# US 2019/0171659 A1 · Automated news digest > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2019/0171659 A1 - Document ID: US20190171659A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 16/266,430 - Filed: 2019-02-04 - Published: 2019-06-06 - Earliest claimed: 2016-03-15 - Assignees: Google Inc. - Applicants: Google LLC - Inventors: Pan Gu; Mayuresh Saoji; Yuqiang Guan; Maricia Scott; Vikas Sukla; Anand Devraj Paka - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20190171659A1 ## CPC - G06F 16/345: {Summarisation for human users} - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) ## Abstract Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for automatic generation of news digests. One of the methods includes accessing a database storing news snapshots, each snapshot identifying a predetermined quantity of top news stories for a period of time, each of the top news stories in a particular snapshot for a particular period of time ranked according to an importance score that measures the importance of the news story relative to other news stories for the particular period of time, determining a digest time period, determining, for the digest time period, all of the snapshots with periods of time included in the digest time period, generating, from the top news stories in the determined snapshots, a digest ranking of digest news stories, and providing, to a user device, data identifying one or more of the digest news stories for presentation according to the digest ranking. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A computer implemented method, comprising: accessing a database storing news snapshots, each snapshot identifying a predetermined quantity of top news stories for a respective period of time, wherein the respective period of time for each snapshot is different from the respective period of time for each of the other snapshots, each of the top news stories in a particular snapshot for a particular period of time a) ranked according to an importance score that measures the importance of the news story relative to other news stories for the particular period of time and b) represented by one or more articles that describe the top news story, each of the periods of time having a predetermined length; determining a digest time period that includes at least two or more of the periods of time, wherein the predetermined length for each of the two or more periods of time is shorter than a length for the digest time period; determining, for the digest time period by accessing the database, two or more snapshots with periods of time included in the digest time period; generating, from the top news stories in the determined two or more snapshots, a digest ranking of digest news stories for the digest time period using the importance scores for each of the top news stores included in the determined two or more snapshots; and providing, to a user device, data identifying a plurality of the digest news stories, the plurality of the digest news stories including two or more top news story from at least two or more of the snapshots, to cause the user device to present the plurality of digest news stories according to the digest ranking, the data identifying the plurality of digest news stories including and identifying the respective period of time within the digest time period for which the digest news story is the top news story for the snapshot. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein generating, from the top news stories in the determined two or more snapshots, the digest ranking of the digest news stories for the digest time period comprises: determining first top news stories included in the determined snapshots; selecting, using the importance scores for the determined first top news stories, second top news stories for the digest time period from the determined first top news stories; and ranking the second top news stories using the importance scores for each of the second top news stories. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The system of claim 2, wherein selecting the second top news stories for the digest time period from the determined first top news stories comprises: determining, for each of the determined first top news stories that is included in two or more of the determined snapshots, a maximum importance score for the determined first top news story using the importance scores for the determined top news story from each of the determined snapshots; and selecting, as the second top news stories, the determined first top news stories that each have a maximum importance score greater than each of the maximum importance scores for the other determined first top news stories not including the other second top news stories. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The system of claim 2, selecting the second top news stories for the digest time period from the determined first top news stories comprises: determining, for each of the determined first top news stories that is included in two or more of the determined snapshots, an average importance score for the determined first top news story using the importance scores for the determined top news story from each of the determined snapshots; and selecting, as the second top news stories, the determined first top news stories that each have an average importance score greater than each of the average importance scores for the other determined first top news stories not including the other second top news stories. ### Claim 5 (depends on 2) The system of claim 2, selecting the second top news stories for the digest time period from the determined first top news stories comprises: determining, for each of the determined first top news stories that is included in two or more of the determined snapshots, a median importance score for the determined first top news story using the importance scores for the determined top news story from each of the determined snapshots; and selecting, as the second top news stories, the determined first top news stories that each have a median importance score greater than each of the median importance scores for the other determined first top news stories not including the other second top news stories. ### Claim 6 (depends on 2) The system of claim 2, selecting the second top news stories for the digest time period from the determined first top news stories comprises: determining, for each of the determined first top news stories that is included in two or more of the determined snapshots, an importance score rate of change for the determined first top news story using the importance scores for the determined top news story from each of the determined snapshots; and selecting, as the second top news stories, the determined first top news stories that each have an importance score rate of change greater than each of the importance score rates of change for the other determined first top news stories not including the other second top news stories. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein determining the digest time period that includes at least two or more of the periods of time comprises receiving, from a user device, a request for a news digest for the digest time period. