NativeMinds Wins New Patent on Technology that Helps Computers "Think" More Like Humans
Context-sensitive technology allows virtual customer service reps to better understand conversational questions from online customers
San Francisco, CA - 2001-12-17 - Pronouns got your computer down? Humans can understand ambiguous statements in everyday language, from understanding the context of pronouns such as "it" to realizing what a person means when she says "tell me more." But most customer service software solutions that let computers talk and think like humans are not able to comprehend pronouns and other context-sensitive questions. NativeMinds Inc., a leading provider of online customer service software for creating virtual representatives, announced today it has been awarded a patent for technology that allows virtual reps to interpret and respond accurately to context-sensitive questions. With context sensitivity, NativeMinds' virtual representatives outperform conventional natural language customer service technologies by recognizing shifts in conversational flow and interacting with online customers more effectively. The technology patent is the second one awarded to the company this year.
The patented technology, a key element of NativeMinds' flagship product NeuroServer®, allows virtual representatives -- called vRepsTM -- to have more human-like conversations, a critical factor in making people feel comfortable talking to computers in Web customer service situations. Now, businesses can create virtual service agents that are able to follow the context of a conversation, preventing them from giving inaccurate answers that confuse or frustrate online customers.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office assigned patent number 6,314,410 to NativeMinds for its conversational context-handling technology. The invention allows developers of virtual service reps to link particular questions and answers with specific subjects that are used during customer conversations. These links are an integral part of helping vReps understand context in a conversation. The NeuroServer searches through the list of subjects to determine the context and meaning of ambiguous questions, allowing the vRep to respond appropriately.
Humanizing Online Self Service
NativeMinds is helping companies build stronger relationships with online customers by emulating the best in live customer service. For example, a user talking with a virtual auto mechanic about technician hotlines might then ask,"Is there an e-mail address?" The context-sensitivity technology enables the vRep to understand that the user is referring to a specific kind of e-mail address for technicians, and not a general e-mail address. Other "context" technologies that include pronoun analysis and pronoun replacement are not effective enough for self-service applications because of the complexity of language structure. These technologies are unable to recognize or understand a statement such as "Tell me more," because the sentence does not contain a pronoun referring to the subject of the user's interest. NativeMinds' context sensitivity follows the customer's change of topic and interprets the question correctly whereas most other self-service technologies fail.
Making Self-Service Development Faster and Easier
The patented context-sensitivity technology makes it faster and easier for administrators of vReps to add content to the knowledge source while maintaining its ability to handle context. If the vRep already has information about a subject and a new question/answer pair is added to its knowledge source, the question/answer pair can be linked in one step to all related questions about the same subject. This aspect saves time because it eliminates the need to re-enter the context-sensitivity association for each new question. The virtual representative's knowledge can grow faster, allowing it to "learn" more quickly, which in turn gives customers an increased level of customer service.
"The need for companies to maximize customer loyalty through improved online service has become imperative for business success," said Walter Tackett, NativeMinds' chairman and co-founder. "Our patented technology ensures that a conversation with a vRep will be both familiar and accurate, giving customers a positive and productive online experience, and creating a reliable, new form of customer service."
About NativeMinds
NativeMinds Inc. is a pioneer in the development of software for creating automated online customer service agents, called virtual representatives, or vReps. vReps created with NativeMinds' NeuroServer product enhance the customer experience and lower support costs by emulating live customer service agents and deflecting inquiries from more expensive service channels such as call centers and e-mail response. Leading NativeMinds customers include Ford Motor Company, Oracle, Convergys, Nissan, GlaxoSmithKline, Department of Defense, One 2 One (Deutsche Telekom), Miller Brewing Co. and Revlon. NativeMinds is a privately held corporation based in San Francisco. For more information and to talk to a vRep, visit www.nativeminds.com.
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