JP7163689B2 - Information processing system, method and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing system, method and program.

Patent Literature 1 discloses a technology for sharing a message among members belonging to another group by duplicating or moving a message shared by members belonging to one group with respect to a server that provides a message exchange service. It is

JP 2015-197813 A

For information exchange using this service, for example, a chat conference, a user who has not attended or actually not participated may join the conference halfway through. In this case, in order to facilitate the smooth progress of the conference, it is desirable to provide some kind of information to the participants from the middle of the conference and share the conference situation (for example, details and current situation) as early as possible.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an information exchange using a message exchange service in which the previous participant does not explain the situation of the situation to the participants who have joined in the middle, or does not explain the situation of the situation proactively. To provide an information processing system, method, and program capable of exchanging messages more smoothly than in a case where the exchange of messages is performed smoothly.

The invention according to claim 1 comprises: monitoring means for monitoring the participation status of members of a group sharing messages in a message exchange service; participation is confirmed or an indication of participation is detected, the virtual character and the first user communicate with each other to provide the first user with exchange information on message exchanges that have already occurred within the group. Dialogue control means for performing character dialogue control, and setting means for setting a disclosure range of the exchange information , wherein the monitoring means monitors whether or not a member of the group is added, and the dialogue control means is: The first user who is an added member is interactively controlled so as to provide the exchange information within the disclosure range set by the setting means, and the setting means determines the attributes of the first user. The information processing system sets the disclosure range for the first user according to the relationship between attributes of the second user who is a member of the group .

According to a second aspect of the invention, the interaction control means controls at least one of a message record already posted in the group, an electronic material already posted, a location of the message record, and a location of the electronic material. 2. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein interactive control is performed so as to provide the first user with a.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, the interaction control means provides the exchange information only to the first user without providing the exchange information to the second user who has already participated in the message exchange. 3. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein interactive control is performed.
The invention according to claim 4 further comprises print instruction means for instructing a printing device to print the exchange information, wherein the virtual character is an avatar of the printing device associated with the first user. The interaction control means accepts a request for printing the exchange information from the first user through interaction between the avatar and the first user, and transmits the identification information of the first user or the printing device to the printing instruction. An information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, supplying means.
According to the fifth aspect of the invention, when there are a plurality of the electronic materials that have already been posted in the group, at least one or more of the electronic materials are displayed according to the first user's operation via the service screen of the message exchange service. 3. The information processing system according to claim 2, further comprising UI means configured to be able to instruct acquisition or printing of said electronic material.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the monitoring means monitors the presence or absence of the members of the group, and the interaction control means provides the exchange information to the members who have changed from the absence to the presence. 6. The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein interactive control is performed to inquire about necessity.
The invention according to claim 7 is the information processing according to claim 6 , wherein the dialogue control means performs dialogue control so as not to inquire whether or not to provide the exchange information to members of the group who are absent. System.
According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the interaction control means asks a current member, who has not posted a message after inquiring about the necessity of providing the exchange information, an inquiry about the necessity of providing the exchange information. 8. The information processing system according to claim 6 or 7 , wherein interactive control is performed so as to make an inquiry again.
According to a ninth aspect of the invention, the monitoring means determines that the member has changed from the present state to the absent state when the member in the present state has not participated in message exchange for a predetermined time interval, 9. The information processing system according to any one of claims 6 to 8 , wherein it is determined that the absent member has changed from the absent state to the present state when the absent member starts participating in message exchange.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a monitoring step of monitoring the status of members of a group sharing messages in a message exchange service, and a monitoring step of monitoring the participation of a first user who has not participated in message exchange within the group in said monitoring step. or when a sign of participation is detected, the virtual character provides the first user with exchange information regarding message exchanges that have already occurred within the group through dialogue between the virtual character and the first user. One or more computers execute an interaction control step of controlling interaction of characters and a setting step of setting a disclosure range of the exchange information, and the monitoring step monitors whether or not members of the group have been added. and the dialogue control step performs dialogue control so as to provide the exchange information within the disclosure range set by the setting step to the first user who is the added member, and the setting step comprises and setting the disclosure range for the first user according to the relationship between the attributes of the first user and the attributes of the second user who is a member of the group .

According to the eleventh aspect of the invention, there is provided a monitoring step of monitoring the status of members of a group sharing messages in a message exchange service; or when a sign of participation is detected, the virtual character provides the first user with exchange information regarding message exchanges that have already occurred within the group through dialogue between the virtual character and the first user. causing one or more computers to execute an interaction control step of controlling interaction of characters and a setting step of setting a disclosure range of the exchange information, and the monitoring step monitoring whether or not members of the group have been added; and the dialogue control step performs dialogue control so as to provide the exchange information within the disclosure range set by the setting step to the first user who is the added member, and the setting step comprises and an information processing program for setting the disclosure range for the first user according to the relationship between the attributes of the first user and the attributes of the second user who is a member of the group .

