Customer servìce is deíined as Ihe abiliIy oí a

company Io aííord Ihe service reguesIor wiIh

Ihe expressed need. Due Io Ihe increasing
imporIance oí service oííerings as a revenue
source and increasing compeIiIion among serv-
ice providers, iI is imporIanI íor companies Io
opIimize boIh Ihe cusIomer experience as well
as Ihe associaIed cosI oí providing Ihe service.
Eor more complex inIeracIions wiIh higher val-
ue, mixed-iniIiaIive sysIems provide an avenue
IhaI gives a good balance beIween Ihe Iwo
goals. This arIicle describes a mixed-iniIiaIive
sysIem IhaI was creaIed Io improve cusIomer
supporI íor problems cusIomers encounIered
wiIh Iheir appliances. The Iool helped call Iak-
ers solve cusIomers´ problems by suggesIing
guesIions aiding Ihe diagnosis oí Ihese prob-
lems. The mixed-iniIiaIive sysIem improved Ihe
correcIness oí Ihe diagnosIic process, Ihe speed
oí Ihe process, and user saIisíacIion. The Iool
has been in use since 1ººº and has provided
more Ihan $S0 million in íinancial beneíiIs by
increasing Ihe percenIage oí guesIions IhaI
could be answered wiIhouI sending a íield serv-
ice Iechnician Io Ihe cusIomers´ homes. AnoIh-
er mixed-iniIiaIive Iool, íor answering e-mail
írom cusIomers, was creaIed in 2000.
O
ne oí Ihe more írusIraIing experiences
in calling an auIomaIed answering sys-
Iem íor iníormaIion or help is being
íorced Io lisIen Io all Ihe menu opIions and
Ihen being direcIed Ihrough Ihe sysIem, some-
Iimes reguiring a redial (only Io sIarI again aI
Ihe Iop menu opIion). These sysIems are raIher
popular wiIh companies because Ihey save
money÷Ihe companies´ money, IhaI is. How-
ever, in a compeIiIive service indusIry, Ihese
íully auIomaIed sysIems may noI be Ihe besI
choice íor a service provider because cusIomer
saIisíacIion plays an increasingly imporIanI
role. Thereíore, more sophisIicaIed Iools are
employed IhaI aIIempI Io balance Ihe need oí
making Ihe cusIomer happy÷and perhaps
increasing some direcI Iangible beneíiI aI Ihe
same Iime. This is where mixed-iniIiaIive sys-
Iems play an imporIanI role.
General ElecIric (GE) Consumer & IndusIri-
al´s Appliances Division manuíacIures and sells
a wide range oí home appliances. GE´s sub-
sidiary, Advanced Services Inc. (ASI), provides
cusIomer service call cenIers IhaI help solve
cusIomer issues over Ihe Ielephone and sched-
ule íield service visiIs when needed. One oí Ihe
Ielephone services ASI provides is a group oí
more Ihan 300 íield service call Iakers who
schedule íield service personnel Io visiI cus-
Iomers´ homes. Around 1.4 million home vis-
iIs are scheduled per year. The call Iakers´ pri-
mary goal was Io schedule service visiIs, noI
diagnose problems wiIh appliances over Ihe
Ielephone. However, Ihey were able Io help Ihe
cusIomer wiIhouI sending a íield service Iech-
nician in 3.º percenI oí Ihe calls. There was an
opporIuniIy Io increase Ihis percenIage
because abouI 20 percenI oí Ihe Iime all Ihe
íield service represenIaIive who visiIed Ihe
home needed Io do was Io iníorm Ihe cusIomer
abouI a parIicular seIIing or remedial acIion. Ií
Ihis iníormaIion could have been obIained
over Ihe Ielephone, iI would have saved Iime
íor boIh Ihe cusIomer and Ihe íield service rep-
resenIaIive. However, Iraining Ihe call Iakers Io
diagnose appliances was diííiculI because oí
Ihe large number oí appliances IhaI can be
Artìcles
SUMMER 2007 8º
ApplIance Call Center:
A SuccessIul MIxed-
InItIatIve Case Study
Wìllìam Cheetham anJ Kaì Goehel
A| Magazlno volumo 28 Numbor 2 (2OOJ) (¹ AAA|)
serviced, Ihe complexiIy oí modern appliances,
and Ihe high Iurnover in Ihe call Iakers. The
soluIion íor Ihis was Io creaIe a soíIware Iool
IhaI acIs as a mixed-iniIiaIive assisIanI (Allen
1ººº) íor Ihe call Iakers called SupporI Ihe Cus-
Iomer (STC).
The STC sysIem is jusI one parI oí Ihe call-
Iaking process. The íull process is shown in íig-
ure 1. In Ihis process, Ihe cusIomer, in Ihe boI-
Iom leíI, calls an 800 number provided íor
scheduling home visiIs oí íield service Iechni-
cians. A cusIomer call-Iracking sysIem (AgenI
1) receives Ihe call, accesses a cusIomer daIa-
base Io reIrieve iníormaIion, such as Ihe cus-
Iomer´s address and regisIered producIs, Ihen
displays Ihis iníormaIion Io Ihe call Iaker who
acIually answers Ihe Ielephone. STC is AgenI 2.
Beíore STC was developed, Ihe call Iakers
would answer Ihe guesIions Io Ihe besI oí Iheir
abiliIy using Iheir personal knowledge, Irain-
ing, paper manuals, íreguenIly asked guesIions
lisIs, and weekly paper ílyers on new issues.
STC uses a case base, a rule base, and a decision
Iree Io assisI Ihe call Iakers in helping Ihe cus-
Iomers. STC sIores cases oí problems and Iheir
soluIions, a decision Iree oí guesIions IhaI are
used in a diagnosIic process Io diííerenIiaIe Ihe
acIual case írom all oIhers, and rules IhaI can
auIomaIically answer guesIions. AíIer Ihe
appliance has been diagnosed, Ihe resulIs oí
Ihe diagnosis are sIored in Ihe call-scheduling
sysIem, AgenI 3. The call-scheduling sysIem
creaIes a planned rouIing íor Ihe íield service
Iechnician Ihe nighI beíore Ihe service call is Io
Iake place and suggesIs parIs Io sIock on Ihe
repair person´s Iruck. The call-Iaking sysIem
also sends daIa abouI Ihe cusIomer Io STC, and
Ihe íield service Iechnician can provide íeed-
back on Ihe success or íailure oí Ihe service vis-
iI Io STC.
The nexI secIion discusses STC in more
deIail. Then Ihe mixed-iniIiaIive issues oí STC
are described. The íinal secIion gives resulIs
írom mulIiple years oí usage íor STC.
Artìcles
º0 AI MAGAZINE
keLrieves user
sLaLisLics,
appliance, and
warranLy
lnformaLion
Provides
mixed-iniLiaLive
decision supporL
Schedules
field visiL
Agent T
Call Center
0perator
Customer Fleld Technlclan
Agent 2 Agent 3
Call Tracklng Ingelllgent
5oftware
Call
5chedullng
lìçure 1. Customer Support lrocess.
SupporI Ihe
CusIomer ApplicaIion
The call-cenIer Iool is designed Io help call Iak-
ers solve cusIomers´ problems by suggesIing
guesIions IhaI can be used Io diagnose Ihe cus-
Iomers´ problems. The primary goals oí Ihe call
Iaker are Ihe correcI diagnosis oí Ihe appliance,
speed oí diagnosIics, and cusIomer saIisíacIion.
