Abstract:
Disclosed is a method for processing input entered by a user and providing at least one response maintained by an administrator in a system for autonomously processing requests. A template is provided to the administrator, wherein the template includes at least one field to elicit specific information from the administrator. The information is received from the administrator into the template. The information is saved for use in providing the at least one response in reply to a request from a user. An apparatus for performing this method is also disclosed.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention is directed to a method and system for the use of virtual robots (“Bots”) to autonomously process requests. More particularly, this invention is directed to a method and system for the mass customization of Bots by administrators having no specialized knowledge or experience in the art. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    For the purposes of the present invention, data maintained in a database, file, or other source of structured and/or tagged data is referred to herein as “structured data”. So called “virtual robots” (or “Bots”) are software programs that interact and/or communicate with users (human, machine, or otherwise) and take actions or make responses according to input from these users. “Bot” refers to any program which interacts with a user in some fashion and should not be assumed to refer only to physically embodied robots. “Input” refers to any description of a situation the Bot may encounter; although the most common inputs are textual inputs from users, inputs can be actions taken by users, external circumstances, or even events internal to the Bot such as an internal alarm clock. 
         [0005]    A common use of a Bot is as an interface to a web site where the administrator of that site (the “administrator”) has programmed the Bot to answer simple inquiries (the “input”) that are typically asked by visitors to the site. The Bot finds a pattern, consisting of text and/or code, that best matches the input, and then takes the action that it is programmed to take in connection with that pattern (the “response”). The response can take the form of a text string that contains the information sought by the user (which text string can be transmitted to the user in text form, “read” by a text-to-speech engine, played back to the user as a wave file, or otherwise transmitted to the user in a comprehensible form) or the response can be any other action of which a program is capable, for example, opening a web page, turning a circuit on or off, initiating or ending a program, and the like. 
         [0006]    It is desirable that the Bot be scripted to anticipate the inputs that it is likely to receive and the situations that it is likely to encounter. Because users may ask questions or otherwise create inputs in a wide variety of different ways, a large variety of patterns are required to comprehensively anticipate the variety of inputs that the Bot may receive. This complexity is greatly increased by the number of different ways a user may create any particular input. For example, if a user wants to know the name of the president of the Administrator&#39;s company, the user may input a text string reading “Who is your President?”, “What&#39;s the President&#39;s name?”, or even “Who&#39;s the top dog at AdminCo.?” 
         [0007]    Historically, Bots have been scripted manually, by having one or more human scripters write patterns for the Bot and tie those patterns to appropriate responses. Such human scripting, although usually necessary, has a number of drawbacks. First, scripting is time-consuming. A typical Bot may contain thousands of possible patterns and responses, all of which need to be scripted. Second, the list of patterns and responses is usually incomplete. It is almost impossible for the scripters to comprehensively cover all possible patterns for a large body of information and desired responses. Third, there are many opportunities for misspellings or other errors. The greatest part of the time, expense, and difficulty of creating a Bot, therefore, is in the process of scripting it. Additionally, as the information changes or is added to over time, the time, expense, and difficulty of maintaining the patterns and responses that refer to the information are very substantial as well. 
         [0008]    Scripting heretofore has been done in some form of code, either complex or simple, and has always required some level of aptitude and training. Furthermore, it takes a great deal of experience to successfully anticipate the questions that may be asked in any situation, making that task unsuited for lay people or lower pay grade workers. 
         [0009]    Thus, there is a need in the art to have a method of scripting a Bot which successfully customizes the Bot to an individual application using knowledge that can be given to the Bot by any lay person or lower-level employee. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of creating Bots according to patterns (or text strings) that are written in a very high level language that closely resembles a human natural language and are intended to anticipate the inputs that may be received from users. 
         [0011]    It is a further object of the present invention to enable administrators with no specialized background, training, or expertise to enter information that will be incorporated into patterns and used by the Bot, thereby enabling the Bot to correctly respond to a multitude of different questions with the information the administrator provides. 
