Invented by Kuang; Cliff, Lee; Jonathan, Gugel; Andy, Kaczmarek; Jesse

Today, digital helpers are everywhere. We talk to them, type to them, and ask them to remind us, call people, or even find recipes. But what if your automated assistant could do more on its own—without you asking every step of the way? Let’s explore a new patent application that aims to make this possible. We’ll look at why this matters in the tech world, how the science behind it works, and what makes this invention unique.

Background and Market Context

In today’s world, almost everyone uses digital devices to manage their daily lives. Smartphones, tablets, smart speakers, and even screens in our cars help us with reminders, appointments, and quick searches. Automated assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant have become household names. They are often used for simple actions: set a reminder, turn on music, check the weather, or send a message.

But these assistants, for all their smarts, usually wait for us to tell them what to do next. If you ask it to remind you to “call the plumber tomorrow,” it will remind you at the right time. But then what? You still have to find numbers, check schedules, maybe compare prices, and make the call yourself. The assistant is often just the first step in a long to-do list.

People now expect more from technology. We want things to just work, with less tapping and talking. We want an assistant that not only reminds us, but also does the legwork, and updates us on what’s done and what’s left. Businesses see this too. Tech companies are racing to make assistants more helpful, proactive, and able to handle more complex, real-world tasks.

This is where the new patent application comes in. It focuses on making automated assistants better at helping with real activities, not just by reminding us, but by figuring out what needs to be done, doing it, and letting us know what’s happening—all with less work from us. The assistant can pull in data from apps and devices, start tasks ahead of time, and keep us updated with a custom display that shows what’s complete, what’s in progress, and what needs our attention.

For the market, this means assistants are moving from being passive and reactive to being active and predictive. This could save users time and reduce the number of steps they have to do, making tech feel more like a real helper and less like another thing to manage. It also sets the stage for new business models, partnerships between apps and assistants, and even new devices built with these smarts from the ground up.

As people do more online and on their devices, the need for smarter automation keeps growing. The big tech companies are pushing hard, but so are startups and even companies outside traditional tech. Smart homes, smart cars, and even health care devices are all looking for ways to help people do more with less effort. The ability to have an assistant that not only reminds but acts, and that can show you a clear, simple view of progress, could be a big leap forward.

Scientific Rationale and Prior Art

To understand why this invention matters, let’s look at how digital assistants have worked until now and what science is behind them.

Traditional automated assistants work in a loop: they wait for you to say or type something, figure out what you want, and then respond. They use speech recognition to turn your words into text, natural language understanding (NLU) to get the meaning, and then find the best way to help. If you say, “Remind me to bake bread tomorrow,” the assistant will set a reminder for you.

But after that, you’re on your own. If you then need to find a recipe, check if you have flour, or buy yeast, you have to start new actions—often by going into other apps or talking to the assistant again. The assistant doesn’t usually know what tasks come next, or what you might need to do to finish your activity.

Some systems have tried to bridge this gap. For example, some assistants can suggest related actions, like sending a text after you set a meeting. Others can trigger routines—like turning off lights and setting an alarm when you say “good night.” But these routines are often set up by the user ahead of time, or they only work for simple, predictable actions.

A few research projects and products have tried to make assistants more proactive. For example, some can suggest leaving early if there’s traffic before your meeting. Some can notice you forgot to reply to an important email and nudge you. But most of these are based on patterns and predictions, not on breaking down complex activities into steps and handling the steps for you.

The big challenge is in knowing what steps are needed for a real-world activity, figuring out what can be done ahead of time, and tracking progress in a way that makes sense to users. This takes more than just listening and responding—it takes understanding, planning, and acting in the background.

Prior art—meaning existing patents and products—have focused on things like:

• Setting reminders or alarms for users
• Running routines or macros when triggered by the user
• Suggesting related apps or actions after a request
• Showing basic status updates in a generic interface

But they rarely break down activities into tasks on their own, or do those tasks without being told. They don’t usually talk to outside services, update the user as things get done, or change their interface to show only what’s left or what needs attention. They also don’t pull in data from many sources, or let the assistant act on its own to move things forward.

The science behind making this work combines speech and text recognition, intent detection, data gathering from apps and the web, machine learning to guess what tasks are needed, and UI design to show users what’s happening. It also needs secure ways to connect to other apps, privacy controls, and logic to decide when the assistant should act and when it should ask the user.

This invention stands out because it lets the assistant:

• Figure out what tasks are part of an activity, using data and models
• Start tasks ahead of time, without being asked each time
• Talk to outside people or companies (like a plumber or bakery) directly
• Show a custom, changing display that tracks progress and next steps
• Update itself as things get done, even if done outside the assistant

This is a big step beyond just reminders or routines. It’s about making the assistant truly helpful, truly proactive, and able to keep the user informed without extra work.

