Invented by Rank; Schuyler K., Peterson; Patrick M.

Artificial intelligence keeps changing how we use technology. One of the newest ideas is using AI to test and improve interactive voice assistants (IVAs). A recent patent application shows a smart way to use large language models (LLMs) to act like real people and stress-test these voice assistants. This article explains what this invention is all about, why it matters, and how it works—all in simple, easy-to-understand terms.

Background and Market Context

Voice assistants have become a helpful part of our lives. They answer questions, help us book flights, pay bills, and much more. You can find them on phones, smart speakers, websites, and even in cars. Businesses use them to handle customer service calls and online chats. The goal is to help people quickly, without needing a human agent every time.

But creating a voice assistant that really works well is not easy. People use different words, have different accents, and ask for things in their own way. Some people talk fast, some use bad grammar, and some do not know the right words to use. Others might be anxious or very direct. All these differences make it hard for companies to make a voice assistant that understands everyone.

In the past, companies would test their voice assistants by asking their engineers to pretend to be customers. But engineers know too much about how the system works. They do not always think of the strange or confusing ways real people might ask for things. This means the tests often miss out on the tricky situations that real customers bring. As a result, companies sometimes only find out about problems when real customers call in and get frustrated.

If people have a bad experience with a voice assistant, they may leave bad reviews, stop using the service, or ask to speak to a real person. This costs companies money and hurts their reputation. So, there is a big need for better ways to test and improve these systems before they go live.

This is where the new invention comes in. It uses powerful AI tools to pretend to be all kinds of customers—anxious, calm, slow, fast, and even those who do not know how to ask for help. By letting the AI act out many real-life situations, companies can find and fix problems before customers run into them. This helps companies save money, makes customers happier, and keeps the voice assistants working better over time.

Scientific Rationale and Prior Art

To understand why this invention matters, we need to look at how voice assistants have been tested in the past and what makes this new idea special.

Old-fashioned voice systems, often called IVRs (interactive voice response), followed strict scripts. They asked you to “press 1 for billing” or “press 2 for support.” These systems did not really understand what you said. They just followed a script and hoped you pressed the right button.

Modern IVAs go further. They use machine learning to understand what people say and try to have a real conversation. But even these systems have their limits. Many are not as smart or flexible as the newest large language models (LLMs), which can handle many topics and sound more like real people. LLMs are trained on huge amounts of data and can answer lots of different questions.

In the past, engineers would write test scripts or run simulations. Sometimes, they would ask real people or test groups to try the voice assistant and see what happened. But this takes a lot of time and money. Also, the people making the tests usually know too much about the system. They do not always think of the odd ways regular users might ask for help. This “insider bias” means many real-world problems are not found until after launch.

Some companies have tried using simple bots to generate test questions. But these bots are not very smart. They cannot really act like a confused or impatient customer. They do not switch their mood, speaking style, or grammar. They also cannot change their questions based on what the voice assistant says back. This means the tests are not very realistic.

This patent application is different. It uses a large language model (like GPT) to act out many types of customers. The AI can be told to act nervous, be short with its words, use bad grammar, or even speak too fast or too slow. It can ask many different types of questions and keep the conversation going until it gets an answer or gives up. Everything the AI and voice assistant say to each other is recorded, so the company can see what went right or wrong.

Because the AI is so flexible, it can create hundreds of test cases in a short time. This helps find more problems, including the strange ones that only show up with real people. The company can also save these test conversations and use them again in the future to make sure new updates do not break things that used to work.

This approach makes testing easier, faster, and much more like the real world. It uses the power of AI to mimic the wide variety of people who might use a voice assistant, making sure the system is ready for anything.

Invention Description and Key Innovations

Now, let’s look closely at how this invention works and what makes it stand out.

The main idea is to use an AI—specifically a large language model—to “play the part” of many different types of users. The AI is given a “persona,” which means a set of instructions about how to act. For example, it might be told to act like a confused person, a very direct person, a child, or someone who is upset. It might be told to speak in short sentences, use bad grammar, or talk very quickly. The AI then tries to use the voice assistant to solve a task, like booking a flight or checking a bill.

Here is how the process works:

First, a test designer (usually an engineer or operator) tells the AI what persona to use and what goal to achieve. For example, the AI might be told, “You are a worried parent trying to find out if your child’s flight is on time.” The AI then starts a conversation with the voice assistant, asking questions and responding to answers, just like a real customer would.

The AI keeps the conversation going, changing its questions if needed, until it either gets the information it wants or decides it cannot get an answer. Every question and answer is recorded. If the voice assistant does not understand or gives the wrong answer, the test is marked as a failure. If everything works, the test is marked as a success. Sometimes, the test designer might step in to make sure the AI did not ask a nonsense question or act in a way that is not realistic.

One of the smart things about this method is that the AI can be told to generate lots of different requests in a short time. It can quickly create many scenarios, such as:

• A person who only gives a flight number, like “305.”
• A person who asks in a full sentence, like “Can you tell me if flight 305 is on time today?”
• A person who uses slang or bad grammar.
• Someone who keeps repeating themselves or gets frustrated.

The system can even use a “pseudo-dialer” to make the conversation sound like a real phone call, converting text to speech and back again. This helps test both voice and text-based assistants.

After all the conversations are logged, the company can review them to see which ones worked and which ones failed. If a test fails, the logs help engineers see exactly where the problem happened. They can then fix the issue, and use the same test again to make sure it is truly fixed. This is called “regression testing”—making sure new updates do not break things that used to work.

Here are some other key features and innovations:

– The AI can be used to create hundreds of tests with many different personas, making the testing process much more thorough than before.

– The system can filter out “bad” tests that do not make sense, so only useful test cases are kept.

– Successful tests can be saved and run again in the future, helping catch new problems as the voice assistant is updated.

– The method works for both text and voice assistants, and can be used with domain-specific models (like one trained just for an airline) or more general models.

– The testing can happen without needing to involve actual customers, saving time and avoiding bad experiences.

– The whole process can be automated, so companies can keep testing and improving their voice assistants all the time.

– The invention also includes a hardware and software “orchestrator” that manages the whole process, connects to both the AI and the voice assistant, and keeps a record of everything that happens.

As a result, companies can build better, smarter, and more user-friendly voice assistants. Customers get answers faster and are less likely to get frustrated. Companies save money, keep their customers happy, and avoid the costs that come with bad service.

Conclusion

The use of AI personas for testing interactive voice assistants is a big step forward. This patent application shows a clever way to make sure voice assistants are ready for the real world, by letting an AI act out many different types of customers. The system finds problems before real people do, saves time, and makes the testing process more like real life.

As voice assistants become more common, companies need better tools to test and improve them. This invention provides a smart, flexible, and scalable way to do just that. By using the power of large language models, businesses can make sure their voice assistants are ready for anything their users might throw at them. This means happier customers, lower costs, and a better experience for everyone.

Click here https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/ and search 20250217657.