Patent ID: 6934684

Claim:
An operating model for a telephone-based audio-interfaced goods and services information service, comprising: an information database provider storing merchant information including a merchant identity information, at least one good or service associated with said merchant, at least one merchant audio voice coupon associated with the at least one good or service, and an end-consumer notification service data set; an audio merchant interface including a first telephone for inputting said merchant information into said database; a second telephone for inputting end-consumer spoken voice commands making a request for information and for receiving said merchant information in audio form stored in said database in response to said input spoken voice commands making said request for information, said inputting end-consumer spoken voice commands making a request for information occurring without a conversion of a text command into a spoken voice command and without the use of a computer; and at least one speech server separate from said merchant interface and said end-consumer second telephone and operable to: (i) receive said input spoken end-consumer voice commands in audio form and translate said received input spoken voice commands into a first symbolic command form using a speech-to-text conversion engine so that said symbolic command form may be used to search said information database and retrieve an information item in a second symbolic form therefrom, and (ii) convert said retrieved second symbolic form information item into speech using a text-to-speech conversion engine for communication to said end user in spoken form.