According to the inventions described in claims 1, 10 , and 11, in a place of information exchange using a message exchange service, a previous participant does not explain the situation of the place to a participant who has joined in the middle, Message exchange can be carried out more smoothly than when the situation of the place is explained subjectively.
According to the second aspect of the invention, it becomes easier to grasp the situation than when the message record or the electronic material as the evidence showing the situation of the place is not provided.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, message exchange can be performed more smoothly than when exchange information is provided to all users at once.
According to the fourth aspect of the invention, when obtaining a printed matter of the exchange information, the first user's trouble of obtaining the exchange information and instructing printing is saved.
According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the first user can obtain the desired material in the desired output mode through his/her own operation.

According to the inventions described in claims 1, 10 , and 11, the possibility that group members mistakenly provide the first user with information that they do not wish to disclose is suppressed compared to the case where the disclosure range is not set. be.
According to the inventions described in claims 1, 10 , and 11, compared to the case of setting manually for each group and for each user, the number of man-hours for setting is reduced, and the disclosure range according to uniform and objective criteria is set.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, it becomes easier to grasp the situation of the place compared to the case where the temporarily absent member is not given an opportunity to provide exchange information.
According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, message exchange can be performed more smoothly than in the case where exchange information is provided regardless of whether members are present or not.
According to the eighth aspect of the invention, an opportunity is provided to provide exchange information to members who may have been absent temporarily.
According to the ninth aspect of the invention, by considering the time interval of participation in message exchange, the accuracy of determination of switching between two types of states is enhanced.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a service screen of message exchange service; 2 is an electrical block diagram of the bot server shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of a server-side control unit shown in FIG. 3; FIG. 5(a) is user information, FIG. 5(b) is group information, FIG. 5(c) is disclosure range information, and FIG. 5(d) is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of printer information. 2 is an electrical block diagram of the user terminal shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing operations of a user terminal and a bot server; FIG. Fig. 3 shows a first variation of message exchange; Fig. 3 shows a second variation of message exchange; Fig. 3 shows a third variation of message exchange; Fig. 10 shows a fourth variation of message exchange; FIG. 11 illustrates a fifth variation of message exchange; FIG. 11 illustrates a sixth variation of message exchange; 5 is a flowchart relating to the operation of a state monitoring unit shown in FIG. 4; FIG. 11 illustrates a seventh variation of message exchange;

An information processing system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings by citing preferred embodiments in relation to an information processing method and an information processing program. It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and can be freely modified without departing from the gist of the present invention. Alternatively, each configuration may be arbitrarily combined as long as there is no technical contradiction.

[Configuration of information processing system 10]
<Overall composition>
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an information processing system 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention. This information processing system 10 combines a message exchange service (for example, business chat) for exchanging messages with a plurality of members belonging to a group, and a meeting support service that utilizes an artificial intelligence robot (here, a chatbot). configured to be able to provide

This information processing system 10 includes a chat server 12, a bot server 14 (information processing device), a plurality of (four in the example of this figure) user terminals 16 and 18, and one or more (in the example of this figure) 2) printing equipment 20 . It should be noted that the information processing system 10 is not limited to the apparatus configuration or network configuration illustrated in this figure.

The chat server 12 is a cloud server located on the cloud 22 and is composed of one or more server computers. The chat server 12 is a device that provides a chat room for holding a chat conference in which a plurality of members belonging to a group (in this example, four users A, B, C, and D) participate. be.

The bot server 14 is a cloud server located on the cloud 22 and consists of one or more server computers. The bot server 14 is a device that allows a "bot", which is an avatar (virtual character) personified from the printing device 20, to enter a chat room (or talk room) and provides conference support services through this bot.

Each user terminal 16, 18 is a multi-function, multi-purpose device used by the user when performing tasks, such as a personal computer, tablet, smart phone, or wearable computer. The users exchange messages with the members of the group on the service screen 30 (FIG. 2) of the user terminals 16 and 18 owned by each user. For convenience of explanation, the terminals owned by users A, B, and C are distinguished as user terminal 16 and the terminal owned by user D as user terminal 18 .

Each printing device 20 is a network printer that receives data including an electronic file (for example, exchange information Iex) from an external device, prints the data on paper, and outputs a desired printed matter. The printing device 20 is, for example, a multifunction printer (MFP), a laser printer, or an inkjet printer.