Invention Description and Key Innovations

Let’s break down what this patent application covers, and how it works in plain language.

First, imagine you say to your assistant, “Remind me to bake bread tomorrow.” Instead of just setting a reminder, the assistant thinks: what does baking bread involve? It might include finding a recipe, checking for ingredients, shopping for missing items, and setting a time to start.

The assistant uses data it can access—like your favorite recipe sites, your grocery list app, and your calendar—to figure out what you need. It can use smart models (machine learning) and rules (heuristics) to guess what tasks are needed. It might check your pantry list, see you’re out of yeast, and get ready to add it to your shopping app.

When you look at your device the next day, instead of just seeing a reminder, you see a custom display (GUI) with clear choices. You might see:

• A link to the chosen recipe
• An option to buy missing ingredients (pre-filled in your shopping cart)
• A button to schedule a time to start baking
• Progress bars or checkmarks to show what’s ready and what’s left

If you go shopping and buy yeast, the assistant notices (by checking your grocery app, with your permission), and updates the display. The option to buy yeast goes away, since it’s done. If you finish one step, the next step appears. The assistant keeps the display up to date, so you always know what’s left and don’t see old reminders about things you’ve already done.

Now imagine a more complex job, like “Help me schedule a plumber tomorrow.” The assistant:

• Finds local plumbers
• Checks their hours
• Contacts them—by text or call or their app—to ask about times
• Shows you which ones can come, and when
• Lets you pick the one you want, or even picks for you based on your past choices
• Adds the appointment to your calendar, and reminds you what to do next (like clear the area or wait for a call)

All this can happen with less back-and-forth. The assistant does the hard work, updates you as things change, and keeps the display simple and only showing what matters now.

Here are some of the key features that make this invention different:

1. Proactive Task Breaking and Completion

The assistant doesn’t just wait for you. It uses what you say and what it knows to figure out all the steps in an activity. It then works ahead—finding info, contacting people, shopping, or checking schedules—so you don’t have to do each step yourself.

2. Dynamic, Customizable GUI

Your device shows a custom display for each activity. The interface changes as tasks are done, showing only what’s left or what needs your attention. If you buy an ingredient, that option vanishes. If the assistant schedules an appointment, you see a clear update. This makes it easy to track progress and keeps you from seeing clutter or old reminders.

3. Cross-App and Cross-Entity Integration

The assistant talks to different apps (like shopping, calendar, or video) and even to outside companies (like a bakery or plumber) on your behalf. It can work with these apps directly, add things to your cart, send messages, or make calls, so you don’t have to switch between apps or repeat actions.

4. Context-Aware Updates

The assistant uses what it knows about your context—time, place, calendar, past actions—to decide what to do and when. If you change your plans, or if a store closes, the assistant updates the plan and the display to keep things on track. It can even suggest new actions if something changes.

5. User Control and Transparency

While the assistant acts on its own, you’re always in control. You can see what’s been done, what’s coming up, and step in at any time. You can cancel actions, pick among choices, or leave it all to the assistant. The display is clear and easy to use, so you never feel lost or out of the loop.

6. Privacy and Permissions

The assistant only uses data and apps you let it use. You grant permission for it to check your grocery list, calendar, or shopping app. It uses this data to be helpful, but you can always say no or limit what it can see or do.

All these features work together to create an assistant that’s much closer to a real helper: one that takes care of the details, keeps you informed, and gives you just the right amount of control.

The patent also covers how these actions are managed behind the scenes. The assistant uses engines for speech and text, intent detection, task breakdown, context checking, and status updates. It can talk to local and online services, run on your device or in the cloud, and change its display based on what’s needed now. It works with all kinds of devices, from phones to smart screens to speakers, and adapts to your habits.

This kind of system could change how people use digital devices and assistants. Instead of doing everything step by step, you could just say what you want, and your assistant would handle the rest—finding info, talking to companies, shopping, and keeping you in the loop, all with a simple display that updates as things get done.

Conclusion

This patent application shows a big leap in how automated assistants can help us. Instead of just setting reminders or running simple routines, the assistant can now break down real activities into steps, work ahead to get them done, and keep us updated with a smart, simple interface. It can talk to other apps and even outside companies to make things happen, and it updates its display as things change.

For users, this means less time spent managing tasks and more time getting things done. For businesses, it opens up new ways to make services easier and more connected. And for the world of digital devices, it marks a move towards true digital helpers—ones that act, plan, and keep us in control, all while making life a bit simpler.

As technology keeps moving forward, inventions like this will shape how we interact with our devices and the world around us. The future of assistants is not just about talking and listening—it’s about real, proactive help, done for you, and shown in a way that’s easy to use and understand.

Click here https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/ and search 20250335152.