period are managed for each channel in association with the channel information. The program according to claim 4, wherein in the step of determining, if the number of reservations to be received for a channel within a certain period reaches the upper limit, the program determines the time slot by making it impossible to reserve a reservation for that channel within that certain period.

7. The program according to claim 1, wherein in the step of determining, by referring to information on the business tasks of the second user, the program determines a time slot for receiving a reservation with the first user in accordance with the business tasks of the second user.

8. The program according to claim 1, wherein in the step of determining, a time slot for receiving a reservation with the first user is determined according to information on the nature of the content of the inquiry of the first user.

9. The program according to claim 1, wherein in the step of determining, the first user uses an external service and references an evaluation score from the external service, thereby determining a time slot for the second user to accept a reservation from the first user, according to the evaluation score.

10. The program further provides the following to one or more computer processors: The steps include: having the third user receive the inquiry from the first user at the request of the second user; The system is configured to perform the following steps: receive an operation from the third user to determine the time slot for the reservation between the first user and the second user; The program according to claim 1, which receives an operation from the third user to determine one or more time slots for which to accept reservations for each of the multiple inquiries from the first user.

11. A method performed by a computer having one or more computer processors, The memory unit is configured to manage information about the time slots of the second user who will be making the reservation. The above method involves one or more computer processors, The steps include obtaining information about the channel through which inquiries are received from the first user who wishes to make a reservation to the second user who will receive the reservation, The steps include determining the time slot for the second user to make a reservation based on the information of the inquiry channel obtained, A method for performing the steps of confirming a reservation request from the first user as a reservation within a determined time frame.

12. An information processing device, The memory unit is configured to manage information about the time slots of the second user who will be making the reservation. The control unit of the information processing device, The steps include obtaining information about the channel through which inquiries are received from the first user who wishes to make a reservation to the second user who will receive the reservation, The steps include determining the time slot for the second user to make a reservation based on the information of the inquiry channel obtained, An information processing device that performs the steps of confirming a reservation request from the first user as a reservation within a determined time frame.

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