Autonomous Customer Service Agent Narrative Extraction

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current customer interaction systems, such as IVR, are cost-effective but provide an impersonal and robotic experience, often requiring cumbersome authorization processes and are inefficient due to high wait times and limited ability to handle complex customer issues.

Innovation Solution

An autonomous system that extracts customer narratives from utterances to identify and respond to problems, using processors and memory to perform methods that include generating solutions and updating narratives based on customer interactions, without the need for human intervention.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If human customer service representatives are used, then customer experience is personalized and efficient, but operational costs increase substantially

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecustomer experience qualityVSAvoidoperational cost

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The system enables customers to interact with an autonomous agent that handles account servicing independently. The agent extracts customer narratives from utterances, identifies problems autonomously, and executes solutions without human intervention, allowing the system to serve itself and reducing dependency on human representatives.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces the mechanical system of human customer service representatives with an autonomous intelligent agent. The agent uses natural language processing to understand customer narratives, extracts problems, and executes solutions, substituting human mechanical interaction with an automated intelligent system that reduces operational costs while maintaining service quality.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Loss of energy

If IVR systems are used, then operational costs are reduced, but customer experience becomes impersonal and robotic

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveoperational costVSAvoidcustomer experience quality

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of energyVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system changes the fundamental parameters of automated customer service by transitioning from scripted, predetermined responses to dynamic, narrative-based interactions. The autonomous agent extracts customer narratives, understands context and emotions, and generates personalized responses, fundamentally altering how automated systems interact with customers while maintaining cost efficiency.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces dynamics into automated customer service by enabling the system to adapt its responses based on extracted customer narratives. The agent dynamically adjusts its interaction style, problem identification approach, and solution execution based on the unique context of each customer situation, making the experience more personalized and less robotic.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

3Reliability

If scripted IVR systems are used, then authorization processes are standardized, but each customer-service session requires cumbersome authorization steps

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveauthorization process consistencyVSAvoidauthorization process complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The autonomous agent performs preliminary actions by extracting and understanding customer narratives before executing any authorization processes. By comprehending the full context of the customer's situation upfront, the system can identify and execute authorizations more efficiently, reducing the number of sequential authorization steps required while maintaining consistency and reliability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

4Adaptability or versatility

If human representatives are staffed, then complex customer issues can be handled effectively, but wait times increase and efficiency decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveproblem-solving capabilityVSAvoidaccount servicing efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The autonomous agent handles complex customer issues through self-service capabilities, independently extracting narratives, identifying problems, and executing solutions without requiring human representative intervention. This eliminates wait times associated with human availability while maintaining the ability to handle complex issues, thereby improving account servicing efficiency significantly.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Data Source

PatentUS10832255B2Systems and methods for understanding and solving customer problems by extracting and reasoning about customer narratives

Publication Date: 2020.11.10 CAPITAL ONE SERVICES LLC

AI summary

Consistent with the disclosed embodiments, systems and methods are provided herein for autonomously responding to customer problems. In one example implementation, a system performing a method is provided. The system may receive a customer utterance associated with a customer and define, based on the customer utterance, a first customer narrative comprising a first customer goal. The system may also determine whether the first customer narrative is sufficient to identify a first customer problem corresponding to at least a first problem of a plurality of problems. Responsive to determining that the first customer narrative is sufficient, the system may identify a first response corresponding with the first problem. The system may also customize the first response for the customer based on at least the first customer narrative, and execute the customized response.