Virtual Assistant Domain Selection for Query Coverage and Cost
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Solution Overview
Problem
Companies developing devices or apps with integrated virtual assistants face challenges in configuring these assistants to meet their specific requirements due to the lack of flexibility and customizability in existing virtual assistant platforms, which are often limited to the capabilities provided by the company offering the platform.
Innovation Solution
A virtual assistant development platform that allows developers to select and configure domains from a menu of pre-existing natural language functionalities, providing tools for testing and analyzing query interpretation, cost effectiveness, and domain selection, including graphical user interfaces for domain management and pricing models.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If companies use pre-existing virtual assistant platforms, then development time and cost are reduced, but flexibility and customizability for specific requirements are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The virtual assistant capability is segmented into independent, selectable domains that can be individually chosen and configured. This allows companies to assemble custom virtual assistants from discrete functional units (domains) rather than being constrained by monolithic pre-built solutions, thereby achieving both efficiency through reuse and flexibility through customization.
Solution Approach 2:
The platform provides a universal set of domain building blocks that can be combined in multiple ways to create different virtual assistant configurations. The same domain library serves multiple companies and use cases, enabling both rapid deployment and tailored solutions through selective domain assembly.
2Reliability
If more domains are selected to improve query coverage, then the virtual assistant can interpret more queries, but the cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides feedback mechanisms including test query analysis and cost estimation tools that allow developers to evaluate the impact of domain selections before final deployment. This enables informed decision-making about which domains to include based on actual query coverage needs versus cost implications.
Solution Approach 2:
The system allows selection of a subset of domains that provides sufficient coverage for specific use cases rather than requiring all available domains. Developers can start with essential domains and add more only if needed, avoiding unnecessary costs while achieving adequate performance for their specific requirements.
3Measurement precision
If comprehensive test query analysis is performed to evaluate domain selection, then query interpretation accuracy is improved, but analysis time and computational resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
Test query analysis and cost estimation are performed during the configuration phase before final deployment. This preliminary evaluation allows developers to identify the most effective domain combinations for their specific needs, ensuring accurate query interpretation is achieved upfront rather than requiring extensive post-deployment testing and adjustment.
Data Source
AI summary
A virtual assistant platform provides a user interface for app developers to configure the enablement of domains for virtual assistants. Sets of test queries can be uploaded and statistical analyses displayed for the numbers of test queries served by each selected domain and costs for usage of each domain. Costs can vary according to complex pricing models. The user interface provides display views of tables, cost stack charts, and histograms to inform decisions that trade-off costs with benefits to the virtual assistant user experience. The platform interface shows, for individual queries, responses possible from different domains. Platform providers promote certain chosen domains.