Constance Mary James

US Patent:

8271509, Sep 18, 2012

Filed:

Nov 20, 2008

Appl. No.:

12/274951

Inventors:

Edward Patton Dauginas - Charlotte NC, US
Constance Landreth James - Kannapolis NC, US
Brooke Kathryn Monberg - Portland ME, US
William C. A. Suayan - Fremont CA, US
Wenxin Yu - Needham MA, US

Assignee:

Bank of America Corporation - Charlotte NC

International Classification:

G06F 17/30
G06F 3/00
G06Q 50/00

US Classification:

707758, 707798, 707766, 707767, 715758, 705304, 705346

Abstract:

Embodiments of the invention provide systems, methods, and computer program products for providing improved customer service by presenting a customer with an invitation to chat with a customer service associate that is skilled in a subject matter of interest to the customer and is currently available to chat with the customer. For example, in one embodiment, a system is provided having a communication interface configured to receive a search query from a consumer, such as an Internet search query entered into a search field of a web page. The system further comprises a processor operatively coupled to the communication interface and configured to compare information about the search query to one or more rules stored in a memory to determine whether a customer service associate skilled in an area related to the subject matter of the search query is currently available to chat with the consumer over, for example, the Internet.