Automated Calling Bot for Interruption-Aware Phone Tree Navigation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Users face challenges in collecting information from multiple businesses or organizations without human interaction, as existing systems require manual selection and analysis to initiate calls, and often encounter automated phone trees that limit user responses.

Innovation Solution

A bot system that initiates telephone calls, classifies user interruptions during conversations, and adjusts its speech output based on interruption types to efficiently complete tasks like making reservations or cancellations.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If automated calling systems are implemented to collect information from multiple businesses, then productivity and efficiency are improved, but the system complexity and difficulty of handling diverse phone tree structures increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinformation collection efficiencyVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system enables automated self-service calling by using speech recognition and natural language processing to automatically navigate phone trees and collect information without human intervention. The bot autonomously places calls, understands spoken responses, and extracts relevant data, eliminating the need for manual calling while managing the complexity of diverse phone tree structures through intelligent speech-based navigation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

2Measurement precision

If manual selection and analysis of callees is performed, then call accuracy and relevance are improved, but time consumption and operational effort increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecall selection accuracyVSAvoidtime for selecting callees
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by automatically generating and placing calls to selected businesses based on predefined criteria without requiring manual selection. The bot uses pre-configured parameters to identify target businesses and automatically initiates calls, eliminating the time-consuming manual selection process while maintaining call accuracy through structured query design.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Extent of automation

If automated speech recognition is used to handle phone conversations, then operational automation is improved, but the ability to handle unexpected interruptions and varied responses decreases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveconversation automationVSAvoidhandling of interruptions
Core Design Contradiction:
Extent of automationVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The system incorporates feedback mechanisms where the bot continuously monitors speech recognition results and adjusts its navigation strategy based on the actual responses received from phone tree systems. When encountering unexpected interruptions or varied responses, the bot uses feedback from the speech recognition output to dynamically modify its approach, improving adaptability while maintaining high levels of automation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentEP3924962B1Automated calling system
Publication Date: 2025.11.19 GOOGLE LLC
  • EP3924962B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3924962B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3924962B1 patent drawingFigure 3A

AI summary

Methods, systems, and apparatus for an automated calling system are disclosed. Some implementations are directed to using a bot to initiate telephone calls and conduct telephone conversations with a user. The bot may be interrupted while providing synthesized speech during the telephone call. The interruption can be classified into one of multiple disparate interruption types, and the bot can react to the interruption based on the interruption type. Some implementations are directed to determining that a first user is placed on hold by a second user during a telephone conversation, and maintaining the telephone call in an active state in response to determining the first user hung up the telephone call. The first user can be notified when the second user rejoins the call, and a bot associated with the first user can notify the first user that the second user has rejoined the telephone call.