# US 11,308,949 B2 · Voice assistant response system based on a tone, keyword, language or etiquette behavioral rule > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,308,949 B2 - Document ID: US11308949B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/299,748 - Filed: 2019-03-12 - Published: 2020-09-17 - Granted: 2022-04-19 - Earliest claimed: 2019-03-12 - Assignees: International Business Machines Corporation - Applicants: International Business Machines Corporation - Inventors: Lisa Seacat DeLuca; Jeremy R. Fox; Kelley Anders - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11308949B2 ## CPC - G10L 15/22: Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue - G06F 9/547: {Remote procedure calls [RPC]; Web services} - G06N 5/025: Extracting rules from data - G10L 15/08: Speech classification or search - G10L 25/63: for estimating an emotional state - G10L 2015/088: {Word spotting} - G10L 2015/223: {Execution procedure of a spoken command} - G10L 2015/225: {Feedback of the input speech} - G10L: SPEECH ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES OR SPEECH SYNTHESIS; SPEECH RECOGNITION; SPEECH OR VOICE PROCESSING TECHNIQUES; SPEECH OR AUDIO CODING OR DECODING - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) - G06N: COMPUTING ARRANGEMENTS BASED ON SPECIFIC COMPUTATIONAL MODELS ## Abstract A method, computer system, and a computer program product for voice assistant responses is provided. The present invention may include configuring a behavioral rule. The present invention may include receiving a verbal request from a user and comparing the received verbal request to the behavioral rule. The present invention may then include determining that the received verbal request does not comply with the behavioral rule. The present invention may lastly include providing a response to the user based on determining that the received verbal request does not comply with the behavioral rule. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method for voice assistant responses, the method comprising: configuring a behavioral rule; receiving a verbal request from a user and comparing the received verbal request to the behavioral rule; detecting a presence of a nearby user, based on a volume of speech of the nearby user, using a speech classifier based on spectral characteristics of speech, and enforcing the behavioral rule based on the detected presence and a time of day that the voice assistant is being used; determining that the received verbal request does not comply with the behavioral rule; and providing a response to the user based on determining that the received verbal request does not comply with the behavioral rule; wherein the behavioral rule is selected from a group consisting of a tone rule, a keyword rule, a language rule, and an etiquette rule. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the response provided to the user is one of a visual response and an audible response, and is selected from a group consisting of a question, a prompt for a revised request from the user, and a gamified response. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein an override capability activates to override the behavioral rule when an activating person's voice is heard during a specified hour. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein configuring the behavioral rule further comprises: receiving a set of preferences within a mobile or web application interface, based on a verbal command or question. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the received verbal request does not comply with the behavioral rule further comprises: analyzing the received verbal request using one or more connected application programming interfaces (APIs); and detecting a keyword defined within the behavioral rule. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising: accessing an observed behavior corpus; and creating a new behavioral rule based on sensor data and interaction history within the observed behavior corpus. ### Claim 7 A computer system for voice assistant responses, comprising: one or more processors, one or more computer-readable memories, one or more computer-readable tangible storage medium, and program instructions stored on at least one of the one or more tangible storage medium for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories, wherein the computer system is capable of performing a method comprising: configuring a behavioral rule; receiving a verbal request from a user and comparing the received verbal request to the behavioral rule; detecting a presence of a nearby user, based on a volume of speech of the nearby user, using a speech classifier based on spectral characteristics of speech, and enforcing the behavioral rule based on the detected presence and a time of day that the voice assistant is being used; determining that the received verbal request does not comply with the behavioral rule; and providing a response to the user based on determining that the received verbal request does not comply with the behavioral rule; wherein the behavioral rule is selected from a group consisting of a tone rule, a keyword rule, a language rule, and an etiquette rule. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The computer system of claim 7, wherein the response provided to the user is one of a visual response and an audible response. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The computer system of claim 7, wherein the response provided to the user is selected from a group consisting of a question, a prompt for a revised request from the user, and a gamified response. ### Claim 10 (depends on 7) The computer system of claim 7, wherein configuring the behavioral rule further comprises: receiving a set of preferences within a mobile or web application interface, based on a verbal command or question. ### Claim 11 (depends on 7) The computer system of claim 7, wherein determining that the received verbal request does not comply with the behavioral rule further comprises: analyzing the received verbal request using one or more connected application programming interfaces (APIs); and detecting a keyword defined within the behavioral rule. ### Claim 12 (depends on 7) The computer system of claim 7, further comprising: accessing an observed behavior corpus; and creating a new behavioral rule based on sensor data and interaction history within the observed behavior corpus. ### Claim 13 A computer program product for voice assistant responses, comprising: one or more computer-readable storage media and program instructions stored on at least one of the one or more tangible storage media, the program instructions executable by a processor to cause the processor to perform a method comprising: configuring a behavioral rule; receiving a verbal request from a user and comparing the received verbal request to the behavioral rule; detecting a presence of a nearby user, based on a volume of speech of the nearby user, using a speech classifier based on spectral characteristics of speech, and enforcing the behavioral rule based on the detected presence and a time of day that the voice assistant is being used; determining that the received verbal request does not comply with the behavioral rule; and providing a response to the user based on determining that the received verbal request does not comply with the behavioral rule; wherein the behavioral rule is selected from a group consisting of a tone rule, a keyword rule, a language rule, and an etiquette rule. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the response provided to the user is one of a visual response and an audible response. ### Claim 15 (depends on 13) The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the response provided to the user is selected from a group consisting of a question, a prompt for a revised request from the user, and a gamified response. ### Claim 16 (depends on 13) The computer program product of claim 13, wherein determining that the received verbal request does not comply with the behavioral rule further comprises: analyzing the received verbal request using one or more connected application programming interfaces (APIs); and detecting a keyword defined within the behavioral rule. ### Claim 17 (depends on 13) The computer program product of claim 13, further comprising: accessing an observed behavior corpus; and creating a new behavioral rule based on sensor data and interaction history within the observed behavior corpus.