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the data identifying the plurality of digest news stories including and identifying the respective period of time within the digest time period for which the digest news story is the top news story for the snapshot comprises data that is presented by a digital assistant. ### Claim 9 A computer-implemented method comprising: accessing a database storing news snapshots, each snapshot identifying a predetermined quantity of top news stories for a respective period of time, wherein the respective period of time for each snapshot is different from the respective period of time for each of the other snapshots, each of the top news stories in a particular snapshot for a particular period of time a) ranked according to an importance score that measures the importance of the news story relative to other news stories for the particular period of time and b) represented by one or more articles that describe the top news story, each of the periods of time having a predetermined length; determining a digest time period that includes at least two or more of the periods of time, wherein the predetermined length for each of the two or more periods of time is shorter than a length for the digest time period; determining, for the digest time period by accessing the database, two or more snapshots with periods of time included in the digest time period; generating, from the top news stories in the determined two or more snapshots, a digest ranking of digest news stories for the digest time period using the importance scores for each of the top news stores included in the determined two or more snapshots; and providing, to a user device, data identifying a plurality of the digest news stories, the plurality of the digest news stories including two or more top news story from at least two or more of the snapshots, to cause the user device to present the plurality of digest news stories according to the digest ranking, the data identifying the plurality of digest news stories including and identifying the respective period of time within the digest time period for which the digest news story is the top news story for the snapshot. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, wherein generating, from the top news stories in the determined two or more snapshots, the digest ranking of the digest news stories for the digest time period comprises: determining first top news stories included in the determined snapshots; selecting, using the importance scores for the determined first top news stories, second top news stories for the digest time period from the determined first top news stories; and ranking the second top news stories using the importance scores for each of the second top news stories. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, wherein selecting the second top news stories for the digest time period from the determined first top news stories comprises: determining, for each of the determined first top news stories that is included in two or more of the determined snapshots, a maximum importance score for the determined first top news story using the importance scores for the determined top news story from each of the determined snapshots; and selecting, as the second top news stories, the determined first top news stories that each have a maximum importance score greater than each of the maximum importance scores for the other determined first top news stories not including the other second top news stories. ### Claim 12 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, selecting the second top news stories for the digest time period from the determined first top news stories comprises: determining, for each of the determined first top news stories that is included in two or more of the determined snapshots, an average importance score for the determined first top news story using the importance scores for the determined top news story from each of the determined snapshots; and selecting, as the second top news stories, the determined first top news stories that each have an average importance score greater than each of the average importance scores for the other determined first top news stories not including the other second top news stories. ### Claim 13 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, selecting the second top news stories for the digest time period from the determined first top news stories comprises: determining, for each of the determined first top news stories that is included in two or more of the determined snapshots, a median importance score for the determined first top news story using the importance scores for the determined top news story from each of the determined snapshots; and selecting, as the second top news stories, the determined first top news stories that each have a median importance score greater than each of the median importance scores for the other determined first top news stories not including the other second top news stories. ### Claim 14 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, selecting the second top news stories for the digest time period from the determined first top news stories comprises: determining, for each of the determined first top news stories that is included in two or more of the determined snapshots, an importance score rate of change for the determined first top news story using the importance scores for the determined top news story from each of the determined snapshots; and selecting, as the second top news stories, the determined first top news stories that each have an importance score rate of change greater than each of the importance score rates of change for the other determined first top news stories not including the other second top news stories. ### Claim 15 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, wherein determining the digest time period that includes at least two or more of the periods of time comprises receiving, from a user device, a request for a news digest for the digest time period. ### Claim 16 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, wherein the data identifying the plurality of digest news stories including and identifying the respective period of time within the digest time period for which the digest news story is the top news story for the snapshot comprises data that is presented by a digital assistant. ### Claim 17 A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions executable by a data processing apparatus and upon such execution cause the data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising: accessing a database storing news snapshots, each snapshot identifying a predetermined quantity of top news stories for a respective period of time, wherein the respective period of time for each snapshot is different from the respective period of time for each of the other snapshots, each of the top news stories in a particular snapshot for a particular period of time a) ranked according to an importance score that measures the importance of the news story relative to other news stories for the particular period of time and b) represented by one or more articles that describe the top news story, each of the periods of time having a predetermined length; determining a digest time period that includes at least two or more of the periods of time, wherein the predetermined length for each of the two or more periods of time is shorter than a length for the digest time period; determining, for the digest time period by accessing the database, two or more snapshots with periods of time included in the digest time period; generating, from the top news stories in the determined two or more snapshots, a digest ranking of digest news stories for the digest time period using the importance scores for each of the top news stores included in the determined two or more snapshots; and providing, to a user device, data identifying a plurality of the digest news stories, the plurality of the digest news stories including two or more top news story from at least two or more of the snapshots, to cause the user device to present the plurality of digest news stories according to the digest ranking, the data identifying the plurality of digest news stories including and identifying the respective period of time within the digest time period for which the digest news story is the top news story for the snapshot.