US 11,790,169 B2
Methods and systems of answering frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Zachary Alexander, Berkeley, CA (US)
Assigned to Salesforce, Inc., San Francisco, CA (US)
Filed by Salesforce, Inc., San Francisco, CA (US)
Filed on Apr. 2, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/221,691.
Prior Publication US 2022/0318501 A1, Oct. 6, 2022
Int. Cl. G06F 40/279 (2020.01); G10L 15/06 (2013.01); G10L 15/22 (2006.01)
CPC G06F 40/279 (2020.01) [G10L 15/063 (2013.01); G10L 15/22 (2013.01)] 15 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method performed by an answering system implemented using an electronic device, the method comprising:
receiving an utterance representative of a question from a user;
determining a decision score for the utterance that is indicative of the likelihood that the utterance is answerable according to a set of frequently asked questions and answers, wherein the determining the decision score includes:
determining a plurality of similarity scores for the utterance and the questions from the frequently asked questions and answers,
selecting a similarity score from the plurality of similarity scores for the utterance, wherein the similarity score is indicative of a question from the set of frequently asked questions and answers satisfying a similarity criterion with the utterance, and
converting the similarity score into the decision score;
determining for the utterance a candidate answer from the set of frequently asked questions and answers and a selection score for the candidate answer according to a multi-class classification model that includes the answers from the set of frequently asked questions and answers as classification classes;
determining, based on the decision score and the selection score, a total score for the candidate answer and the utterance, wherein the total score is indicative of the likelihood that the candidate answer is a correct answer for the utterance according to the set of frequently asked questions and answers; and
outputting the candidate answer as an answer to the question from the user in response to determining that the total score satisfies a threshold.