System And Method For Delivering Targeted Advertisements And/Or Providing Natural Language Processing Based On Advertisements
Patent No. US12236456 (titled "System And Method For Delivering Targeted Advertisements And/Or Providing Natural Language Processing Based On Advertisements") was filed by Contingency Capital Fund A Lp on Aug 2, 2021.
What is this patent about?
’456 is related to the field of targeted advertising and natural language processing. Existing voice user interfaces often require users to memorize specific syntaxes or keywords, hindering intuitive interaction. This leads to missed opportunities for providing relevant information and fulfilling consumer demand, especially in voice-based interactions, which are a natural method of human communication. The patent addresses the problem of ineffective voice user interfaces in delivering targeted advertisements.
The underlying idea behind ’456 is to leverage natural language processing of voice-based inputs to deliver targeted advertisements and track user interactions to refine future ad selections. The system analyzes a user's spoken request, determines its context, and then selects a relevant purchase opportunity (advertisement). Crucially, the system learns from the user's interaction with the ad, updating the user's profile to improve the relevance of subsequent ad selections.
The claims of ’456 focus on a method and system for processing voice-based natural language utterances to select and present purchase opportunities. The independent claims cover receiving a user's spoken request, recognizing words and phrases, determining the context of the utterance, selecting a purchase opportunity based on the context, delivering the opportunity to the user's device, tracking the user's interaction with the opportunity, building a user-specific profile based on that interaction, and using the profile to interpret subsequent utterances and select further purchase opportunities.
In practice, the system works by first converting speech to text using a speech recognition engine. Then, a conversational language processor analyzes the text to determine the user's intent and context. Based on this context, the system selects a relevant advertisement from a repository. The selected advertisement is then presented to the user, and the system monitors whether the user clicks on the ad, makes a purchase, or otherwise interacts with it. This interaction data is then used to update the user's profile, which helps the system to better target future advertisements.
The key differentiation from prior approaches lies in the closed-loop feedback mechanism . Instead of simply displaying ads based on keywords or demographics, this system actively learns from user behavior to improve ad relevance over time. By tracking user interactions and updating user profiles, the system can deliver more personalized and effective advertisements, leading to increased engagement and conversion rates. This adaptive approach contrasts with static or rule-based ad selection methods.
How does this patent fit in bigger picture?
Technical landscape at the time
In the mid-2000s when ’456 was filed, voice recognition technology was emerging as a viable interface for electronic devices, at a time when systems commonly relied on keyword spotting and rule-based grammars rather than statistical language models for natural language understanding. At that time, targeted advertising was typically implemented using web-based cookies and user profiling, when hardware or software constraints made real-time analysis of voice-based input for ad selection non-trivial.
Novelty and Inventive Step
The examiner allowed the claims because the invention overrides the routine and conventional use of selecting and presenting purchase opportunities based on speech recognition and user context tracking. The examiner withdrew the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 101, finding that the amended claims do not recite an abstract idea or, if they do, they improve the functioning of a computer or other technology. The examiner also stated that the closest prior art barely reads on or teaches the claimed invention, particularly the combination of limitations in the independent claims.
Claims
This patent contains 56 claims, with independent claims 1 and 11. The independent claims focus on a method and a system for processing voice-based natural language utterances to select and present purchase opportunities. The dependent claims generally elaborate on and refine the features of the independent claims.
Key Claim Terms New
Definitions of key terms used in the patent claims.
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Date
Description
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US12236456
- Application Number
- US17391388
- Filing Date
- Aug 2, 2021
- Status
- Granted
- Expiry Date
- Feb 6, 2027
- External Links
- Slate, USPTO, Google Patents