         [0012]    The present invention meets these objectives by providing a method whereby an administrator with no special skills or knowledge can input information into a template. The information is manipulated by an editor to create a wide range of rules which are provided to an engine together with other rules of a background nature (if desired). The rules enable the engine to provide responses to a wide range of inputs without any further programming or action on the part of the administrator. In addition, the information will be saved and can be changed or edited later by the administrator. 
         [0013]    The method according to the present invention includes inputting and saving the information, inserting the information into rules, and editing the information. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]      FIG. 1  is a schematic drawing of an operating environment of the present invention; 
           [0015]      FIG. 2.1  is a flow chart of the processes used by an engine of the present invention; 
           [0016]      FIG. 2.2  is a flow chart of the processes used by a preprocess input component of an engine of the present invention; 
           [0017]      FIG. 3.1  is a schematic drawing of a script and associated component parts of the present invention; 
           [0018]      FIG. 3.2  is a flow chart of an input recognizer component of a script of the present invention; 
           [0019]      FIG. 4.1  is a flow chart of a statement validator of the present invention; 
           [0020]      FIG. 4.2  is a flow chart of another statement validator of the present invention; 
           [0021]      FIG. 4.3  is a flow chart of yet another statement validator of the present invention; 
           [0022]      FIG. 4.4  is a flow chart of yet another statement validator of the present invention; 
           [0023]      FIG. 5.1  is a flow chart of a logic layer component of a script of the present invention; 
           [0024]      FIG. 5.2  is a flow chart of a response layer component of a script of the present invention; 
           [0025]      FIG. 6.1  is a schematic drawing of a template of the present invention; 
           [0026]    FIGS.  6 . 2 - 6 . 4  is a flow chart of the processes used by an information input &amp; save component of the present invention; 
           [0027]      FIG. 7.1  is a flow chart of the processes used by an insert information into rules component of the present invention; 
           [0028]      FIG. 7.2  is a flow chart of the processes used by an edit information component of the present invention; 
           [0029]      FIG. 8  is a schematic drawing of a script storage of the present invention; and 
           [0030]    FIGS.  9 . 1 - 9 . 3  are flow charts of the processes used by a get information component of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0031]    A complete understanding of the present invention will be obtained from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing figures wherein like reference characters identify like elements throughout. 
         [0032]    The general architecture of the present invention will now be described. Referring to  FIG. 1 , an operating environment of the present invention is depicted. The environment can be characterized generally into three sections: a front end section  120 , a Bot processor section  140 , and an administration section  160 . 
         [0033]    The front end section  120  is generally an environment in which a user  101  interacts with a Bot connection interface  104 , possibly via a user interface  102  that may be connected to the Bot connection interface  104  via a network  103 . The user interface  102  can be anything capable of receiving human or machine language input, including, without limitation, a computer, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a telephone, or a pager. The user interface  102  will also typically have some form of client software  110  installed to provide a text box, buttons, or other method for the entry of user  101  inputs and some method for displaying intelligible responses from the Bot. The network  103  can be any system capable of transmitting such input over any distance, including, without limitation, a local area network (LAN), the Internet, a “wifi” (wireless fidelity), cellular or other wireless data connection, a virtual private network (VPN), or simply a hard wired telephone system. The user  101  can also simply act directly upon the Bot connection interface  104 . In such circumstances (as well as in circumstances such as telephony where the user input will not support client software  110 ), client software  110  will usually be resident in the Bot connection interface  104  to facilitate user  101  interaction. It will be appreciated that many other means of connection to the Bot processor section  140  are well known to those skilled in the art and that the present invention should not be limited to any particular aspects of the general operating environment as disclosed herein. 
         [0034]    In a common use of Bot technology, the user  101  connects to a site where the user interface  102  includes client software  110 . The advantage for the site developer is that the user  101  may have a help or information request that is easily handled via a Bot using the client software  110 . It is not uncommon to find sites having a list of FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) which serve the purpose of handling very low level user concerns and questions. However, where there are a substantial number of FAQ&#39;s, pointing and clicking through web pages becomes an inefficient method of finding the required information, as does searching with a conventional search engine. Bots provide a more efficient method of obtaining information and of handling more advanced questions or interactions with the site. 