The purpose oí Ihe soíIware Iool is Io improve
meIrics associaIed wiIh Ihese goals. In order Io
do Ihis, Ihere were mulIiple reguiremenIs íor
Ihe soíIware Iool. These reguiremenIs are sim-
ilar Io Ihe principles oí mixed-iniIiaIive user
inIeríaces described by Eric HorviIz (1ººº). The
reguiremenIs are (1) suggesI correcI resoluIions
Io cusIomer issues, (2) suggesI guesIions IhaI
will diagnose Ihe problem, (3) increase Ihe
speed oí Ihe diagnosis process, (4) increase user
saIisíacIion wiIh Ihe process, (S) explain Io Ihe
user why someIhing was suggesIed, and (ô)
have Ihe Iool learn írom iIs experiences and be
able Io adapI Io a changing environmenI.
RelaIed Work and Tool Usage
Case-based reasoning (CBR) (AamodI and Flaza
1ºº4) has been used Io auIomaIe cusIomer-
supporI help desks by many companies such as
Compag (Acorn and Walden 1ºº2) and Broder-
bund (WaIson 1ºº7). Using CBR íor cusIomer
supporI (Simoudis 1ºº2) has become oí inIer-
esI Io many oIher companies wiIh help desks.
We used a CBR Iool Io assisI GE Consumer
FroducIs cusIomer-supporI personnel. STC was
creaIed using a CBR Iool írom Iníerence Cor-
poraIion called k-commerce. (Iníerence was laI-
er acguired by eGain.) K-commerce allowed íor
mixed iniIiaIive beIween Ihe call Iaker and Ihe
auIomaIed assisIanI. II provided sIandard user
inIeríaces íor Ihe knowledge engineer and end
user (IhaI is, call Iaker). The knowledge engi-
neer inIeríace included íorms íor creaIing cas-
es and rules. During projecI developmenI,
Iníerence CorporaIion also released a Iool íor
creaIing decision Irees. These Iools greaIly
reduced Ihe developmenI Iime íor Ihe projecI
and allowed us Io íocus on knowledge acguisi-
Iion insIead oí Iool creaIion.
The k-commerce íorm íor creaIing a new
case allows Ihe knowledge engineer Io enIer a
IiIle, descripIion, mulIiple guesIions, and a res-
oluIion íor Ihe case. The sysIem selecIs Ihe
mosI relevanI cases using Iwo criIeria. The íirsI
criIerion is Ihe degree oí maIch beIween Ihe
IexI descripIion oí Ihe problem Iyped in by Ihe
call Iaker and Ihe IexI in Ihe IiIle and descrip-
Iion oí Ihe case. The second criIerion is Ihe per-
cenIage oí guesIions in Ihe case IhaI have been
answered correcIly. When Ihe diagnosIic
process is sIarIed (beíore any guesIions have
been answered) Ihe selecIion oí Ihe mosI rele-
vanI cases is based on Ihe IexI maIch. Then, as
guesIions írom Ihe highesI maIching cases are
suggesIed and answered, Ihe correcI answers
play a larger roll in deIermining Ihe mosI rele-
vanI cases. The appropriaIe case is selecIed by
answering Ihe guesIions IhaI diííerenIiaIe Ihe
possible cases. Eor our applicaIion we wanIed
Io be able Io suggesI one and only one case as
Ihe soluIion. A way Io guaranIee IhaI Ihese
guesIions can diííerenIiaIe every case in Ihe
case base is Io íorm a Iree oí guesIions over Ihe
case base where each case is a leaí in Ihe Iree
and each inIernal node in Ihe Iree is a gues-
Iion. We consider Ihis approach as a hybrid
approach IhaI employs boIh decision Iree and
CBR meIhodology where Ihe decision Iree is
simply Ihe selecIion mechanism oí Ihe CBR
sysIem. Some problems can be represenIed by
cases wiIhouI creaIing a decision Iree (EAQs are
an example oí Ihese), buI íor oIhers iI is beIIer
Io have a decision Iree creaIed íor Ihem (any-
Ihing wiIh a signiíicanI diagnosIic process used
Ihe decision Iree approach). Eigure 2 shows a
porIion oí a decision Iree where recIangles are
guesIions, Ihe arrows are answers, and ovals are
cases.
K-commerce also allows Ihe creaIion oí rules
IhaI can auIomaIically answer guesIions. An
example oí a rule is, ií Ihe answer Io Ihe gues-
Iion "WhaI Iype producI is your appliance7" is
"ReírigeraIor" and Ihe Ihird and íourIh charac-
Ier in Ihe model number are boIh "S" Ihen Ihe
answer Io Ihe guesIion "WhaI Iype oí reíriger-
aIor do you have7" is "Side-by-Side."
User InIeríace
The currenI inIeríace íor STC is shown in íigure
3. The criIical iníormaIion Iab aI Ihe Iop has
Ihe producI line and model number, which are
boIh passed in írom Ihe call-Iaking sysIem. II
also has Ihe problem descripIion, which is
Iyped in by Ihe call Iaker. The model group can
be deIermined by a rule IhaI uses Ihe model
number. The symptom ìs a keyword phrase IhaI
is selecIed by Ihe call Iaker. The guesIions Iab
has a seI oí guesIions Ihe call Iaker can ask Ihe
cusIomer Io diagnose Ihe problem. The resulIs
Iab has a seI oí soluIions. SelecIing Ihe correcI
resulI is Ihe goal oí Ihe process.
ApplicaIion DevelopmenI
The developmenI oí Ihe STC sysIem was a íive-
sIep process. These same íive sIeps can be íol-
lowed íor deploying oIher applicaIions oí AI:
íirsI, sIandardize Ihe process and knowledge,
second, digiIize Ihe inpuIs and ouIpuIs, Ihird,
Artìcles
SUMMER 2007 º1
auIomaIe Ihe process as much as possible,
íourIh, conIrol Ihe gualiIy oí Ihe sysIem, and
íiíIh, leverage Ihe sysIem and knowledge íor
improved impacI.
SIandardizing Ihe call-Iaking process
involved idenIiíying all cases IhaI can and can-
noI be solved on Ihe Ielephone and deIermin-
ing Ihe correcI guesIions Io ask and Ihe correcI
order in which Io ask Ihem. Much oí Ihis
knowledge was IaciI knowledge (IhaI is, per-
sonal experience oí Ihe call Iakers and engi-
neers). Since diííerenI call Iakers would ask dií-
íerenI guesIions Io diagnose Ihe same problem,
we íormed Ieams oí call Iakers and engineers Io
deIermine whaI should be Ihe correcI cases,
guesIions, and order oí guesIions. The visual-
izaIions oí Ihe decision Irees were very useíul
in reviewing and opIimizing Ihis knowledge.
The knowledge was enIered inIo Ihe case base
only aíIer Ihe engineers and call Iakers creaIed
Ihese visualizaIions and saíeIy, legal, gualiIy,
and consumer-service personnel validaIed
Ihem. This Iook Ihe majoriIy oí Ihe Iime need-
ed Io creaIe Ihe STC sysIem.
DigiIizing Ihe inpuIs and ouIpuIs oí Ihe STC
sysIem was Ihe nexI sIep. The call-Iaking sys-
Iem was modiíied Io sIarI up Ihe STC sysIem
and send relevanI daIa (íor example, model
number) íor every Ielephone call. K-commerce
was modiíied slighIly so IhaI iI could accepI
Ihe daIa. The call-scheduling agenI, írom íig-
ure 1, was modiíied Io accepI a large amounI oí
daIa írom Ihe STC sysIem in addiIion Io Ihe
daIa iI was receiving írom Ihe call Iaker. The
STC daIa was capIured every Iime Ihe case base
was used Io answer a call. The daIa included
sIarI Iime, end Iime, cusIomer Ielephone num-
ber, call-Iaker ID, Iype oí appliance, a shorI IexI
descripIion oí Ihe issue, all guesIions asked by
CBR, all answers given Io Ihese guesIions, Ihe
case suggesIed, and wheIher Ihis answer was
accepIed by Ihe cusIomer.
