/Patent Tracker
GoogleGranted patentAI & softwareInterest 6/10

Google patents system to guess which app you want from a short voice command

This patent describes a method for interpreting short voice commands that specify an action but do not name a specific app. The system uses machine learning to analyze your past usage and app capabilities to guess which application you intend to use.

Why it mattersIt could make voice assistants more intuitive by reducing the need to explicitly name apps in commands.

In the filing’s own words

Some implementations receive audio data capturing a verb-based succinct query that includes an action but is void of any app entity and determine, based on processing of the audio data, the action and one or more instance candidates associated with the action. Some of those implementations further query an app entity database for usage information and/or capability information of one or more app entities that correspond to the one or more instance candidates and generate, based on selecting from the one or more app entities, a response or action responsive to the verb-based succinct query.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A method implemented by one or more processors, the method comprising: receiving audio data capturing a user query that includes an action term but is void of any application entity that is descriptive of an application to which the action term is directed, the audio data being detected via one or more microphones of a client device; processing the audio data to generate a transcription of the user query; processing, using a natural language understanding engine, the transcription of the user query to determine an action that corresponds to the action term and a plurality of entity instance candidates for the action, each of the entity instance candidates being for a corresponding one of a plurality of applications accessible via the client device; querying an application entity database storing a set of application entities, for usage information of application entities that correspond to the plurality of entity instance candidates, wherein the application entities are stored in the application entity database based on being donated by multiple of the plurality of applications accessible via the client device; generating a model input based on the user query and the usage information of the application entities; processing, using a trained machine learning model, the model input to generate a model output; and causing, based on the model output, one or more actions to be performed by at least one of the plurality of applications accessible via the client device.

Facts

Company
Google (GOOGLE LLC)
Official title
Method and system for understanding and fulfilling verb-based succinct queries
Patent number
US12737416B2
Application number
18373192
Filed
Sep 26, 2023
Granted
Sep 15, 2026
Inventors
2
Claims
19

Classified under

G06F 16/632 Physics & computingG06F 16/685 Physics & computingG10L 15/22 Physics & computingG10L 2015/223 Physics & computingG10L 2015/228 Physics & computing

More from Google in AI & software

Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.