         [0035]    In the operating environment of this embodiment of the present invention, the Bot connection interface  104  consists of hardware, an operating system, and any application software necessary to support a Bot engine  210  and enable the Bot engine  210  to receive inputs and send responses in a chosen communications mode. Necessary application software in the Bot connection interface  104  may include an email application, an instant messaging application, an internet relay chat (IRC) application, voice recognition software, or other applications, as necessary, to support the chosen mode or modes of communication between the Bot engine  210  and the user  101 . The client software  110 , along with structured data  105  and script storage  106 , may be resident on the Bot connection interface  104 , although these may also be hosted on a remote computer and made available to the Bot engine  210  via a network  103  or other connection. 
         [0036]    As the user  101  sends inputs, the Bot engine  210  receives the inputs, processes the inputs, and generates responses. Typically, where the user  101  is human, a two way communications dialogue occurs between the user  101  and the Bot engine  210  in that the user  101  may ask questions, make declarative statements, and perform other normal communications patterns that typify modes of human communications. For the purposes of the present invention, “communications” is intended to be a broad concept. Indeed, suitable communications may be in the form of written or spoken language, graphics, URLs, or the like that may be passed to and from a user and an automatic interface program, such as the present invention. 
         [0037]    In turn, the Bot engine  210  accepts the inputs generated by the user  101  and generates responses by processing the inputs according to a script or scripts  310  that are stored in the script storage  106 . As will be discussed in greater detail in connection with  FIGS. 3.1  and  3 . 2 , the scripts  310  contain rules  311  and are typically created at the administration section  160  as necessary or appropriate for the specific use to which the Bot will be put. For example, if the site using the Bot engine  210  is a site for a reseller of personal computers, then the scripts  310  should be designed to handle questions and discussions concerning personal computers and their peripherals. Thus, the administration section  160  will generate the scripts  310  such that the scripts  310  will guide the discussion concerning many computer-related topics. The scripts  310  are then stored for use by the Bot engine  210 , or, alternatively, the scripts  310  may be compiled by a compiler and the compiled code incorporated into an engine (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,532,401). 
         [0038]    The administration section  160  consists of an administrator  108 , an administrator interface  109 , and an editor  111 . The administrator  108  is the human being who creates the scripts  310  that govern the behavior of the Bot engine  210 . Typically, this human being accomplishes this task through the use of the administrator interface  109  that has a text box or boxes or other entry points for the input of patterns, as well as a response or responses associated with that input. The administrator interface  109  may also provide various tools to facilitate the process of inputting the patterns in an organized and efficient way. The editor  111  takes the patterns provided by the administrator  108  and associates them with the appropriate response or responses. The administrator interface  109  and the editor  111  may be created as a single unit or may be designed to reside in separate computers. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the scripts  310  can be written by human administrators or by automated or partially automated script creation tools and that the present invention should not be limited to scripts written by humans or otherwise. 
         [0039]    Although  FIG. 1  gives a general description of various operating environments in which Bots may exist, it will be appreciated that many other operating environments are obvious to those skilled in the art and that the scope of the present invention should not be so limited to the exemplary descriptions as given above. 
         [0040]    The Bot processor section  140  will now be described.  FIG. 2.1  provides a detailed depiction of the processes used by the Bot engine  210  according to the present invention. In step  211 , inputs are brought to the Bot engine  210  via the Bot connection interface  104 , as shown  FIG. 1 . The Bot engine  210  takes the input in step  211  and then, typically, but not necessarily, preprocesses the input to some degree to enable recognition and added functionality in step  220 . Examples of some typical functions that may be contained in the preprocessing of input in step  220  are detailed below. The input is then taken to an input recognizer component  320  of each rule  311  in the script  310 , where it is determined for each rule  311  whether the input is recognized, step  212 . Step  212  is repeated for each rule  311 , for so long as the input is not recognized. Once the input recognizer component  320  of a rule  311  recognizes an input in step  212 , the process continues at step  213  to the next layer of the rule  311 , which is either a response layer (or routine)  340  or a logic layer  330 . Details of the workings of the input recognizer  320 , the logic layer  330 , and the response layer  340  are provided below in connection with  FIGS. 3.2 ,  5 . 1 , and  5 . 2   
         [0041]    The preprocessing of input, step  220 , will now be described.  FIG. 2.2  provides a detailed depiction of the processes used by the preprocess input step  220 , if utilized, of the Bot engine  210  according to the present invention. The functions contained in the preprocess input step  220  can vary greatly among different Bot designs, depending upon the overall strategy employed by the designer. Typically the preprocess input step  220  is composed of processes that are intended to either: (i) standardize the inputs in some regard in order to reduce the complexity of the input faced by the engine or (ii) extract some level of structure or meaning from the input and embody this as code so that the Bot engine  210  can manipulate or manage it. Examples of the first purpose include a remove punctuation process  222 , a spell check process  223 , an expand contractions process  224 , and a standardize case  225  process. Examples of the second purpose include a lexical analysis process  226 , a semantic analysis process  227 , and other translation processes  228 . 