AuIomaIing Ihe enIire Ielephone conversa-
Iion was noI possible wiIh Ihe sIaIe oí naIural
language processing Iechnology, buI a Ieam oí
a call Iaker working wiIh Ihe STC sysIem can
eííecIively auIomaIe Ihe applicaIion oí Ihe
sIandardized and opIimized process. An
aIIempI was made Io auIomaIe Ihe applicaIion
as a web-based cusIomer selí-service Iool. This
was discussed in CheeIham (2003).
ConIrolling Ihe gualiIy oí Ihe sysIem aíIer iI
was creaIed was more expensive Ihan Ihe ini-
Iial creaIion buI also conIinued Io improve Ihe
success raIe. IniIially, each week a case auIhor
would analyze Ihe daIa in Ihe call-scheduling
sysIem íor every call IhaI was Iaken íor Ihe
week using sIandardized daIabase gueries. The
auIhor was looking íor any Irends and espe-
cially any Iimes a caller would noI be saIisíied
by a suggesIion. Any Irends or ouIsIanding
iIems would be discussed in a weekly íeedback
meeIing wiIh Ihe call Iakers. The resulI oí Ihe
íeedback meeIings would be a íew changes in
Ihe case base, decision Irees, and rules. These
changes would be made immediaIely and
reviewed in Ihe nexI week´s meeIing. The íre-
guency oí Ihese reviews decreased as Ihe case
base, decision Irees, and rules sIabilized.
Leveraging Ihe STC sysIem, knowledge in
Artìcles
º2 AI MAGAZINE
Which compartment is too coId?
lresh lood lreezer
What is freezer temperature setting?
<= 3 > 3
Schedule service
Lower LemperaLure,
waiL 24 hours
lìçure 2. Oecìsìon Tree jor ´Rejrìçerator too ColJ."
Ihe case base, and daIa in Ihe call-record daIa-
base provided addiIional beneíiIs IhaI were noI
all íoreseen when Ihe íirsI version oí STC was
creaIed. One beneíiI was Ihe abiliIy Io auIo-
maIe Ihe response Io e-mail. II Iakes longer íor
a person aI Ihe call cenIer Io answer an e-mail
message Ihan a Ielephone message, and in
2000 GE´s e-mail volume was growing rapidly.
We used Cisco´s e-mail manager Iool Io sIore
replies Io íreguenIly asked guesIions so IhaI
Ihey can be reused on íuIure similar guesIions.
In order Io selecI Ihe appropriaIe reply, a seI oí
decision Irees was creaIed where each node in
Ihe Iree is a rule abouI meIadaIa regarding Ihe
e-mail. Each leaí node in Ihe decision Iree
speciíies a seI oí replies IhaI can be used Io
answer IhaI speciíic Iype oí e-mail message.
These Irees are similar buI noI idenIical Io Ihe
Irees used by STC. The e-mail handler does noI
auIomaIically answer e-mail, iI suggesIs previ-
ous replies IhaI can be reused íor a person who
Ihen jusI selecIs Ihe correcI response írom a
lisI oí suggesIions. The person can ediI Ihe sug-
gesIed reply, creaIe a new one, or send Ihe sug-
gesIed reply unchanged wiIh one buIIon click.
Eigure 4 shows a case írom Ihe e-mail man-
ager. A cusIomer e-mailed GE saying Ihe cus-
Iomer had a S0-year-old reírigeraIor in períecI
working condiIion and asked ií we would like
Io purchase iI. The reply Io Ihis e-mail was
sIored in Ihe case base and is now used abouI
Iwo Iimes per week. CusIomer-supporI per-
sonnel eiIher send Ihis exacI reply or ediI iI ií
Ihe reguesI was slighIly diííerenI.
UndersIanding a íree IexI e-mail message is
diííiculI íor an auIomaIed sysIem, so we had
Ihe decision Iree use only meIadaIa IhaI was
senI wiIh Ihe e-mail. The meIadaIa was cre-
aIed by noI allowing cusIomers Io send e-
mail direcIly Io us, we made Ihem enIer Ihe
iníormaIion on a íorm on our web siIe. All e-
mail addresses on our producIs were replaced
wiIh web pages. In addiIion Io Ihe íree IexI oí
Ihe e-mail, cusIomers needed Io classiíy Iheir
messages based on a íew pull-down menus
on Ihe web siIe and provide a Ielephone
number. This selí-classiíicaIion oí Ihe e-mail
creaIed Ihe meIadaIa IhaI made iI much eas-
Artìcles
SUMMER 2007 º3
lìçure J. Call Taler User lnterjace.
ier íor an auIomaIed sysIem Io selecI similar
cases.
The e-mail handling and STC Iool work
IogeIher. Ií we deIermine an e-mail would be
beIIer answered wiIh a Ielephone call Ihen we
can use STC Io help Ihe cusIomer. A new group
oí cusIomer-supporI personnel was creaIed.
They do noI answer calls. They call Ihe cus-
Iomers Ihemselves. We keep Irack oí Ihe suc-
cess raIe íor each producI}naIure-oí-problem
combinaIion so we know Ihe predicIed chance
oí solving Ihe problem over Ihe Ielephone. Ií
Ihe cusIomer does noI answer Ihe Ielephone aI
our íirsI aIIempI, we can repeaIedly Iry Io con-
IacI cusIomers wiIh a high chance oí success
using callback beíore replying wiIh an e-mail.
Mixed-IniIiaIive Issues oí STC
STC is a mixed-iniIiaIive conversaIional CBR
sysIem IhaI acIs as an inIelligenI assisIanI íor
Ihe call Iaker. TogeIher, STC and Ihe call Iaker
íorm a Ieam in which each provides a needed
sIrengIh where Ihe oIher has a weakness. This
secIion describes how each mixed-iniIiaIive
issue (Tecuci, Boicu, and Cox 2007) was
addressed in Ihe STC applicaIion.
Task Issue
The Iask issue addresses Ihe division oí respon-
sibiliIy beIween Ihe human and Ihe agenIs. To
decide which Iasks humans should do and
which inIelligenI agenIs should do, one should
deIermine where humans are more appropriaIe
Ihan inIelligenI agenIs and where agenIs have
advanIages over humans. Humans are hard Io
beaI aI common sense, inIeracIing wiIh oIher
humans, and creaIiviIy. InIelligenI agenIs, on
Ihe oIher hand, are good aI many Ihings IhaI
humans íind cumbersome or Iedious, such as
íollowing a precise process, sIoring and reIriev-
ing large guanIiIies oí iníormaIion, and maIh-
emaIical compuIaIions. While humans have a
moderaIe cosI Io Irain and a moderaIe Io high
cosI Io períorm a Iask, agenIs have a high cosI
Io program íor a Iask buI a low cosI Io imple-
menI IhaI program.
Tasks can be períormed by a human (wiIh-
ouI an agenI), an agenI (wiIhouI a human), or
a human and an agenI. Beíore compuIers, all
Iasks were períormed wiIhouI an agenI. In Ihe
recenI pasI, AI has been used Io creaIe sysIems
in which an agenI operaIes wiIhouI a human.
However, Ihere are many Iasks IhaI can beneíiI
írom a human períorming a porIion oí Ihe Iask
and an agenI períorming a diííerenI porIion oí
Ihe Iask. Tasks like Ihis are good candidaIes íor
mixed-iniIiaIive sysIems.
