Patents Assigned to Marchex, Inc.
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Patent number: 11522993Abstract: A call analytics system and associated methods that can be used to rapidly analyze call data and provide conversational insights. The call analytics system receives audio call data of a phone call between a customer and an agent of a business, and converts the call data into one or more messages for handling by a distributed stream-processing platform. In some embodiments, the stream-processing platform is the Apache Kafka platform. The distributed platform processes the messages and communicates with various software modules to generate a variety of conversational insights. When processed by a stream-processing platform, certain analyses can occur in parallel which allows conversational insights to be provided to the businesses shortly (e.g., within seconds) after the call data is received.Type: GrantFiled: December 21, 2020Date of Patent: December 6, 2022Assignee: Marchex, Inc.Inventors: William Li, Michael Kunugiyama
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Patent number: 11276080Abstract: A call analytics system for analyzing the effectiveness of advertising campaigns using performance data and call data. Specifically, the call analytics system evaluates the performance of different keywords in generating calls to displayed phone numbers. The call analytics system uses statistical techniques to correlate received calls to displayed phone numbers with those keyword or keywords that were associated with displayed advertisements. The system gives advertisers the ability to track and measure which keywords drive sales for mobile users that call advertisers directly from ads on their smartphones or other mobile devices. In some embodiments, the system uses the calculated effectiveness of certain keywords to recommend changes to present or future advertising campaigns of the advertiser.Type: GrantFiled: June 13, 2019Date of Patent: March 15, 2022Assignee: Marchex, Inc.Inventors: Preston J. Hillman, Chris Jones, Adarsh S. Nair
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Patent number: 11245791Abstract: The disclosed system and method detect robocalls using biometric voice fingerprints. The system receives audio input representing a plurality of telephone calls. For at least a portion of the telephone calls, the system analyzes the received audio based on a voice biometrics detection model to identify one or more biometric indicators characterizing a speaker in the analyzed telephone call. The system generates and stores a voice fingerprint characterizing the speaker based on the biometric indicators, and a time of the analyzed telephone call. The system analyzes stored voice fingerprints and times corresponding to speakers in the analyzed telephone calls to determine a frequency of occurrence of each voice fingerprint within an analyzed timeframe. If the frequency of occurrence of a voice fingerprint exceeds a threshold call quantity within the analyzed timeframe, the voice fingerprint is characterized as being associated with a robocaller.Type: GrantFiled: October 30, 2020Date of Patent: February 8, 2022Assignee: Marchex, Inc.Inventors: William Li, Nam Kim, Michael Pruitt, Mark Corley
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Patent number: 10810995Abstract: The disclosed system continuously refines a model used by an Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) system to enable fast and accurate transcriptions of detected speech activity. The ASR system analyzes speech activity to generate text transcriptions and associated metrics (such as minimum Bayes risk and/or perplexity) that correspond to the quality of or confidence in each generated transcription. The system employs a filtering process to select certain text transcriptions based in part on one or more associated quality metrics. In addition, the system corrects for known systemic errors within the ASR system and provides a mechanism for manual review and correction of transcriptions. The system selects a subset of transcriptions based on factors including confidence score, and uses the selected subset of transcriptions to re-train the ASR model. By continuously retraining the ASR model, the system is able to provide ever faster and more accurate text transcriptions of detected speech activity.Type: GrantFiled: April 27, 2018Date of Patent: October 20, 2020Assignee: Marchex, Inc.Inventors: Jason Flaks, Shane Walker, Iroro Orife, Morten Pedersen
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Patent number: 10699303Abstract: A method and system that performs cross-channel correlation of user identifiers with consumer telephone numbers. The system receives impression data characterizing the exposure of users to mechanisms for contacting businesses, the impression data including associated phone number and a date and time for each of the exposures. The system also receives call data describing telephone calls to businesses, the call data including a caller telephone number, a callee telephone number, and a date and time for each of the calls. Based on matching impression telephone numbers and call data callee numbers, the system forms correlations between corresponding user identifiers and caller telephone numbers. Correlations are also assigned a confidence level, based on the date and time of the corresponding exposures and telephone calls, that reflects the likelihood that a user associated with the correlated user identifier is the same as the user associated with the correlated caller telephone number.Type: GrantFiled: February 9, 2016Date of Patent: June 30, 2020Assignee: Marchex, Inc.Inventors: Ziad Ismail, Chris Kolbegger