         [0042]    In the embodiment described herein, the preprocess input step  220  begins by taking the input in step  221  and then proceeding to remove punctuation in step  222 . Removing the punctuation from a text string removes the ambiguity created by the fact that people punctuate their sentences differently and that some people forget to punctuate at all. 
         [0043]    Next the input is spell checked at step  223  so that spelling errors can be removed, further minimizing text variation due to error or variant usage by the user  101 . 
         [0044]    By proceeding to expand contractions in step  224 , the input is further standardized so that the Bot engine  210  can recognize contracted words, for example, “what&#39;s” as being identical to its constituent parts “what is”, further reducing the complexity of the inputs that the Bot engine  210  must be able to recognize. 
         [0045]    The next step  225  standardizes case, allowing the Bot engine  210  to recognize, for example, “the”, “The”, and “THE” as being identical, and removing as a variable the scheme of capitalization that may have been employed by the user  101 . 
         [0046]    The input is then passed to lexical analysis in step  226 , where processes relating to the meaning of words are performed. As an example, lexical analysis might parse or partition the input to determine those text strings that are synonymous (at least for the administrator&#39;s purposes) with other text strings, for example, “I want”, “I need”, and “Give me”, Typically these text strings would be replaced with a text or code string that stands in for them in the input, allowing a single rule  311  to recognize an input phrased in any of these different ways. 
         [0047]    Next the input goes through semantic analysis in step  227 , which is useful in identifying parts of the sentence, for example, the subject of the sentence, the object of the verb, or the referent of a pronoun. Depending upon the methodologies used, this step can be useful for pattern recognition and/or for maintaining context in a “conversation” between the user  101  and the Bot. 
         [0048]    Finally, the input is passed through other translations in step  228 , where the other translations are any other processes whereby strings are added to or substituted for portions of the input in order to add functionality to the Bot. These processes may include language translation, substitutions of machine language for natural language, or other methodologies. 
         [0049]    Those skilled in the art will readily understand that some or all of the above exemplary processes might be included at this stage in various orders and configurations and that there are other processes of similar purpose that may be undertaken in a Bot suitable for the present invention. Similarly, some or all of these objectives may be achieved by incorporating the functionality into the rules used to recognize inputs. 
         [0050]    The recognition of input, step  212 , will now be described.  FIG. 3.1  depicts the structure of an embodiment of a script  310  and its component parts, suitable for the purposes of the present invention. The script  310  contains one or more rules  311  that are in turn composed of an input recognizer  320  and one or more response layers  340 . Some rules  311  may also contain a logic layer  330 , enabling them to fire one or more responses of those that are available. The detailed processes of each of these components are described in more detail below. As those skilled in the art will readily understand, there are many different strategies and methods by which the rules  311  can be ordered, grouped, or sorted in order to enhance the speed or accuracy of the Bot engine  210  and that the present invention should not be limited to any particular method or strategy of ordering, grouping, or sorting the rules  311 . 
