{
  "patent_number": "US 8285656",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "How a Smart System Verifies and Updates Customer Data",
  "original_title": "Systems and methods for data verification",
  "summary": "This patent describes an automated system that uses artificial intelligence to pick the best ways to check and update information about people or businesses, choosing from methods like web searches, phone calls, or direct mail.",
  "what_it_does": "This system automatically verifies and updates data, such as customer contact information. It includes a \"data selection module\" (Claim 1) that picks data to be checked. An \"artificial intelligence module\" (Claim 1) then decides which verification methods to use, like web-crawling, phone calls (tele-verification), or emails, based on how well those methods worked in the past (Claim 1). For example, if the system needs to verify a person's address, the AI might first try a low-cost web search. If that's not enough, it might then use a more expensive phone call for a smaller group of records, using the results to see how good the web search was (Claim 2, 3). The AI can also adapt its choices over time by monitoring how effective each method is (Claim 4).",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover systems that verify data using only one fixed method, without an AI module choosing between options.",
    "Does not cover manual data verification processes where a human decides the method for each record.",
    "Does not cover systems that select verification methods without considering prior results or cost data (Claim 1, 2).",
    "Does not cover systems that verify data without the ability to update or append information as a result of the verification.",
    "Does not cover systems that only segment data without an AI module selecting methods based on those segments (Claim 9)."
  ],
  "filed": "2008-03-28",
  "granted": "2012-10-09",
  "expires": null,
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "Consumerinfo com Inc",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/consumerinfo-com-inc",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Gregory Dean Jones",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/gregory-dean-jones"
    },
    {
      "name": "Albert Chia-Shu Chang",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/albert-chia-shu-chang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Carolyn Paige Soltes Matthies",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/carolyn-paige-soltes-matthies"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 102,
  "tags": [
    "software",
    "telecommunications",
    "ai_ml",
    "finance",
    "ecommerce"
  ],
  "abstract": "Embodiments are directed to data verification of business or consumer data. Certain embodiments include a data verification system that receives or selects data to be verified, selects one or more verification methods to verify, update, and/or append/enhance the data. The data verification system may verify the data with one or more data verification methods, either alone or in combination. The methods may include a web-crawling verification method, an agent web verification method, a call verification method, a direct mail method, an email method, an in-person verification method, or other methods. The system has the ability to, automatically or manually, (1) blend automatic and manual segmentation of records or elements by criteria such as industry type, best times of day/month/year to verify, update, or append, cost, and level of importance (2) select the best verification processing method(s), and (3) manage the results and properly verify, update, append/enhance records.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/8285656/cortana-virtual-assistant",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/8285656/cortana-virtual-assistant/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US8285656",
  "relatedPatents": []
}