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Patent number: 10475075Abstract: A method and system that performs cross-channel advertisement targeting based on consumer telephone numbers. The system utilizes a targeting database to determine which consumers should be re-engaged on behalf of a business. The targeting database correlates a telephone number associated with a consumer with a masked user identifier associated with the tracking of online behavior of that consumer. The targeting database may include a confidence level representing the likelihood of correspondence between the telephone number and masked user identifier. The targeting database is used by the system to target advertisements to consumers. A telephone number of a consumer is used to identify a masked identifier of the consumer. Advertisements are then targeted to the consumer using the masked identifier. The stored confidence level may be used by the system to control the aggressiveness of re-targeting.Type: GrantFiled: April 18, 2013Date of Patent: November 12, 2019Assignee: Marchex, Inc.Inventors: Ziad Ismail, Chris Kolbegger
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Patent number: 10477403Abstract: A system and method for monitoring telephone calls to detect fraudulent activity and take corrective action is described. The system receives a group of telephone calls having associated call characteristics and analyzes the group of telephone calls to identify and store a first set of distributions of call characteristics that are indicative of normal activity, fraudulent activity, or indeterminate activity. The system receives one or more subsequent telephone calls to be analyzed. The system analyzes the received one or more telephone calls to identify a second set of distributions of call characteristics associated with the received telephone call. The system then compares the second set of distributions of call characteristics to the stored first set of distributions of call characteristics to assess a probability that the one or more received telephone calls represents normal, fraudulent, or indeterminate activity.Type: GrantFiled: October 22, 2018Date of Patent: November 12, 2019Assignee: Marchex, Inc.Inventors: Jason Flaks, Ziad Ismail
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Patent number: 10348896Abstract: A facility and method for analyzing and classifying calls without transcription. The facility analyzes individual frames of an audio to identify speech and measure the amount of time spent in speech for each channel (e.g., caller channel, agent channel). Additional telephony metrics such as R-factor or MOS score and other metadata may be factored in as audio analysis inputs. The facility then analyzes the frames together as a whole and formulates a clustered-frame representation of a conversation to further identify dialog patterns and characterize call classification. Based on the data in the clustered-frame representation, the facility is able to make estimations of call classification. The correlation of dialog patterns to call classification may be utilized to develop targeted solutions for call classification issues, target certain advertising channels over others, evaluate advertising placements at scale, score callers, and to identify spammers.Type: GrantFiled: March 31, 2017Date of Patent: July 9, 2019Assignee: Marchex, Inc.Inventors: Chris Kolbegger, Jason Flaks, Tim Graber, Bryan Rieger, Ziad Ismail, Govindaraj Ramanathan, Darren Spehr, Matthew Berk
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Patent number: 10332148Abstract: A call analytics system for analyzing the effectiveness of advertising campaigns using performance data and call data. Specifically, the call analytics system evaluates the performance of different keywords in generating calls to displayed phone numbers. The call analytics system uses statistical techniques to correlate received calls to displayed phone numbers with those keyword or keywords that were associated with displayed advertisements. The system gives advertisers the ability to track and measure which keywords drive sales for mobile users that call advertisers directly from ads on their smartphones or other mobile devices. In some embodiments, the system uses the calculated effectiveness of certain keywords to recommend changes to present or future advertising campaigns of the advertiser.Type: GrantFiled: May 15, 2015Date of Patent: June 25, 2019Assignee: Marchex, Inc.Inventors: Preston J. Hillman, Chris Jones, Adarsh S. Nair
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Identifying call features and associations to detect call traffic pumping and take corrective action
Patent number: 10230851Abstract: A system and method for monitoring telephone calls to detect call traffic pumping activity and take corrective action is described. The system receives a group of training telephone calls having associated call audio content and associated information, and the system analyzes the training telephone calls to generate and store a classification model that correlates call features and associations with a probability of call traffic pumping activity. The system receives a subsequent monitored telephone call to be analyzed. The system analyzes the monitored telephone call to identify features present in the audio content of the monitored telephone call and other associated information. The system then compares the features and associated information to the stored classification model in order to determine a probability that the monitored telephone call is associated with call traffic pumping activity.Type: GrantFiled: October 31, 2016Date of Patent: March 12, 2019Assignee: Marchex, Inc.Inventors: Jason Flaks, Iroro Orife, Bryan Rieger, Ryan O Rourke, Shane Walker -