<Example of service screen 30>
The user terminals 16 and 18 and the bot server 14 each execute dialogue processing for dialogue between users or dialogue between a user and a bot via an API (Application Programming Interface) for using message exchange services. do. These interactions take place through user manual responses and bot automated responses.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a service screen 30 in the message exchange service. This figure shows a scene in which user A and user D interact on the display of user terminal 16 owned by user A. FIG.

In the central part of the service screen 30, a balloon column 32 showing the content of the poster's message is displayed in chronological order over the vertical direction. A user icon 34a representing user A is displayed on the right end of the service screen 30, and an icon representing a contributor other than user A (in this figure, a user icon 34d) is displayed on the left end. It should be noted that the "contributor" includes not only group members (humans) but also bots.

For example, while a chat conference between users A, B, and C is in progress, user D (first user) receives an invitation from user A (second user) who is a member of the group, and user D (first user) joins the chat conference. Suppose you participate in In this case, user D, who has joined in the middle, does not know the background and current status of the chat conference up to this point, so it takes time to grasp the status of the conference. Although users A, B, and C who are previous participants may explain the status of the conference to user D, it is not desirable because it interrupts the flow of the conference. Therefore, the bot server 14 shown in FIG. 1 performs an operation for assisting the user D in catching up on proceedings (hereinafter also referred to as a catching up assistance operation).

<Block diagram of bot server 14>
FIG. 3 is an electrical block diagram of the bot server 14 shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the server-side controller 42 shown in FIG. The bot server 14 includes a server-side communication unit 40 , a server-side control unit 42 and a server-side storage unit 44 .

As shown in FIG. 3, the server-side communication unit 40 is a communication interface for transmitting and receiving electrical signals to and from external devices. As a result, the bot server 14 can exchange various data (eg, messages, document files, image files, user operation information, etc.) with the user terminal 16 via the chat server 12 .

The server-side control unit 42 is configured by a processing operation device including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and an MPU (Micro-Processing Unit). The server-side control unit 42 reads a program stored in the server-side storage unit 44 and executes a message exchange application to perform an exchange processing unit 46, a dialogue control unit 48 (dialogue control means), an event management unit 50, and a print instruction unit 52 (print instruction means).

The server-side storage unit 44 is composed of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Here, the computer-readable storage medium is a storage device including a hard disk drive (HDD: Hard Disk Drive) and a solid state drive (SSD: Solid State Drive), or a magneto-optical disk, ROM, CD-ROM, flash memory. etc. is a portable medium. In the example of this figure, the server-side storage unit 44 stores shared data 56 (including exchange information Iex), user information 58, group information 60, disclosure range information 62, and printer information 64. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4 , the exchange processing unit 46 receives shared data 56 shared within the group from the chat server 12 and performs reception control for supplying it to the interaction control unit 48 . The exchange processing unit 46 also performs transmission control for transmitting data including the posted message generated by the interaction control unit 48 to the chat server 12 .

The interaction control unit 48 performs interaction control in which a bot as an avatar of the printing device 20 interacts with members belonging to a group. After receiving the shared data 56, the dialogue control unit 48 analyzes the content of the message from the other party, recognizes the action of the other party based on the analysis result, and determines the bot's reaction to the action of the other party. , Executes various processes necessary for communication within the group, such as processing to generate messages according to the bot's reaction. Note that these processes can be realized using various artificial intelligence techniques including deep learning.

By reading the user information 58, the group information 60, and the disclosure range information 62, the dialogue control unit 48 performs dialogue control so that the bot can have a smooth dialogue while grasping the status of the chat conference. The dialog control unit 48 generates information (hereinafter referred to as exchange information Iex) regarding message exchanges that have already occurred within the group in response to a user's request to catch up on proceedings. Further, when receiving a print request from the user, the interaction control unit 48 supplies the user's identification information (hereinafter referred to as user ID) and the exchange information Iex to the print instruction unit 52 .

The event management unit 50 dynamically updates part of the group information 60 (participating members, present status, disclosure restrictions, which will be described later) based on the dialogue information from the dialogue control unit 48 . The event management unit 50 includes a participation status monitoring unit 66 (monitoring means) that monitors the participation status of members, and a disclosure range setting unit 68 (setting means) that sets the disclosure range of exchange information Iex. be.

The print instruction unit 52 acquires information on print settings (hereinafter referred to as print setting information) in addition to the user ID and exchange information Iex described above. Here, the print setting information is information made up of a combination of a plurality of print setting items related to print settings. The print setting items include items such as the number of copies to be printed, designation of color/monochrome printing, designation of double-sided/single-sided printing, paper size, Nup, scaling factor, and the like.