         [0051]    The steps of the input recognizer  320  are depicted in more detail in  FIG. 3.2 . The first step  321  in input recognition is typically the matching of the preprocessed input to a pattern contained in a set of pattern matches of the input recognizer  320 . A pattern is a coded text string that represents a set of strings. A string matches a pattern if the string is in the set that the pattern represents. Pattern matching may be accomplished by, for example, regular expressions. As those skilled in the art will also be aware, there are many different languages and protocols in which such pattern matchings are commonly carried out, including, without limitation, Perl, Java, PHP, and others, and that the present invention should not be limited by the use of any particular query, language, or protocol. If there is no match found in the pattern matches, the input will not be recognized and the Bot engine  210  will continue to search for a match in other rules  311 . If a pattern match is found, for most Bot engines  210 , the rule  311  will then go into effect. 
         [0052]    The administrator  108  has the option of creating one or more statement (input) validators  410   a - d  involving the querying of the structured data  105  which, if true, will result in the successful recognition of the input in step  324  and the effectiveness of the rule  311 , and which if false, will provide for the non-recognition of the input in step  322  by the input recognizer  320 , with the result that the Bot engine  210  will continue to seek for a matching pattern in other rules  311 . Each of these statement validators  410   a - d  is tested in turn in step  323 , for so long as they continue to be valid. If any statement validator  410   a - d  is invalid, the input is not recognized in step  322 . If all are valid, the input is recognized in step  324 . 
         [0053]    There can be any number of statement validators  410   a - d  that work with pattern matches  321  in the input recognizer  320  or none at all. Upon completion of pattern matches  321  and validation  323  of the statement validators  410   a - d,  if any, contained in the input recognizer, the input is ultimately recognized  324  or not recognized  322 . If recognized  324 , the process continues to the next layer of the rule  311 , whether that is a response layer  340  that generates a response to be transmitted to the user or a logic layer  330  that chooses between the various responses to be used in the response layer  340 . 
         [0054]    Those skilled in the art will readily understand that the steps of the input recognizer  320  might occur in various orders (or contemporaneously with each other) and configurations and that there are other processes of similar purpose that may be undertaken in a Bot suitable for the present invention. 
         [0055]    The generation of responses will now be described. The next step in the execution of a rule  311  following recognition of an input at step  324  by the input recognizer  320  is typically to go to a response layer  340  ( FIG. 5.2 ), the purpose of which is to obtain and prepare the appropriate response to the user&#39;s input. A typical data flow for a response layer  340  simply involves getting the response in step  521  and sending it to the connection interface in step  526 . A response can typically consist of (i) text, (ii) code to be run in the user interface  102 , and/or (iii) code to be extracted and run locally before sending the response to the Bot connection interface  104 . The response may consist entirely of text, where this is appropriate. However, more complexity and functionality can be provided by adding code to the response. The use of code allows for dynamic information to be added to the answer and is typically used for frequently changing information, such as the time, stock quotes, weather, or the like. Most typically, the code is non-extractable and is sent to the Bot connection interface  104  in step  526 , to be sent to and run in the user interface  102 , bringing a web page, running a java applet, or taking some other action that brings the required information to the user  101 . Where it is desirable to embed the information provided by running the code in the response, the response is determined to contain extractable code in step  522 , the code is extracted in step  523 , and the code is run locally in step  524 , so that the dynamic information required is embedded in the response in step  525  before transmission to the Bot connection interface  104  in step  526 . 
         [0056]    A rule  311  can also be designed to employ a logic layer  330  as shown in  FIG. 5.1 . The purpose of the logic layer  330  is neither input recognition  320 , nor response generation, but rather the choosing of an appropriate response upon recognition of an input. This is accomplished by the use of a logical function in step  511 . The logical function step  511  may result in a random choice of responses, choosing responses in rotation, or choosing the proper response after appeal to some outside piece of information  107  (for example, the time) or after querying the structured data  105  using simple queries and/or any of the statement validators  410   a - d  described herein. In this case, the truth or falsity of the logical statement in step  414   a - d  in the statement validator  410   a - d  would result in a choice in step  511  between two or more different results (responses) in step  520 . It is important to distinguish between such a choice between results in step  511 , and the above-described function of the statement validator  410   a - d,  so as to enable an input recognizer  320  to either recognize or not recognize an input. 
         [0057]    The present invention is principally located in the administration section  160  of the Bot, but posts information that may ultimately be held in the script storage  106  and/or in the structured data  105  of the Bot processor. 
