How a Digital Assistant Launches Apps Using Your Voice
This patent describes how a digital assistant like Siri uses your spoken words and understanding of your conversation to figure out what you want and launch the right app.
Original patent title: “Intelligent automated assistant”
This patent describes how a digital assistant like Siri uses your spoken words and understanding of your conversation to figure out what you want and launch the right app. Granted to Apple Inc in 2017 with 27 claims and 211 forward citations.
Key facts
Coverage
What does this patent actually cover?
This patent details a method for a digital assistant to launch applications on a device using speech. The system provides a graphical interface with a speech-based conversational element, displaying part of the ongoing chat (ClaimclaimA numbered sentence at the end of a patent that legally defines what the inventor owns. The most important section.Read more → 1). It gathers "context information" from previous interactions, which could be earlier speech (Claim 2) or non-speech input (Claim 6). When a user speaks, the system processes this "speech input" to figure out their "user intent" (Claim 1). If the intent is to open an app, the system launches that app *external* to the assistant's own interface and then provides a response based on what the user said and the gathered context (Claim 1). For example, if you say "Open Maps to find coffee," the assistant would launch the Maps app and potentially show coffee shops, while also giving a spoken or on-screen confirmation.
The gap
What does this patent NOT cover?
- Does not cover launching applications without a speech input (e.g., tapping an icon).
- Does not cover systems that only process speech commands without maintaining or using "context information" to understand intent.
- Does not cover digital assistants that execute tasks *only* within their own interface without invoking external applications.
- Does not cover systems where the launched application runs *inside* the conversational interface, rather than "external" to it.
- Does not cover assistants that don't display "at least a portion of a conversational interaction."
These exclusions are unique to PatentBrief — derived from the actual claim language, not patent-office boilerplate.
What made this novel
The noveltynoveltyThe requirement that an invention be different from anything publicly known before its priority date.Read more → lies in combining a speech-based conversational interface with the ability to understand user intent, leverage conversational context, and then specifically invoke *external* software applications while still providing a relevant response. This allows the assistant to act as a smart intermediary, bridging user requests to the device's full app ecosystem.
Schematic visualization of the patent's claim structure. Hand-drawn diagrams in progress for each landmark patent.
Where you've seen this
Real-world examples
Apple Siri
Google Assistant
Amazon Alexa (on devices with screens and app integration)
Samsung Bixby
Why it matters
The bigger picture
This patent is foundational to how modern voice assistants operate, particularly in their ability to integrate with the device's other applications. Assigned to Apple, it underpins core functionality seen in Siri, which revolutionized how users interact with smartphones. Its focus on understanding "user intent" and "context information" allows for more natural and effective voice commands, moving beyond simple keyword recognition.
Filed
June 9, 2012
Granted
January 17, 2017
Market context
Who's building on this
Companies in this space
Apple Inc., as the assigneeassigneeThe entity that owns the patent — usually the inventor's employer or a company.Read more →, continues to develop and integrate Siri across its ecosystem, from iPhones to HomePods. Other major technology companies like Google (Google Assistant), Amazon (Alexa), and Samsung (Bixby) are also continuously advancing their own digital assistant technologies, building on similar principles of natural language understanding and app integration.
Market impact
This patent, along with others related to Siri, helped establish the paradigm for voice-controlled digital assistants on consumer devices. It enabled a new mode of interaction, shifting users from purely touch-based interfaces to conversational ones. This spurred intense competition among tech giants to develop and integrate their own assistants, leading to a significant market for voice-enabled devices and services.
Claim 1 — Plain English
What this patent covers
This patent details a method for a digital assistant to launch applications on a device using speech. The system provides a graphical interface with a speech-based conversational element, displaying part of the ongoing chat (Claim 1). It gathers "context information" from previous interactions, which could be earlier speech (Claim 2) or non-speech input (Claim 6). When a user speaks, the system processes this "speech input" to figure out their "user intent" (Claim 1). If the intent is to open an app, the system launches that app *external* to the assistant's own interface and then provides a response based on what the user said and the gathered context (Claim 1). For example, if you say "Open Maps to find coffee," the assistant would launch the Maps app and potentially show coffee shops, while also giving a spoken or on-screen confirmation.
The clever bit
The novelty lies in combining a speech-based conversational interface with the ability to understand user intent, leverage conversational context, and then specifically invoke *external* software applications while still providing a relevant response. This allows the assistant to act as a smart intermediary, bridging user requests to the device's full app ecosystem.
What it does not cover
- Does not cover launching applications without a speech input (e.g., tapping an icon).
- Does not cover systems that only process speech commands without maintaining or using "context information" to understand intent.
- Does not cover digital assistants that execute tasks *only* within their own interface without invoking external applications.
- Does not cover systems where the launched application runs *inside* the conversational interface, rather than "external" to it.
- Does not cover assistants that don't display "at least a portion of a conversational interaction."
Patent timeline
Application submitted to the patent office
Application published, typically 18 months after filing
Patent officially issued
PatentBrief Score
Impact Score
High impact
Citation count
40/40
Highly cited
Claim breadth
18/20
Very broad protection
Recency
10/20
Granted 5–10 years ago
Assignee scale
20/20
Major company or institution
PatentBrief Impact Score — based on citation count, claim breadth, recency, and assignee scale. Not a legal assessment.
Heuristic Value Estimate
What this patent might be worth
$546K – $1.7M
Midpoint $1.1M · 6.0 yr remaining · industry ×1.6
Heuristic only — blends forward/backward citation counts, claim scope, time remaining, litigation history, and CPC-derived industry baseline. Real valuations need a professional appraisal.
The original legal language
Original claims
27 claims as filed with the patent office.
Concepts involved
Citations
Patent lineage
Cite this patent
Cheyer, A. J., Guzzoni, D. R., Brigham, C. D., Kittlaus, D., Gruber, T. R., Saddler, H. J., Giuli, R. D., & Bastea-Forte, M. (2017). How a Digital Assistant Launches Apps Using Your Voice (U.S. Patent No. 9,548,050). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/9548050/continuity-handoff
Auto-generated from the patent record. Double-check author order and the issue date against the official USPTO document before submitting.
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Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What does How a Digital Assistant Launches Apps Using Your Voice cover?
This patent describes how a digital assistant like Siri uses your spoken words and understanding of your conversation to figure out what you want and launch the right app.
Who owns patent US 9548050?
Apple Inc owns this patent, granted in 2017.
When does this patent expire?
This patent is expected to expire on January 17, 2037, when the invention enters the public domain.
What is patent US 9548050 cited by?
This patent has been cited by 211 later patents that build on its ideas.
What problem does this patent solve?
This patent is foundational to how modern voice assistants operate, particularly in their ability to integrate with the device's other applications. Assigned to Apple, it underpins core functionality seen in Siri, which revolutionized how users interact with smartphones. Its focus on understanding "user intent" and "context information" allows for more natural and effective voice commands, moving beyond simple keyword recognition.
What does this patent NOT cover?
Does not cover launching applications without a speech input (e.g., tapping an icon).
Same assignee
More from Apple Inc
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