Patent ID: 7117159

Claim:
A network-based voice command platform for interacting with remote users via speech signals exchanged between the user and the voice command platform via a telephone and a communications network, comprising: a user communication interface for receiving speech from the user via the telephone and the network; a processor; an application-processing module executable by the processor to process voice command applications designed for interacting with users via speech, the voice command applications defining user-prompts, allowed grammars, and application logic; a voice-processing module executable by the processor to recognize the allowed grammars in speech signals received from a user via the user communication interface, and to convert the user-prompts into speech signals for transmission to the user via the user communication interface, the voice-processing module having a plurality of selectable modes of operation; and selection-logic executable by the processor in response to a specification received during a voice command session with the user, to cause the voice-processing module to operate according to a mode of operation that corresponds with the specification.