In a call cenIer, Ihe Iask oí helping cusIomers
reguires inIeracIion wiIh Ihe cusIomer and
common sense buI also adherence Io a process
and accessing a large amounI oí iníormaIion in
a Iimely íashion. The call Iakers are good aI Ihe
naIural language processing IhaI is needed Io
inIeracI wiIh Ihe cusIomers, buI iI is diííiculI
íor Ihem Io sIore and correcIly reIrieve Ihe
large amounI oí Iechnical iníormaIion IhaI is
needed Io help Ihe cusIomer. Luckily, STC is
very good aI sIoring and reIrieving Ihis iníor-
maIion even Ihough iI cannoI do any naIural
language processing. The user (call Iaker) per-
íorms Ihe inIeracIions wiIh Ihe cusIomer, and
Ihe agenI (STC) sIores and reIrieves Ihe sIan-
dardized knowledge abouI diagnosing appli-
ances. Beíore Ihis sysIem was íielded, much oí
Ihe iníormaIion needed Io diagnose a problem
was in manuals and IaciI knowledge oí a íew
call Iakers. CusIomers would oíIen be placed
on hold while Ihe call Iakers looked íor Ihe cor-
recI manual and Ihen searched íor Ihe perIi-
nenI iníormaIion. Having an agenI IhaI could
sIore Ihis iníormaIion, provide iI auIomaIical-
ly, and guide Ihe call Iaker in Ihe diagnosis
removed many írusIraIing delays.
AnoIher Iask IhaI Ihe agenI can períorm is
auIomaIically answering Ihe guesIions IhaI iI
is coníidenI iI can answer correcIly. Some oí
Artìcles
º4 AI MAGAZINE
lìçure 4. L-maìl Lxample Case.
Ihese guesIions include iníormaIion IhaI can
be obIained írom oIher sources Ihan Ihe cus-
Iomer. IníormaIion abouI Ihe cusIomer, such
as models owned and previous diagnosIics ses-
sions, can be sIored in a daIabase. When gues-
Iions reguire Ihis iníormaIion, iI can be
answered auIomaIically. One íuIure goal íor
high-end appliances is Io include a Ielephone
or EIherneI connecIion so addiIional diagnos-
Iic daIa, such as measuremenIs írom a Iemper-
aIure sensor, can be senI direcIly Io Ihe diag-
nosIic Iool, allowing iI Io Iake iniIiaIive on a
wider seI oí guesIions.
ConIrol Issue
The conIrol issue addresses Ihe shiíI oí iniIia-
Iive and conIrol beIween Ihe human and Ihe
agenIs. This primarily íocuses on how Ihe
agenIs should show iniIiaIive, including proac-
Iive behavior. Humans oíIen show iniIiaIive
and can generally sIrike a good balance in judg-
ing when iniIiaIive will be useíul and when iI
will noI be useíul. To IhaI end, humans con-
sider a range oí guiding principles including:
(1) Have an undersIanding oí Ihe goals and pri-
oriIies. (2) Have an undersIanding oí Ihe cur-
renI siIuaIion. (3) IdenIiíy a Iask írom Ihe cur-
renI siIuaIion IhaI can help goals. (4) IdenIiíy
poIenIial beneíiIs and problems írom doing a
Iask. (S) DeIermine Ihe coníidence aI which a
Iask should be períormed (high÷do Iask,
low÷do noI do Iask, and medium÷ask ií Iask
should be done). (ô) Have Ihe abiliIy Io per-
íorm a Iask. (7) Iníorm oIhers IhaI a Iask has
been done.
IIems one, Iwo, and Ihree are needed Io cor-
recIly idenIiíy opporIuniIies íor Iaking iniIia-
Iive. IIem íour gaIhers iníormaIion abouI Ihe
advanIages and disadvanIages oí Iaking Ihe ini-
IiaIive. Care musI be Iaken Io idenIiíy Ihe dis-
advanIages. Fossible disadvanIages include
boIhering oIhers, doing an unwanIed Iask,
doing a low-prioriIy Iask insIead oí a high-pri-
oriIy one, and being desIrucIive or wasIeíul.
The íiíIh iIem is weighing Ihe advanIages
and disadvanIages. Ií Ihe advanIages greaIly
ouIweigh Ihe disadvanIages Ihen Ihe iniIiaIive
should mosI likely be Iaken. Ií Ihe disadvan-
Iages ouIweigh Ihe advanIages Ihen Ihe iniIia-
Iive should noI be Iaken. Ií neiIher Ihe advan-
Iages nor Ihe disadvanIages ouIweigh Ihe oIher
Ihen a human can ask anoIher person (íor
example, a supervisor) ií Ihe iniIiaIive should
be Iaken. The human needs Ihe abiliIy Io per-
íorm Ihe Iask and should iníorm oIhers aííecI-
ed IhaI Ihe Iask has been compleIed.
SoíIware agenIs can use Ihe same seI oí
guidelines when Ihey aIIempI Io show iniIia-
Iive. They should undersIand Ihe goals, priori-
Iies, currenI siIuaIion, and seI oí possible ini-
IiaIive acIions. They should be able Io idenIiíy
advanIages and disadvanIages. DisadvanIages
oí an auIomaIed assisIanI Iaking inappropriaIe
iniIiaIive include boIhering Ihe user, locking
Ihe user ouI (sIealing cycles), acIing in an
unknown way, undoing Ihe user´s desired
acIions, making Ihe user undo Ihe agenI´s
acIions, and keeping Ihe user írom doing Iasks.
The agenI should be able Io deIermine Ihe
coníidence IhaI Ihe iniIiaIive should be Iaken
(CheeIham and Frice 2004). Then, Ihe agenI
execuIes Ihe acIion wiIh highesI coníidence
and iníorms Ihe user oí Ihe acIion Iaken.
Since speed oí call is a reguiremenI in STC,
we do noI wanI Io have Ihe call Iaker ever waiI
íor Ihe agenI. All oí Ihe agenI´s acIions Iake
place so guickly IhaI Ihey appear Io be insIan-
Ianeous Io Ihe call Iaker. This is also imporIanI
íor Ihe cusIomer´s saIisíacIion, because we do
noI wanI Io have Ihe cusIomer waiI íor Ihe
agenI.
Einally, Ihe acIion suggesIed aíIer diagnosis
is compleIed can be auIomaIed. The call Iaker
could sIep Ihe user Ihrough a precreaIed repair
process or e-mail or íax Ihe process Io Ihe user.
Ií parIs are reguired, Ihe agenI can place an
order íor Ihe parIs Io be senI Io Ihe address oí
Ihe cusIomer. Ií a service Iechnician is reguired,
Ihe Iime íor IhaI visiI can be scheduled and a
descripIion oí Ihe problem auIomaIically senI
Io Ihe call-scheduling sysIem.
Awareness Issue
The awareness issue addresses Ihe mainIenance
oí a shared awareness wiIh respecI Io Ihe cur-
renI sIaIe oí Ihe human and agenIs. This can
be diííiculI. The humans and agenIs have com-
pleIely diííerence senses. Humans have sighI,
hearing, Iouch, IasIe, and smell. Any iníorma-
Iion gaIhered wiIh Ihese senses will need Io be
relayed Io Ihe agenI. AgenIs have access Io dig-
iIized daIa sources such as sensors or daIabases.
Any perIinenI iníormaIion discovered by Ihe
agenI needs Io be relayed Io Ihe human.
Humans have experiences and knowledge IhaI
can be used Io make conclusions írom exisIing
iníormaIion. AgenIs may include an experI sys-
Iem IhaI also makes conclusions, mosI likely in
a diííerenI way írom Ihe human.