         [0058]    The process of inputting information  620   a - c  will now be described. Referring to FIGS.  6 . 1 - 6 . 4 , the administrator interface  109  contains a template  610  for the input of information in step  620   a - c.  The template  610  provides an opportunity for the administrator  108  to provide information in a standardized format. This is accomplished by a page, application, or other user interface containing fields  611 , for example, text boxes, check boxes, drop-down boxes, or the like, that are labeled or otherwise intended to elicit specific pieces of information from the administrator  108 . Many variations on the template  610  are possible, including, without limitation, providing a series of questions to be answered by the administrator  108  (e.g., “What is your company name?”, “What is your company address?”), providing the administrator  108  with tables to be filled in with relevant information (e.g., a corporate organization chart with names, titles, phone numbers, email addresses, or the like), and interviewing the administrator  108  via Bot or human interaction and then embodying the information in some form of template  610  or table. The process is initiated with the specific purpose of eliciting individual pieces of standardized information from the administrator  108 . At the end of the process, the administrator  108  has provided the administrator interface  109  with individual pieces of information such as names, addresses, slogans, product descriptions, or the like, that are specific to the administrator&#39;s  108  company or entity. 
         [0059]    Referring again to FIGS.  6 . 1 - 6 . 4 , the process of saving information  620   a - c  will now be described. Following the input of information in step  621 , the editor  111  saves the information in step  622  so that it will not be lost. As those skilled in the art will know, this can be done on manual command by the administrator  108  or automatically upon the occurrence of certain events, such as the passage of time or the closing of the template  610 . There are at least three places where the information can be saved. The information can be saved: (i) as part of the template  610  in step  623 , (ii) as structured data  105  in step  624 , or (iii) into the rules  311  at step  710  without any intermediate storage steps by directly inserting the information into the rules  311 . For some embodiments it is desirable to store the information in more than one place, depending upon the purposes for which the information will be used. For example, the information stored in the structured data  105  may be used solely to refresh the template  610 , while the information stored in the rules  311  may be used to run the Bot engine  210 . 
         [0060]    The ability to save the information within the template at step  623  depends upon the structure and programming of the template  610  to possess such a storage capability. Storing the information as structured data  105  in step  624  involves saving the information within each of the fields  611  to a separate field or location within the structured data  105 . In order to save the information by inserting information into the rules  311  at step  710 , a more elaborate procedure is necessary, as is described in more detail immediately below. 
         [0061]    Referring to  FIG. 7.1 , the process of inserting information into the rules  311  will now be described. For most embodiments of the invention, it is necessary to insert the information entered by the administrator  108  into the rules  311  in step  710  before the Bot engine  210  will be able to access the information and use it to recognize and respond to inputs. However, it should be noted that it is also possible to have the Bot engine  210  access the information from the structured data  105  or from the template  610 , depending on where the information is saved. 
         [0062]    Referring to  FIGS. 7.1  and  8 , first, the editor  111  obtains the rules  311  from script storage  106  in step  701 . The editor  111  may obtain all of the rules  311  in the script storage  106 , but in the preferred embodiment may include only those rules  311  contained in a template information script  310   a,  as these are the only rules  311  that should be affected by the information. Next, for each rule  311 , the editor  111  checks to see if the input recognizer  320  needs information in step  702 . The need for information may be signaled either by a specific tag or instruction embedded in a text string used by the input recognizer  320  or by the recognition by the editor  111  of a piece of code in the input recognizer  320  which calls for a specific piece of information (or by any such tagged text string, code, or similar instruction, that is by a “signifier”). If there is such a signifier, the editor  11  obtains the necessary information from a corresponding field in the template  610  in step  703  and inserts the information into the input recognizer  320  in step  704 . This continues at step  702  for all rules  311  until the process is done. Similarly, for each rule  311 , the editor  11  checks to see if the response layer  340  needs information in step  708 , as signaled by a signifier (described above) in the response layer  340 . If there is such a signifier, the editor  11  obtains the necessary information in step  709  and inserts it into the response layer  340  in step  710 . This continues at step  708  for all rules  311  until the process is done. Finally, for each rule  311 , the editor  11  checks to see if the logic layer  330 , if present, needs information in step  705 , as signaled by a signifier (described above) in the logic layer  330 . If there is such a signifier, the editor  11  obtains the necessary information in step  706  and inserts it into the logic layer  330  in step  707 . This continues at step  705  for all rules  311  until the process is done at step  711 . 
