US Patent 9552350 Virtual assistant conversations for ambiguous user input and goals

Ambiguous input of a user received during an interactive session with a virtual agent may be processed. The virtual agent may be presented via a computing device to facilitate the interactive session with the user. The user may provide the ambiguous input, which is processed to determine a response to the input. The virtual agent may provide the response to the user. The virtual agent may also carry out a goal-based dialogue where a goal to be accomplished is identified. The virtual agent may prompt the user for information related to the goal.