One good way Io keep a shared awareness is
Io share Ihree Iypes oí iníormaIion: íacIs and
belieís, reasoning, and conclusions. To obIain a
clear undersIanding oí an agenI´s awareness, all
Ihree iníormaIion Iypes are needed by Ihe
human. Showing íacIs and belieís allows Ihe
human Io check íor any IhaI are noI correcI,
currenI, or consisIenI wiIh Ihe human´s íacIs
and belieís. The conclusions are Ihe value IhaI
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Ihe agenI produces and need Io be shown Io
Ihe human. The reasoning is Ihe bridge
beIween Ihe íacIs and belieís and Ihe conclu-
sion. II can be diííiculI Io share Ihe reasoning
oí black-box Iechnigues, such as neural neIs.
Thereíore, black-box Iechnigues should be
used in mixed-iniIiaIive sysIems only when
Iheir reasoning does noI need Io be inspecIed
(íor example, Ihis process does noI need Io be
audiIed or is guaranIeed Io be correcI). Two
oIher rules oí Ihumb on having a shared aware-
ness are (1) do noI make Ihe agenIs guess aI Ihe
siIuaIion, as incorrecI assumpIions can cause
many problems in a mixed-iniIiaIive sysIem,
and (2) allow Ihe human Io inspecI and change
Ihe agenI´s íacIs and belieís.
Eor STC, in order íor Ihe agenI Io be able Io
make valid suggesIions, iI needs Io have aware-
ness oí all Ihe iníormaIion IhaI Ihe call Iaker
has abouI Ihe problem. This reguires Ihe STC
sysIem Io have all possible guesIions IhaI Ihe
call Iaker can ask and all possible answers Io
Ihose guesIions. We guickly íound IhaI each
guesIion needed an answer oí "unknown" and
IhaI Ihe agenI needed Io be able Io correcIly
deal wiIh Ihese answers. Eor insIance, Ihe cus-
Iomer may noI be able Io answer Ihe guesIion
"WhaI is Ihe model number oí your appli-
ance7" This guesIion also led Io Ihe creaIion oí
a model number locaIor agenI IhaI can be used
Io locaIe Ihe model number on any appliance.
The user musI also have awareness abouI
whaI Ihe agenI is doing. Since Ihe agenI can
Iake Ihe iniIiaIive Io answer guesIions, Ihe user
musI be able Io inspecI Ihe conclusions IhaI
Ihe agenI has made. In STC, all guesIions IhaI
Ihe agenI has answered auIomaIically are lisIed
íor Ihe agenI so Ihey can be easily reviewed,
buI answering Ihem does noI inIerrupI Ihe
user. II is also imporIanI IhaI Ihe call Iaker be
able Io change Ihe answers when a guesIion is
answered auIomaIically. The user can click on
Ihe guesIion IhaI Ihe agenI has answered and
Ihen selecI a diííerenI answer. A sysIem admin-
isIraIor can also inspecI Ihe íacIs and rules IhaI
caused a guesIion Io be auIomaIically
answered.
CommunicaIion Issue
The communicaIion issue addresses Ihe proIo-
cols IhaI íaciliIaIe Ihe exchange oí knowledge
and iníormaIion beIween Ihe human and Ihe
agenIs. These proIocols include mixed-iniIia-
Iive dialog and mulIimodal inIeríaces.
The communicaIions írom human Io agenI
in a mixed-iniIiaIive sysIem need Io be as eííi-
cienI as possible íor Ihe human and as com-
pleIe as possible íor Ihe agenIs. These are oíIen
compeIing goals. The human has limiIed Iime
Io updaIe Ihe awareness oí Ihe agenIs. One
goal oí a mixed-iniIiaIive sysIem is oíIen Io
save Iime íor Ihe human and having Ihe
human spend a large amounI oí Iime or eííorI
updaIing Ihe agenIs´ awareness deíeaIs Ihis
purpose. However, Ihe agenIs need as compleIe
an awareness oí Ihe siIuaIion as possible in
order Io provide assisIance Io Ihe human.
The communicaIion írom Ihe agenIs Io Ihe
human needs Io be easy and unobIrusive íor
Ihe human, buI Ihe human also needs Io have
access Io all iníormaIion IhaI could be valu-
able. Ií Ihe communicaIion is noI easy and
unobIrusive íor humans, Ihey will be unlikely
Io use Ihe sysIem because Ihe beneíiIs Io Ihem
do noI ouIweigh Ihese cosIs. One way Io make
Ihe communicaIions less obIrusive is Io reduce
Ihe íalse alarm raIe (IhaI is, Ihe percenIage oí
communicaIions when Ihe agenI needlessly
communicaIes Io Ihe human). These needless
communicaIions jusI boIher Ihe human. One
real deployed example oí possibly boIhersome
communicaIion is a voice-based warning sys-
Iem íor Ihe E-1ô combaI aircraíI. The íemale
voice Iells Ihe piloI Io "pull up" írom a dive or
"warning, warning" when Ihe piloI needs Io
pay aIIenIion Io various panel displays (Ihe
nagging íemale voice goI nicknamed "BiIching
BeIIy" by piloIs).
Eor STC, Ihe primary communicaIion írom
Ihe agenI Io Ihe user is a suggesIed guesIion. II
would be bad ií Ihere was only one guesIion
suggesIed and iI was noI correcI íor Ihe given
siIuaIion. MulIiple meIhods can be used Io
reduce Ihe cosI oí an incorrecI suggesIed gues-
Iion. Some oí Ihese are providing mulIiple sug-
gesIions írom which Ihe user can pick, noI
íorcing Ihe user Io acI on Ihe suggesIion, and
unobIrusively presenIing Ihe suggesIed gues-
Iions Io Ihe call Iaker.
The primary communicaIions írom Ihe user
Io Ihe agenI are Ihe answers selecIed íor Ihe
guesIions. The seI oí answers Io a guesIion is
creaIed so IhaI each answer is appropriaIe íor a
diííerenI case. Eor insIance, we do noI ask íor
answers IhaI are conIinuous variables like Iem-
peraIure. We do ask íor ranges oí IemperaIures
where each range would have a meaning asso-
ciaIed wiIh iI. This way no posIprocessing is
needed Io Iurn Ihe answer inIo a diagnosIic
íacI.
Call Iakers and cusIomers oíIen wonder why
Ihe sysIem is suggesIing a speciíic guesIion.
User IrusI is enhanced ií Ihere is a clear expla-
naIion íor why Ihe sysIem is Iaking some
acIion. When Ihe guesIions are creaIed, we
oíIen also creaIe an explanaIion íor why Ihe
guesIion should be asked. This explanaIion can
be displayed íor Ihe call Iaker by clicking on
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ºô AI MAGAZINE
Ihe guesIion in Ihe user inIeríace. CreaIing
Ihese explanaIions in CBR sysIems can be dan-
gerous. One projecI Io creaIe auIomaIed expla-
naIions produced explanaIions IhaI were noI
always appropriaIe íor Ihe cusIomer. Eor exam-
ple, Ihe explanaIion íor why we are asking Ihe
guesIion "Is Ihe power cord plugged in7" was
"We are Irying Io coníirm Ihe problem cause
'IdioI User.´"
EvaluaIion Issue
The evaluaIion issue addresses Ihe human and
agenI conIribuIion Io Ihe overall sysIem´s per-
íormance. EvaluaIion oí a mixed-iniIiaIive sys-
Iem involves evaluaIion oí Ihe users, agenIs,
and Ihe agenI}user inIeracIion. One íield oí
sIudy íor evaluaIing user (IhaI is, employee)
períormance is called human resource man-
agemenI (HRM). The basic premise oí HRM is
IhaI humans should noI be IreaIed like
machines. In Ihe evaluaIion oí an agenI, iI
would also be good Io evaluaIe Ihe agenI less
like a machine and more like a person. In a
company seIIing, HRM evaluaIes employees on
Iwo major areas: Iheir individual abiliIies and
how Ihey work wiIh oIhers. The agenI should
be evaluaIed on boIh iIs individual abiliIies
and how iI inIeracIs wiIh Ihe user. An agenI
will noI be as eííecIive as possible unless iI is
compeIenI in boIh oí Ihese areas. The individ-
ual eííecIiveness oí Ihe agenI can be measured
wiIh guanIiIaIive indicaIors such as speed (sec-
onds), coverage (number oí Iasks Ihe agenI can
compleIe), íalse alarm raIe, and accuracy oí
resulIs. However, Ihe gualiIy oí iIs user inIerac-
Iions will probably need Io be evaluaIed wiIh
gualiIaIive indicaIors such as user saIisíacIion,
ease oí inIeracIion, IrusIworIhiness, íriendli-
ness, manners, and value provided Io Ihe user.
