Apparatus and Method for Managing User Chat Experiences with Businesses

A computer-implemented method of managing a chat experience of a business user desiring to chat with a selected one of a plurality of other users, the method utilizing a chat management server running computer processes comprising:

• receiving a search signal over a first network from a mobile device, under control of the business user, to indicate that the business user's mobile device is running a process configured to support a managed chat session and including data characterizing criteria for another user with whom the business user seeks to chat;
• responsive to the search signal,
• (i) identifying a set of users meeting the criteria, and
• (ii) for each user in the set of users, determining whether the user is available to engage in chat, based on member data maintained for each user including physical device status for each seat operator of the user, and
• (iii) transmitting, to the mobile device, indicia for each member of the set of users for display on the business user's mobile device, the indicia indicating whether the user is available to engage in chat;
• receiving over the first network a request message originated by the business user on the mobile device to enter a chat channel, the request message identifying a member of the set of users that the business user has selected for engaging in chat;
• and
• responsive to the request message, subscribing the business user's mobile device to the chat channel for the selected one of the set of users, and transmitting to the mobile device, over the first network, a launch-chat command.

A computer-implemented method of providing a chat experience to a user having a user's mobile device and desiring to chat with a selected one of a plurality of businesses or chat hosts, the method utilizing computer processes running on the user's mobile device comprising:

• transmitting to a chat management server a search signal, over a first network, to indicate that the user's mobile device is running a process configured to support a managed chat session and including data characterizing criteria for a business with which the user seeks to chat;
• receiving, from the chat management server, over the first network, responsive to the search signal, search results data for each business or chat host in a set of businesses or chat hosts meeting the criteria;
• responsive to a user selection of one of the businesses or chat hosts in the set of businesses or chat hosts, receiving and causing to be displayed, on the user's mobile device, indicia for channels of the selected business or chat host, the indicia indicating whether each channel is available for a chat session;
• responsive to a user selection of a channel of one of the set of businesses or chat hosts, transmitting over the first network, to the chat management server, a request message to enter the selected chat channel;
• receiving from the chat management server, over the first network, responsive to the request message, a launch-chat command, indicating that the user's mobile device has been subscribed to the selected chat channel and that a chat session has been established for the user over the selected channel;
• and
• responsive to the launch-chat command, opening a chat display box on the user's mobile device to receive chat initiated by the user that is directed over the selected channel for the business or chat host.

A non-transitory computer readable medium encoded with instructions which, when loaded into a user's mobile device, establish processes, for providing a chat experience to a user having a user's mobile device and desiring to chat with a selected one of a plurality of businesses, the processes comprising:

• transmitting to a chat management server a search signal, over a first network, to indicate that the user's mobile device is running a process configured to support a managed chat session and including data characterizing criteria for a business with which the user seeks to chat;
• receiving, from the chat management server, over the first network, responsive to the search signal, indicia for each business in a set of businesses meeting the criteria, the indicia indicating whether the business is available to engage in chat,
• displaying the indicia on the user's mobile device;
• responsive to a user selection of one of the set of businesses, transmitting over the first network, to the chat management server, a request message to enter a chat channel established for the selected one of the set of businesses;
• and
• receiving from the chat management server, over the first network, responsive to the request message, a launch-chat command, indicating that the user's mobile device has been subscribed to a chat channel for the selected one of the set of businesses, and transmitting to the mobile device, over the first network;
• responsive to the launch-chat command, opening a chat display box on the user's mobile device to receive chat initiated by the user that is directed to the selected business.