Using Information Extraction and Natural Language Generation to Answer E-Mail

This paper discusses the use of information extraction and natural language generation in the design of an automated e-mail answering system. We analyse short free-form texts and generate a customised and linguistically-motivated answer to frequently asked questions. We describe the approach and the design of a system currently being developed to answer e-mail in French regarding printerrelated questions addressed to the technical support staff of our computer science department. A domain-dependent approach was preferred because precision is crucial in e-mail answering, as a wrong answer sent to a client can have negative consequences in terms of customer satisfaction.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2000
• Where: NLDB
• Authors: Leila Kosseim, Stéphane Beauregard, Guy Lapalme
• Keywords: E-mail Answering, E-mail Answering System, Natural Language Processing, NLDB 2000, Short Free-form Texts