Avatar Queue Bots for Metaverse Customer Service Waiting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Customers in a metaverse environment are forced to wait in virtual queues for customer service representatives, unable to engage in other activities due to limited availability of agents, leading to frustration and inefficiency.
Innovation Solution
Utilizing avatar bots to wait in line on behalf of users, allowing them to engage in other activities within the metaverse until notified of their turn, with options for entertainment and information during the wait.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If customers wait in virtual queues for customer service representatives, then service quality is maintained through direct agent interaction, but customer productivity and satisfaction deteriorate due to inability to engage in other activities
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the customer service interaction into two distinct phases: (1) an automated avatar bot handles initial queue management and basic inquiries, allowing customers to remain productive; (2) a human agent handles complex issues requiring emotional intelligence and nuanced judgment. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by assigning different functions to different service components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an avatar bot as an intermediary between customers and human agents. The avatar serves as a mediator that can handle routine tasks, queue management, and basic inquiries, thereby maintaining service quality for simple matters while freeing customers to engage in other activities. Complex issues are escalated to human agents when needed.
2Loss of time
If more customer service representatives are hired to reduce wait times, then customer satisfaction improves, but operational cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates virtual copies (avatar bots) of customer service representatives that can simultaneously serve multiple customers without additional operational costs. These digital avatars handle routine inquiries and queue management, effectively reducing wait times without requiring hiring more human agents. The copying principle allows unlimited parallel service interactions at minimal marginal cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operational parameters of customer service by transitioning from purely human agents to a hybrid model incorporating AI avatars. This parameter change enables the system to handle significantly more concurrent interactions without proportional increases in operational cost, as avatar bots can serve multiple customers simultaneously without fatigue or additional compensation requirements.
3Productivity
If traditional call center systems are used for customer service, then resource management is efficient through ACD and agent routing, but customer experience deteriorates due to lack of personalization and engagement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the avatar bot multi-functional, enabling it to perform diverse roles including queue management, basic customer inquiries, appointment scheduling, and seamless handoff to human agents. This universality allows a single avatar system to maintain resource management efficiency while providing personalized, engaging customer experiences across multiple service functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic customer service interactions where avatar bots can adapt their behavior, tone, and information provision based on individual customer needs and preferences. The system dynamically routes complex issues to appropriate human agents while maintaining continuous engagement with the customer through the avatar, thereby personalizing the experience without sacrificing resource management efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
A virtual reality system and method to permit a user to perform various activities in one or more metaverses while waiting in a virtual commerce space can include (1) one or more virtual reality (VR) servers configured to create multiple virtual spaces in one or more metaverses; (2) an avatar library in communication with each of the one or more VR servers; (3) a virtual commerce server in communication with the one or more VR servers and configured to communicate with a plurality of user operating devices, wherein the one or more servers are configured to receive an assistance request, generate an avatar bot as a placeholder in a virtual queue for a user, and transport an avatar of the user to a separate virtual space while the avatar bot represents the user in a virtual queue.