A mixed-iniIiaIive sysIem can be evaluaIed
on iIs speed, cosI, and correcIness in períorm-
ing iIs Iasks. DiííerenI sysIems will place diííer-
enI imporIance on each oí Ihese issues. In a
mixed-iniIiaIive sysIem Ihere is a guesIion oí
who will do each Iask, Ihe user or Ihe agenI.
The simple answer Io Ihis is Io have Ihe one
wiIh Ihe lowesI cosI, highesI speed, and high-
esI correcIness períorm Ihe Iask. The agenI
almosI always has Ihe highesI speed, so iI
would be good Io íocus on how Io have Ihe
agenI also have a low cosI and high correcI-
ness. The cosI oí Ihe agenI períorming a Iask
íor Ihe user can be IhoughI oí as Ihe sum oí Ihe
cosIs oí Ihe íollowing íive acIiviIies: (1) creaI-
ing Ihe agenI, (2) Ihe user Ielling Ihe agenI Io
do Ihe Iask, (3) Ihe agenI doing Ihe Iask, (4) Ihe
agenI communicaIing Ihe resulI Io Ihe user,
and (S) Ihe user receiving and validaIing Ihe
resulI oí Ihe agenI.
All oí Ihese cosIs should be reduced Io make
Ihe agenI as useíul as possible. A simple way Io
have Ihe agenI be as correcI as possible is Io
have iI only do Iasks (or speciíic insIances oí a
given Iask) where iI is likely Io be correcI.
Eigure S shows a generalized ílow oí conIrol
Ihrough a mixed-iniIiaIive sysIem. The process
can sIarI and go Io eiIher a user or an agenI.
Then users and agenIs will work Ihe Iask unIil
eiIher Ihe user or Ihe agenI ends Ihe Iask. Some
mixed-iniIiaIive sysIems may reguire eiIher Ihe
user or agenI Io sIarI and end Ihe Iask. One
exIreme oí Ihis ílow oí conIrol is Io have Ihe
user sIarI Ihe Iask, work on Ihe Iask wiIhouI
help írom Ihe agenI, and Ihen end Ihe Iask.
This is Ihe way many Iasks are done beíore Ihe
mixed-iniIiaIive sysIem is creaIed. The oIher
exIreme is Io have an agenI sIarI Ihe Iask, work
on Ihe Iask wiIhouI help írom Ihe user, and
Ihen end Ihe Iask. This is how many IradiIion-
al AI sysIems operaIe. This would usually be
Ihe lowesI cosI and highesI speed approach,
buI Ihere are many domains where Ihe correcI-
ness oí such a sysIem would noI be accepIable.
So, Ihe proper Irade-oíí íor a mixed-iniIiaIive
sysIem is Io have Ihe agenI do all oí Ihe Iasks
where iI can have an accepIable correcIness aI
a cosI IhaI is lower Ihan Ihe cosI oí Ihe user
períorming Ihe Iask. This would move as much
oí Ihe Iask as possible away írom Ihe user and
Io Ihe agenI.
One way Io evaluaIe job períormance írom
people is wiIh a Ihree-level scale: (1) Foor÷
does noI íinish Iasks correcIly or on Iime. (2)
Good֒inishes Iasks correcIly and on Iime. (3)
ExcellenI֒inishes Iasks correcIly and on Iime
plus shows iniIiaIive Io suggesI or do oIher
Iasks.
AgenIs could be evaluaIed on a similar scale.
This would reguire iniIiaIive írom Ihe agenI in
order íor iI Io be an excellenI agenI.
WiIh STC, we íound IhaI call Iakers guickly
losI IrusI in Ihe sysIem ií iI gave poor suggesI-
ed guesIions or iniIiaIive. ThaI is why we wenI
Ihough Ihe addiIional eííorI oí creaIing a deci-
sion Iree on Iop oí Ihe case base. K-commerce
per se does noI reguire a decision Iree, iI can
auIomaIically suggesI guesIions írom Ihe mosI
likely cases. However, aI Ihe sIarI oí Ihe diag-
nosis process, iI is oíIen unclear which cases are
Ihe mosI likely ones. We creaIed diagnosIic
Irees íor each possible sympIom oí each Iype oí
appliance Io improve Ihe correcIness oí Ihe sys-
Iem and reIain Ihe users´ IrusI. Eigure 4 shows
Ihe Iree íor a side-by-side reírigeraIor where a
comparImenI is Ioo cold.
The cusIomers´ saIisíacIion is primarily
based on Ihe correcIness, speed, and proíes-
sionalism oí Ihe help provided by Ihe call Iak-
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SUMMER 2007 º7
er. We have already described how Ihe sysIem
helps Ihe correcIness and speed oí Ihe process.
The sysIem also helps Ihe proíessionalism oí
Ihe call Iaker by providing Ihe exacI wording
IhaI should be used Io ask a guesIion oí Ihe
cusIomer. Call Iakers are given Iwo weeks oí
Iraining beíore Ihey are able Io Iake calls írom
a cusIomer. This Iraining used Io involve edu-
caIion abouI Ihe appliances and how Io pro-
íessionally inIeracI wiIh a cusIomer. Now,
Iraining íocuses mainly on proíessional inIer-
acIion, and Ihe sysIem acIs as "on Ihe job"
Iraining abouI Ihe appliances.
ArchiIecIure Issue
The archiIecIure issue addresses Ihe design
principles, meIhodologies, and Iechnologies
íor diííerenI Iypes oí mixed-iniIiaIive roles and
behaviors. HorviIz (1ººº) described 12 criIical
íacIors íor mixed-iniIiaIive sysIems. These íac-
Iors include considering uncerIainIy abouI a
user´s goals, employing dialogue Io resolve key
uncerIainIies, employing socially appropriaIe
behaviors íor agenI-user inIeracIions, main-
Iaining working memory oí recenI inIerac-
Iions, and conIinuing Io learn by observing.
These are excellenI design principles íor a
mixed-iniIiaIive sysIem. However, even wiIh
greaI archiIecIure principles iI is sIill diííiculI Io
wriIe a good mixed-iniIiaIive agenI. Eor exam-
ple, many people do noI like Ihe MicrosoíI
Oííice assisIanI, someIimes called Clippy.
Clippy did have many good properIies, buI iI
was removed írom MicrosoíI Oííice because Ihe
value oí iIs help was noI greaIer Ihan Ihe cosI
oí Ihe incorrecI inIerrupIions. Many users con-
sidered a small number oí incorrecI inIerrup-
Iions or even a single incorrecI inIerrupIion Io
be Ioo much. II was very diííiculI íor Clippy Io
give correcI and Iimely advice aI all Iimes.
