Method and apparatus for managing agent interactions with enterprise customers

A computer-implemented method for managing agent interactions with customers of an enterprise, the method comprising:

• generating, by a processor, a value representative of an emotional state of a customer engaged in an ongoing interaction with a virtual agent (VA) associated with the enterprise, the value generated based, at least in part, on one or more inputs provided by the customer during the ongoing interaction;
• determining, by the processor, whether the emotional state of the customer is a non-neutral state by comparing the value with a predefined emotional threshold range;
• and
• deflecting, by the processor, the ongoing interaction to one of a human agent and a specialized VA capable of empathetically handling the ongoing interaction when it is determined that the emotional state of the customer is the non-neutral state;
• wherein the predefined emotional threshold range comprises at least a first predefined threshold value and a second predefined threshold value, the second predefined threshold value less than the first predefined threshold value;
• and
• determining the emotional state of the customer to be the non-neutral state when the value is greater than the first predefined threshold value or less than the second predefined threshold value.

An apparatus for managing agent interactions with customers of an enterprise, the apparatus comprising:

• a memory for storing instructions;
• and
• a processor configured to execute the instructions and thereby cause the apparatus to at least perform the steps of:
• generating a value representative of an emotional state of a customer engaged in an ongoing interaction with a virtual agent (VA) associated with the enterprise, the value generated based, at least in part, on one or more inputs provided by the customer during the ongoing interaction;
• determining whether the emotional state of the customer is a non-neutral state by comparing the value with a predefined emotional threshold range;
• deflecting the ongoing interaction to one of a human agent and a specialized VA capable of empathetically handling the ongoing interaction if it is determined that the emotional state of the customer is the non-neutral state;
• determining an availability of the specialized VA capable of empathetically handling the ongoing interaction;
• determining the availability of the specialized VA subsequent to determining the emotional state of the customer to be the non-neutral state and prior to deflecting the ongoing interaction;
• deflecting the ongoing interaction to the human agent when the specialized VA is determined to be unavailable;
• when the specialized agent is determined to be available, determining whether the specialized VA has previously engaged in an interaction with the customer;
• if the specialized VA has previously engaged in the interaction with the customer, determining if an outcome of the previous interaction was successful;
• deflecting the ongoing interaction from the VA to the specialized VA if the outcome of the previous interaction was successful;
• and
• deflecting the ongoing interaction from the VA to the human agent if the outcome of the previous interaction was unsuccessful.

An apparatus for managing agent interactions with customers of an enterprise, the apparatus comprising:

• a memory for storing instructions;
• and
• a processor configured to execute the instructions and thereby cause the apparatus to at least perform the steps of:
• generating a value representative of an emotional state of a customer engaged in an ongoing interaction with a virtual agent (VA) associated with the enterprise, the value generated based, at least in part, on one or more inputs provided by the customer during the ongoing interaction;
• determining whether the emotional state of the customer is a non-neutral state by comparing the value with a predefined emotional threshold range;
• and
• deflecting the ongoing interaction to one of a human agent and a specialized VA capable of empathetically handling the ongoing interaction if it is determined that the emotional state of the customer is the non-neutral state;
• wherein the predefined emotional threshold range comprises at least a first predefined threshold value and a second predefined threshold value, the second predefined threshold value less than the first predefined threshold value;
• and
• wherein the apparatus is further caused to determine the emotional state of the customer to be the non-neutral state when the value is greater than the first predefined threshold value or less than the second predefined threshold value.

A computer-implemented method for managing agent interactions with customers of an enterprise, the method comprising:

• performing, by a processor, natural language processing of one or more inputs provided by a customer during an ongoing interaction with a virtual agent (VA) associated with the enterprise, the natural language processing performed to identify at least one parameter;
• generating, by the processor, a value representative of an emotional state of the customer based, at least in part, on the at least one parameter;
• determining, by the processor, whether the emotional state of the customer is a non-neutral state by comparing the value with a predefined emotional threshold range;
• wherein the predefined emotional threshold range comprises at least a first predefined threshold value and a second predefined threshold value, the second predefined threshold value less than the first predefined threshold value;
• and
• wherein the apparatus is further caused to determine the emotional state of the customer to be the non-neutral state when the value is greater than the first predefined threshold value or less than the second predefined threshold value determining, by the processor, an availability of a specialized VA capable of empathetically handling the ongoing interaction when it is determined that the emotional state of the customer is the non-neutral state;
• when the specialized VA is determined to be available, determining by the processor, whether the specialized VA has previously engaged in an interaction with the customer;
• if the specialized VA has previously engaged in the interaction with the customer, determining, by the processor, if an outcome of the previous interaction was successful;
• deflecting, by the processor, the ongoing interaction from the VA to the specialized VA if the outcome of the previous interaction was successful;
• and
• deflecting the ongoing interaction from the VA to a human agent if the specialized VA is determined to be unavailable or if the outcome of the previous interaction was unsuccessful.