Patent number: 10111102Abstract: A system and method for monitoring telephone calls to detect fraudulent activity and take corrective action is described. The system receives a group of telephone calls having associated call characteristics and analyzes the group of telephone calls to identify and store a first set of distributions of call characteristics that are indicative of normal activity, fraudulent activity, or indeterminate activity. The system receives one or more subsequent telephone calls to be analyzed. The system analyzes the received one or more telephone calls to identify a second set of distributions of call characteristics associated with the received telephone call. The system then compares the second set of distributions of call characteristics to the stored first set of distributions of call characteristics to assess a probability that the one or more received telephone calls represents normal, fraudulent, or indeterminate activity.Type: GrantFiled: November 21, 2014Date of Patent: October 23, 2018Assignee: Marchex, Inc.Inventors: Jason Flaks, Ziad Ismail
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Patent number: 10049661Abstract: A facility and method for analyzing and classifying calls without transcription via keyword spotting is disclosed. The facility uses a group of calls having known outcomes to generate one or more domain- or entity-specific grammars containing keywords and related information that are indicative of particular outcome. The facility monitors telephone calls by determining the domain or entity associated with the call, loading the appropriate grammar or grammars associated with the determined domain or entity, and tracking keywords contained in the loaded grammar or grammars that are spoken during the monitored call, along with additional information. The facility performs a statistical analysis on the tracked keywords and additional information to determine a classification for the monitored telephone call.Type: GrantFiled: October 31, 2016Date of Patent: August 14, 2018Assignee: Marchex, Inc.Inventors: Jason Flaks, Ziad Ismail, Chris Kolbegger
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Patent number: 9614962Abstract: A facility and method for analyzing and classifying calls without transcription. The facility analyzes individual frames of an audio to identify speech and measure the amount of time spent in speech for each channel (e.g., caller channel, agent channel). Additional telephony metrics such as R-factor or MOS score and other metadata may be factored in as audio analysis inputs. The facility then analyzes the frames together as a whole and formulates a clustered-frame representation of a conversation to further identify dialog patterns and characterize call classification. Based on the data in the clustered-frame representation, the facility is able to make estimations of call classification. The correlation of dialog patterns to call classification may be utilized to develop targeted solutions for call classification issues, target certain advertising channels over others, evaluate advertising placements at scale, score callers, and to identify spammers.Type: GrantFiled: August 24, 2015Date of Patent: April 4, 2017Assignee: Marchex, Inc.Inventors: Chris Kolbegger, Jason Flaks, Tim Graber, Bryan Rieger, Ziad Ismail, Govindaraj Ramanathan, Darren Spehr, Matthew Berk
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Patent number: 9596356Abstract: A system and method for monitoring telephone calls to detect fraudulent activity and take corrective action is described. The system receives a first group of telephone calls having associated voice characteristics and analyzes the first group of telephone calls to identify and store a first set of distributions of voice characteristics that are indicative of normal activity, fraudulent activity, or indeterminate activity. The system receives a second group of telephone calls to be analyzed. The system analyzes the second group of telephone calls to identify a second set of distributions of voice characteristics associated with the second group of telephone calls. The system then compares the second set of distributions of voice characteristics to the stored first set of distributions of voice characteristics to assess a probability that one or more telephone calls in the second group of telephone calls represents normal, fraudulent, or indeterminate activity.Type: GrantFiled: January 4, 2016Date of Patent: March 14, 2017Assignee: Marchex, Inc.Inventors: Jason Flaks, Ziad Ismail
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Patent number: 9484026Abstract: A facility and method for analyzing and classifying calls without transcription via keyword spotting is disclosed. The facility uses a group of calls having known outcomes to generate one or more domain- or entity-specific grammars containing keywords and related information that are indicative of particular outcome. The facility monitors telephone calls by determining the domain or entity associated with the call, loading the appropriate grammar or grammars associated with the determined domain or entity, and tracking keywords contained in the loaded grammar or grammars that are spoken during the monitored call, along with additional information. The facility performs a statistical analysis on the tracked keywords and additional information to determine a classification for the monitored telephone call.Type: GrantFiled: January 7, 2016Date of Patent: November 1, 2016Assignee: Marchex, Inc.Inventors: Jason Flaks, Ziad Ismail, Chris Kolbegger
