Virtual Assistant Option Reselection via Reference Identifier
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current conversation service software applications lack robust mechanisms for dynamic option reselection during communication sessions, leading to errors and disjointed conversations when users change their selections, and this feature is not consistently supported across different natural language processing vendors and platforms.
Innovation Solution
A computer system and method that associates option selections with intent workflows and session states, using a reference identifier to restore the conversation session to the original state when a user modifies their selection, allowing seamless continuation of the conversation without requiring users to restart from the initial state.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a conversation service software application provides users with the ability to select from multiple options in an intent workflow, then the application can efficiently route users to appropriate workflows, but the application lacks robust mechanisms to handle changes to option selections during the same communication session
Solution Approach 1:
The system stores a reference identifier associated with the option selection feature in the conversation state before the user makes a selection. This preliminary action enables the system to later restore the conversation to the correct state when option changes are detected, ensuring workflow consistency while maintaining ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system detects changes to option selections by comparing current selections with previously stored selections and reference identifiers. When changes are detected, the system provides feedback by restoring the conversation to the appropriate prior state, ensuring that workflow consistency is maintained even as users change their minds.
2Ease of operation
If users scroll back to change prior option selections, then users can correct incorrect choices, but current applications have difficulty returning the conversation session to the previous state, leading to errors and disjointed conversations
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates a copy of the conversation state including the reference identifier associated with the option selection feature at the time of the original selection. When users change options, the system uses this stored copy to restore the conversation to the correct prior state, preventing loss of information and maintaining continuity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary action by storing the reference identifier and conversation state information before the user makes or changes selections. This allows the system to later restore the exact prior state when needed, ensuring that conversation continuity is maintained without errors.
3Adaptability or versatility
If separate code bases and NLP vendors are used for different channels, then each channel can be optimized independently, but consistency and uniformity are lost when implementing option re-selection features
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements a universal reference identifier mechanism that works across multiple channels and NLP vendors. By using channel-agnostic conversation state storage and reference identifier management, the system achieves option re-selection functionality uniformly across headless channels, website chatbots, mobile applications, and voice response systems without requiring separate implementations.
4Ease of operation
If the conversation session is restored to a previous state using reference identifier, then seamless continuation is achieved, but additional tracking and restoration mechanisms are required
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces a reference identifier as an intermediary element that links option selection features to their associated conversation states. This reference identifier acts as a mediator that enables seamless restoration without requiring complex direct state management, as the reference identifier efficiently connects the current state with the prior state that needs to be restored.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatuses are described for dynamic option reselection in virtual assistant (VA) communication sessions. A chat session is established between a VA application and a remote computing device. The VA application captures a first conversation intent generated by a user of the remote device, where the first conversation intent is part of a first workflow. The VA application generates an option selection feature based upon the first conversation intent, comprising a plurality of options and associated with a reference identifier. The VA application receives a selection of a first option in the option selection feature from the remote device. The VA application initiates a second workflow in response to the selected. The VA application detects a selection of a second option in the option selection feature from the remote device and restores the chat session to a state in the first workflow using the reference identifier.