However, Ihere is anoIher íorm oí mixed-ini-
IiaIive inIeracIion Iaking place in MicrosoíI
Oííice. The spelling and grammar checkers acI
as a simple mixed-iniIiaIive sysIem. MicrosoíI
Word puIs a wavy line under words IhaI may
noI be correcIly spelled or may have inappro-
priaIe grammar. The goal oí Ihis is Io help Ihe
user wriIe wiIh proper spelling and grammar.
The user should usually wanI Io have proper
spelling and grammar, so Ihere is liIIle uncer-
IainIy abouI Ihe user´s goals. There is a dialogue
available ií Ihe user clicks on Ihe underlined
word. The dialogue is a pop up IhaI includes a
guess aI Ihe correcI word, Ihe abiliIy Io
"ignore" Ihe suggesIion, which removes Ihe
line, Ihe abiliIy Io "add" Ihe word Io a person-
al dicIionary, and a descripIion oí Ihe gram-
maIical rule IhaI caused Ihis Io be underlined ií
iI was a grammar issue. Underlining a word is
socially appropriaIe inIeracIion since iI does
noI inIerrupI a user. Memory oí Ihe usage oí
Ihe "ignore" and "add" opIions can allow Ihe
grammar and spelling agenIs Io conIinue Io
learn Ihe users´ preíerences.
The STC archiIecIure puIs exIra emphasis on
Ihe mainIainabiliIy oí Ihe sysIem. Every Iime
Ihe case base was used Io answer a call, a
descripIion oí Ihe call was wriIIen Io a reporI-
ing daIabase. The descripIion included sIarI
Iime, end Iime, caller Ielephone number, call-
Iaker ID, Iype oí appliance, a shorI IexI descrip-
Iion oí Ihe issue, all guesIions asked by Ihe sys-
Iem, all answers given Io Ihese guesIions, Ihe
íinal diagnosis suggesIed, and wheIher Ihis
answer was accepIed by Ihe caller. Each week a
case auIhor would analyze Ihis iníormaIion in
Ihe reporIing daIabase íor every call IhaI was
Iaken íor Ihe week. The call Iakers would help
wiIh Ihis analysis and were a valuable parI oí
Ihe developmenI Ieam.
FersonalizaIion Issue
The personalizaIion issue addresses Ihe adapIa-
Iion oí Ihe agenI´s behavior Io Ihe preíerences
oí iIs user. AgenIs can be more useíul ií Ihey are
personalized íor Ihe user. All users are noI Ihe
same, so iI can be diííiculI íor one agenI Io
make all users happy all oí Ihe Iime. One com-
mon way Io personalize Ihe acIions oí an agenI
íor a speciíic user is Io sIore iníormaIion abouI
Ihe user and use Ihis iníormaIion Io deIermine
Ihe Iype and Iiming íor help Ihe agenI pro-
vides. One oIher way íor Ihe agenI and user Io
work IogeIher more eííecIively is Io have com-
mon shared experiences. This means Ihe agenI
needs Io remember pasI experiences wiIh Ihe
user and use Ihese Io beneíiI Ihe user. One sim-
ple example oí Ihis is when Ihe Iool MaIlab (or
oIher soíIware developmenI environmenIs)
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sLarL
end
user
i
agenL
k
lìçure S. User-Açent lnteractìon.
remembers pasI user commands and allows Ihe
user Io guickly selecI and reissue Ihese com-
mands. This has Ihe eííecI oí allowing Ihe user
Io guickly say, "Do iI again." The pasI experi-
ences can be boIh shorI-Ierm and long-Ierm
experiences.
There can be problems wiIh personalizaIion.
An agenI should be careíul abouI making
assumpIions abouI a user and assuming Ihese
preíerences do noI change. Freíerences can
change over Iime or be misundersIood by Ihe
agenI, so Ihe agenI should allow users Io ediI
Iheir personal preíerences. Eor example, Iwo
years ago one oí Ihe auIhors purchased Iwo
DVDs on poIIy Iraining íor his daughIer írom
amazon.com. Amazon was sIill annoyingly rec-
ommending poIIy-Iraining books and videos
Iwo years laIer. EorIunaIely, Amazon now does
allow users Io improve Iheir recommendaIions
by ediIing Ihe lisI oí iIems Ihey have purchased
or previously raIed. AnoIher example is írom
Ihe TiVo digiIal video recorder, which suggesIs
and Iakes iniIiaIive Io record shows iI Ihinks iIs
user would enjoy. Many people have com-
menIed IhaI írom recording shows like Wìll &
Grace and Queer Lye jor the Straìçht Guy Iheir
TiVo now Ihinks Ihey are gay (Zaslow 2002).
One person reporIedly Iried Io Ieach his TiVo
IhaI he was noI gay by recording many Ihings
a sIraighI man would waIch like World War II
movies and documenIaries. Now Ihe TiVo
Ihinks he is a Nazi.
STC has some limiIed personalizaIion capa-
biliIy. There is no personalizaIion íor Ihe call
Iaker and some personalizaIion íor Ihe cus-
Iomer. The ideal personalizaIion scenario is
when cusIomers iniIialize Iheir personal iníor-
maIion by regisIering Ihe producIs Ihey pur-
chase. AlIernaIively, call Iakers will updaIe Ihe
iníormaIion íor Ihe cusIomer when Ihe cus-
Iomer calls ASI. IníormaIion abouI cusIomers
and Ihe appliances Ihey own is sIored in a daIa-
base. This iníormaIion is used by STC when iI
suggesIs guesIions and soluIions. In addiIion,
pasI experiences oí Ielephone conversaIions
(guesIions asked and answers given) are also
sIored. This is beneíicial ií, íor example, a cus-
Iomer is íorwarded írom a íirsI-level call Iaker
Io a supervisor. In IhaI case, all answered gues-
Iions are visible Io Ihe supervisor. Having Ihis
personalized iníormaIion readily available
reduces cusIomers´ írusIraIion IhaI comes írom
repeaIing Ihe same iníormaIion. The same
principle allows personalized iníormaIion Io be
shared beIween diííerenI call Iakers. Ií a cus-
Iomer calls mulIiple Iimes, Ihen previous ses-
sions can be reviewed Io geI Ihe background on
Ihe currenI call. All guesIions and answers are
sIored íor 30 days in one daIabase (shorI-Ierm
memory) and a brieí summary oí Ihe call is
sIored permanenIly in anoIher daIabase (long-
Ierm memory).
ResulIs
STC has been in consIanI use since Ihe end oí
1ººº. More Ihan 300 call Iakers aI mulIiple
locaIions in Ihe UniIed SIaIes use Ihe sysIem.
The percenIage oí calls IhaI are correcIly
answered over Ihe Ielephone has increased
each year. Eigure ô shows Ihe success raIe íor
each year. EreguenI cusIomer surveys show
cusIomer saIisíacIion is higher wiIh cases IhaI
are answered using STC Ihan wiIh calls IhaI are
noI.
This sysIem has also been a íinancial success
íor GE. The iniIial developmenI in 1ººº cosI $1
million íor Ihe soíIware Iool, Iníerence Corpo-
raIion proíessional services, Iwo person years
oí eííorI by GE personnel, and Ihe cosI oí hard-
Artìcles
SUMMER 2007 ºº
1ººº
0
5
10
15
20
25
2000 2001 2002
¥ear
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e
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L
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g
e

H
e
l
p
e
d
2003 2004 2005
lìçure ó. STC Success Rate.
0
0.ó
0.4
0.2
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
1.ó
v
o
l
u
m
e

(
M
i
l
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i
o
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1ººº 2000 2001 2002
¥ear
2003 2004 2005
lìçure 7. Call Volume.