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Identifying call features and associations to detect call traffic pumping and take corrective action
Patent number: 9485354Abstract: A system and method for monitoring telephone calls to detect call traffic pumping activity and take corrective action is described. The system receives a group of training telephone calls having associated call audio content and associated information, and the system analyzes the training telephone calls to generate and store a classification model that correlates call features and associations with a probability of call traffic pumping activity. The system receives a subsequent monitored telephone call to be analyzed. The system analyzes the monitored telephone call to identify features present in the audio content of the monitored telephone call and other associated information. The system then compares the features and associated information to the stored classification model in order to determine a probability that the monitored telephone call is associated with call traffic pumping activity.Type: GrantFiled: May 26, 2015Date of Patent: November 1, 2016Assignee: Marchex, Inc.Inventors: Jason Flaks, Iroro Orife, Bryan Rieger, Ryan O'Rourke, Shane Walker -
Patent number: 9263038Abstract: A facility and method for analyzing and classifying calls without transcription via keyword spotting is disclosed. The facility uses a group of calls having known outcomes to generate one or more domain- or entity-specific grammars containing keywords and related information that are indicative of particular outcome. The facility monitors telephone calls by determining the domain or entity associated with the call, loading the appropriate grammar or grammars associated with the determined domain or entity, and tracking keywords contained in the loaded grammar or grammars that are spoken during the monitored call, along with additional information. The facility performs a statistical analysis on the tracked keywords and additional information to determine a classification for the monitored telephone call.Type: GrantFiled: October 3, 2013Date of Patent: February 16, 2016Assignee: Marchex, Inc.Inventors: Jason Flaks, Ziad Ismail, Chris Kolbegger
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Patent number: 9232052Abstract: A system and method for monitoring telephone calls to detect fraudulent activity and take corrective action is described. The system receives a first group of telephone calls having associated voice characteristics and analyzes the first group of telephone calls to identify and store a first set of distributions of voice characteristics that are indicative of normal activity, fraudulent activity, or indeterminate activity. The system receives a second group of telephone calls to be analyzed. The system analyzes the second group of telephone calls to identify a second set of distributions of voice characteristics associated with the second group of telephone calls. The system then compares the second set of distributions of voice characteristics to the stored first set of distributions of voice characteristics to assess a probability that one or more telephone calls in the second group of telephone calls represents normal, fraudulent, or indeterminate activity.Type: GrantFiled: November 21, 2014Date of Patent: January 5, 2016Assignee: Marchex, Inc.Inventors: Jason Flaks, Ziad Ismail
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Patent number: 9118751Abstract: A facility and method for analyzing and classifying calls without transcription. The facility analyzes individual frames of an audio to identify speech and measure the amount of time spent in speech for each channel (e.g., caller channel, agent channel). Additional telephony metrics such as R-factor or MOS score and other metadata may be factored in as audio analysis inputs. The facility then analyzes the frames together as a whole and formulates a clustered-frame representation of a conversation to further identify dialogue patterns and characterize call classification. Based on the data in the clustered-frame representation, the facility is able to make estimations of call classification. The correlation of dialogue patterns to call classification may be utilized to develop targeted solutions for call classification issues, target certain advertising channels over others, evaluate advertising placements at scale, score callers, and to identify spammers.Type: GrantFiled: March 15, 2013Date of Patent: August 25, 2015Assignee: Marchex, Inc.Inventors: Chris Kolbegger, Jason Flaks, Tim Graber, Bryan Rieger, Ziad Ismail, Govindaraj Ramanathan, Darren Spehr, Matthew Berk
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Patent number: 8929522Abstract: A system and method for customizing a connection interface that is displayed to a user and provides multiple modes for the user to connect to a telephone number. The multimodal connection interface may be triggered by a GUI event, such as the user selecting or pointing to a telephone number in a displayed web page. The connection interface provides multiple options for the user to connect to the phone number, such as by mobile phone or computer. In some embodiments, the system uses advertiser-defined rules to present a connection interface that includes additional details about the advertiser that is associated with the telephone number. In some embodiments, the system uses publisher-defined rules to present a connection interface that includes information about the advertiser as well as other related businesses.Type: GrantFiled: November 14, 2012Date of Patent: January 6, 2015Assignee: Marchex, Inc.Inventor: Matthew Berk