         [0063]    In a preferred embodiment, each layer  330 ,  340  is checked across all rules  311  before moving on to the next layer  330 ,  340 . Variations in method are possible, such as checking all layers  330 ,  340  in each rule  311  before moving on to the next rule  311 . 
         [0064]    Referring to  FIGS. 7.2  and  9 . 1 - 9 . 3 , the process of editing information will now be described. Once the information has been saved in the appropriate manner and, if desired, inserted into the rules  311 , it is still desirable that the information be easily updatable within the template  610  in step  720 . In order to achieve this, the editor  111  obtains the information in step  721  from wherever it has been stored. The processes used to obtain information  910   a - c  depend on how the information is stored. 
         [0065]    If the information has been stored as part of the template  610  itself, the information is automatically restored to the fields  611  or other points of data entry as a function of the template  610 . 
         [0066]    If the information has been stored in the structured data  105 , the editor  111  follows essentially the process  910   a.  In this process, for each field  611  in the template  610 , the editor  111  obtains instructions in step  911   a  which indicate where the information for the field  611  is to be found. Next, the editor  111  executes the instructions in step  912   a  to obtain the information. The editor  111  sends the information to the appropriate field  611  in the template  610  in step  913   a.  The editor  111  then determines if there are more fields  611  for which to obtain information in step  914   a.  If the answer is yes, the editor  311  repeats the process for each field  611  until there are no more fields  611  for which to obtain information. At this point, all of the fields  611  are filled with the appropriate information and the editor  111  is finished with the get information process. 
         [0067]    If the information has been stored by inserting the information into the rules  311  in step  710 , the process used has some variability as set in processes  910   a - c.  The process  910   a  (described above) may be used to obtain information from the rules  311 . For each field in the template, the editor  111  obtains instructions in step  911   a  as to where to find the information. The editor  111  executes the instructions to obtain the information in step  912   a  from the appropriate rule  311 , and then sends the information to the field  611  in step  913   a.    
         [0068]    Alternatively, the processes of  910   b  and  910   c  may be used. The first step is to obtain the rules  311  in step  921   b,    921   c.  Next, the editor checks each rule  311  for a signifier in step  922   b,    922   c.  If the rule  311  has a signifier, the editor  111  either executes instructions to obtain the information associated with that rule  311  in step  912   b  or obtains tagged information contained in that rule  311  in step  931   c.  In either instance, the information is then sent to the appropriate field in the template  610  in step  913   b,    913   c.  The process is repeated until all of the rules  311  have been checked. 
         [0069]    Once the template has been repopulated with information by the process of obtaining information  910   a - c,  the administrator  108  is free to use the input and save the information process  620   a - c,  as discussed above, thus, effectively updating the information contained in the template  610  and anywhere else that the information has been saved. 
         [0070]    The present invention enables a person to successfully customize a Bot for an individual application where the person uses knowledge that can be given to the Bot by any lay person or lower-level employee. This results in several important advantages. Information can be inexpensively input, and fully effective rules formed, by administrators working at pay grades substantially below that of a skilled programmer. Cost is further reduced by the fact that little or no training is required to accomplish this task. Speed to completion is dramatically enhanced, as there is no actual scripting that needs to take place—it all takes place automatically upon completion. The opportunity for error is greatly reduced, and consistent effectiveness of the rules at responding to inputs is greatly enhanced, dramatically increasing overall quality. The invention also provides a way to easily and consistently create and manage a large number of similarly-tasked Bots. 
         [0071]    It will be understood by those skilled in the art that while the foregoing description sets forth in detail preferred ordering of steps of the various processes, other ordering of the steps are contemplated by the present invention. 
         [0072]    It will be understood by those skilled in the art that while the foregoing description sets forth in detail preferred embodiments of the present invention, modifications, additions, and changes might be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.