WIllIam Cheetham is a
senior researcher in Ihe
arIiíicial inIelligence lab-
oraIory oí Ihe General
ElecIric Global Research
CenIer in upsIaIe New
York, where he has
worked since 1º8S. His
job is Io invenI or
improve knowledge-based producIs and
services. This oíIen involves Ihe applicaIion
oí arIiíicial inIelligence and relaIed Iech-
nigues. He has led Ihe developmenI oí
more Ihan a dozen inIelligenI sysIems IhaI
are in use IhroughouI Ihe General ElecIric
Company. Since 1ºº8, he has been an
adjuncI proíessor aI Rensselaer FolyIechnic
InsIiIuIe, where he now Ieaches Ihe class
Applied InIelligenI Reasoning SysIems.
KaI Goebel is a senior
scienIisI aI RIACS, where
he is coordinaIor oí Ihe
FrognosIics CenIer oí
Excellence íor NASA
Ames Research CenIer.
Frior Io IhaI, he worked
aI General ElecIric´s
Global Research CenIer
in Niskayuna, New York, írom 1ºº7 Io 200ô
as a senior research scienIisI. He has carried
ouI applied research in Ihe areas oí arIiíicial
inIelligence, soíI compuIing, and iníorma-
Iion íusion. His research inIeresI lies in
advancing Ihese Iechnigues íor real-Iime
moniIoring, diagnosIics, and prognosIics.
He has íielded numerous applicaIions íor
aircraíI engines, IransporIaIion sysIems,
medical sysIems, and manuíacIuring sys-
Iems. He holds halí a dozen paIenIs and
has published more Ihan 7S papers. Since
1ºº8, Goebel has been an adjuncI proíessor
oí Ihe CompuIer Science DeparImenI aI
Rensselaer FolyIechnic InsIiIuIe (RFI), Troy,
New York, where he has been coIeaching
classes in soíI compuIing and applied inIel-
ligenI reasoning sysIems wiIh William
CheeIham.
ware Io deploy Ihe sysIem. The main-
Ienance in each oí Ihe nexI six years
has averaged $0.S million íor ongoing
mainIenance oí Ihe cases and a major
upgrade Io a new version oí Ihe eGain
soíIware in 2004. The beneíiI oí noI
sending a íield service Iechnician Io a
cusIomer´s home when Ihe producI is
in warranIy is $S0 íor GE. The dollar
savings íor GE can be calculaIed by Ihe
íollowing íormula
Savings = increase in success raIe
* call volume * $S0
Eigure 7 shows Ihe call volume per
year. The sum oí Ihe savings íor each
year írom 2000 Io 200S is $44.S mil-
lion. This is a projecI IhaI can boIh
provide beIIer service íor cusIomers
and reduce Ihe cosI oí Ihis service.
OIher beneíiIs include Ihe íollow-
ing: (1) Higher íirsI-call success raIe.
This increases cusIomer saIisíacIion
and decreases Ihe number oí calls GE
needs Io handle. (2) Early idenIiíica-
Iion oí new Iypes oí cusIomer prob-
lems. This íeedback can be senI Io
design Ieams, who can íix Ihe problem
in íuIure releases and reduce íuIure
cusIomer problems. (3) The abiliIy Io
eníorce policies such as "Ií Ihe model
is sold by a parIicular reIailer S, Ihen
ask ií iI was purchased aI S." S pays íor
Ihis service, buI call Iakers oíIen íorgoI
Io ask, and GE ended up shouldering
Ihe cosI. (4) The increased abiliIy Io
mail parIs ouI wiIh insIrucIions and
avoid a service call íor iIems IhaI can-
noI be íixed over Ihe Ielephone buI are
an easy íix and Ihe cusIomers wanI Io
do iI Ihemselves. (S) STC idenIiíies
parIs needed when a íield service Iech-
nician is senI Io Ihe home so more íix-
es can be made on Ihe íirsI Irip, saving
Iime íor Ihe cusIomer and íield Iech-
nician (Ihe parI needed is reíerred Io as
"inIercepI" in íigure 3). (ô) The
increased consisIency oí call Iakers has
reduced repeaI calls írom cusIomers
"íishing" (a pracIice in which cus-
Iomers call repeaIedly in hopes Io geI
diííerenI answers).
Our implemenIaIion oí Cisco´s e-
mail Iool wenI inIo use in June oí
2000. The Iool reduced Ihe average
Iime a person needs Io answer an e-
mail message by 40 percenI. Since our
yearly projecIed cosI Io answer e-mails
was $1.S million, Ihe savings oí Ihis
Iool is $ô00,000 per year.
Conclusion
GE Consumer FroducIs has been suc-
cessíul using Ihe STC mixed-iniIiaIive
sysIem Io provide cusIomer supporI.
The sysIem conIains exhausIive
knowledge abouI appliance problems
and Ihe guesIions needed Io diagnose
Ihem. The human call Iaker provides
some knowledge abouI appliances and
a proíessional inIeríace beIween our
cusIomers and Ihe diagnosIic knowl-
edge sIored in Ihe Iool. The Ieam oí
compuIer sysIem and human call Iak-
er períorms beIIer Ihan Ihe call Iakers
had beíore Ihe sysIem was creaIed.
Reíerences
AamodI, A., and Flaza, E. 1ºº4. Case-Based
Reasoning: EoundaIional Issues, MeIhod-
ological VariaIions, and SysIem Approach-
es, AlCOM 7(1).
Acorn, T., Walden, S. 1ºº2. SMART: SupporI
ManagemenI CulIivaIed Reasoning Tech-
nology íor Compag CusIomer Service. In
lnnovatìve Applìcatìons oj Artìjìcìal lntellì-
çence 4, ed. C. ScoII and F. Klahr. Cam-
bridge, MA: AAAI Fress}The MIT Fress.
Allen, J. 1ººº. Mixed-IniIiaIive InIeracIion.
lLLL lntellìçent Systems 14(ô): 14÷1ô.
CheeIham, W., 2003. Lessons Learned
Using CBR íor CusIomer SupporI. In lro-
ceeJìnçs oj the Sìxteenth lnternatìonal llorìJa
Artìjìcìal lntellìçence Research Socìety Conjer-
ence. Menlo Fark, CA: AAAI Fress.
CheeIham, W., Frice, J. 2004. Measures oí
SoluIion Accuracy in Case-Based Reasoning
SysIems. Faper presenIed aI Ihe SevenIh
European Coníerence on Case-Based Rea-
soning, Madrid, AugusI 30÷SepIember 2.
HorviIz, E. 1ººº. Frinciples oí Mixed-IniIia-
Iive User InIeríaces. In lroceeJìnçs oj the
Conjerence on Human lactors ìn Computìnç
Systems, 1Sº÷1ôô. New York: AssociaIion
íor CompuIing Machinery.
Simoudis, E. 1ºº2. Using Case-Based Rea-
soning íor CusIomer Technical SupporI.
lLLL Lxpert 7(S): 7÷13.
Tecuci, G., Boicu M., and Cox, M. 2007.
Seven AspecIs oí Mixed IniIiaIive Reason-
ing: An InIroducIion Io Ihis Special Issue
on Mixed IniIiaIive AssisIanIs. Al Maçazìne
28(2).
WaIson, I. 1ºº7. Applyìnç Case-BaseJ Rea-
sonìnç. Technìques jor Lnterprìse Systems. San
Erancisco: Morgan Kauímann Fublishers.
Zaslow, J. 2002. WhaI Io Do When Your
TiVo Thinks You´re Gay. The Wall Street jour-
nal, November 2ô.
Artìcles
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