Telephone Subnet Crawler for Automated System Indexing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Automated telephone response systems often frustrate callers due to difficulty navigating menus to reach a human operator and long wait times in the operator hold queue, while also being inadequate for complex requests or those with accents that speech recognition software cannot interpret.
Innovation Solution
A computerized method and system that uses a telephone subnet crawler to navigate an automated telephone system, allowing users to access a human operator or information by receiving requests, identifying relevant subnets, and initiating calls, while also providing an interface for searching and translating user inputs into the system's nodes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If automated telephone response systems use complex menu structures to handle diverse caller requests, then service coverage is improved, but navigation difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a web interface as an intermediary between callers and the automated telephone response system. This web interface allows callers to navigate the menu structure visually through a browser, eliminating the need to remember complex voice or keypad commands. The web interface translates the automated system's menu options into clickable links and forms, making navigation intuitive while maintaining access to all system services.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a visual dimension to the traditionally audio-only or keypad-based interaction. By rendering the menu structure as a web page with visual elements (buttons, links, forms), callers can see the available options and their hierarchical relationships, providing spatial and visual cues that simplify navigation through complex service structures.
2Extent of automation
If automated telephone response systems require extensive menu navigation to reach human operators, then service automation is improved, but caller satisfaction deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The web interface serves as a mediator that preserves the automated service structure while improving the caller experience. It maintains the hierarchical menu system for service automation but presents it in a user-friendly visual format with clear navigation cues, making the automated interaction more satisfying and less frustrating for callers.
Solution Approach 2:
The web interface allows callers to prepare their requests and navigate the menu structure before actually contacting the automated system. Callers can review options, fill out forms, and understand the navigation path in advance, which reduces confusion and improves satisfaction during the actual automated interaction.
3Productivity
If automated telephone response systems use speech recognition software to handle caller inputs, then service efficiency is improved, but accuracy for accented speakers deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The web interface acts as an intermediary that captures caller inputs in written form through forms and text fields, bypassing the speech recognition step entirely. This written input method is equally accurate for all speakers regardless of accent, while the system still maintains high service efficiency by processing the text input directly through the automated response system.
4Loss of information
If automated telephone response systems route callers through multiple menu levels, then information organization is improved, but wait time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The web interface adds a visual dimension that displays the entire menu hierarchy and available options simultaneously on a single page or across a few pages. Callers can see the organizational structure and jump directly to relevant sections using hyperlinks, eliminating the sequential navigation through multiple menu levels that causes wait time in traditional audio-based systems.
Data Source
AI summary
A telephone subnet crawler is used to access automated telephone response systems and index the information, contents and structure contained therein. A database of the information, contents and structure of a plurality of automated telephone response systems is created by the telephone subnet crawler. A user interface provides callers with direct access to the information, contents and structure of the automated telephone response systems contained in the database. Where an automated telephone response system requires user input, the user interface calls the automated telephone response system and navigates to the node requiring user input, provides the user input and displays the results to the user. Where an automated telephone response system connects to an operator, the user interface calls the automated telephone response system, navigates to the node for an operator, and when an operator is detected, calls the user at a user provided callback number.