The print instruction unit 52 further uses the printer information 64 to select the printing device 20 to which the exchange information Iex is to be sent, and to instruct printing of the exchange information Iex. After printing the exchange information Iex, the print instruction unit 52 notifies the interaction control unit 48 to that effect.

FIG. 5(a) is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the user information 58. As shown in FIG. This user information 58 is a correspondence relationship between a "user ID" that is user identification information, a "display name" that is a name on the service screen 30, and a "user authority" that indicates the authority granted to the user. is shown. This information allows message exchange services to be provided only to authorized users.

FIG. 5(b) is a diagram showing an example of the data structure in the group information 60. As shown in FIG. The group information 60 includes a "group ID" that is identification information of the group, a "member structure" that indicates members belonging to this group, "participating members" that indicate the participants of the chat conference, and an "existence number" for each participant. state” and information “restrictions on disclosure” assigned to each participant. This information specifies the member configuration for each registered group and the participation status for each member.

FIG. 5(c) is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the disclosure range information 62. As shown in FIG. This disclosure range information 62 includes an "organization ID" indicating the own organization to which the group or member belongs, a "personnel composition" indicating the personnel of this own organization, and a disclosure rule for the information held by the own organization to other organizations. It shows the correspondence between the "disclosure rules". With this information, an information disclosure rule between users considering the position of the organization is associated.

FIG. 5D shows an example of the data structure of the printer information 64. As shown in FIG. The printer information 64 indicates a correspondence relationship between a “user ID”, which is user identification information, and a “printer ID”, which is identification information of the printing device 20 . This information associates one or more printing devices 20 with each registered user.

<Configuration of user terminals 16 and 18>
FIG. 6 is an electrical block diagram of the user terminals 16, 18 shown in FIG. The user terminals 16 and 18 each include an input section 70 , an output section 72 , a terminal side communication section 74 , a terminal side control section 76 and a terminal side storage section 78 .

The input unit 70 is composed of input devices including a mouse, keyboard, touch sensor, or microphone. The output unit 72 is composed of an output device including a display and a speaker. By combining the input function of the input unit 70 and the output function of the output unit 72, user interface means (hereinafter referred to as UI unit 80) is constructed.

The terminal-side communication unit 74 is a communication interface for transmitting/receiving electrical signals to/from an external device. As a result, the user terminal 16 can exchange various data (for example, messages, electronic files, image files) with the bot server 14 via the chat server 12 .

The terminal-side control unit 76 is configured by a processing operation device including a CPU and an MPU. The terminal-side control unit 76 functions as an exchange processing unit 82 and a display data creation unit 84 by reading programs stored in the terminal-side storage unit 78 and executing a message exchange application.

The terminal-side storage unit 78 is composed of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In the example of this figure, the terminal-side storage unit 78 stores the above-described shared data 56 and the exchange information Iex provided by the bot server 14 .

[First catch-up support operation]
The information processing system 10 in this embodiment is configured as described above. Next, the first catch-up support operation by the information processing system 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 13. FIG.

During execution of this "first catch-up support operation", the participation state monitoring unit 66 of the bot server 14 checks the participation of users who have not participated in the message exchange while sequentially monitoring the participation state of the members of the group. or detect signs of participation. For example, the participation state monitoring unit 66 checks whether or not there is "participation by registration" depending on whether or not there has been additional registration of a participating member of the chat conference. In addition, the participation status monitoring unit 66 may detect that there is a "prediction of participation" of the member when there is a posted message suggesting invitation of the member before the additional registration of the participating member.

<Basic operation flow>
FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram showing operations of the two user terminals 16 and 18 and the bot server 14. As shown in FIG. Here, the user terminal 16 and the bot server 14 basically exchange data via the chat server 12 . Similarly, the user terminal 18 and the bot server 14 basically exchange data via the chat server 12 .

The display data creation unit 84 of the user terminals 16 and 18 creates display data using the shared data 56 read from the terminal-side storage unit 78 during execution of the message exchange application, and uses the display data as a UI. Output to unit 80 . As a result, the UI units 80 of the user terminals 16 and 18 display service screens 30 (FIGS. 8 to 13) corresponding to variations of message exchange.

[S01] User invitation: Addition of (Msg01) When the exchange processing unit 82 of the user terminal 16 accepts an invitation operation by the user A via the UI unit 80, it transmits data including a message to be posted. control. The exchange processing unit 46 of the bot server 14 acquires the shared data 56 including the message via the terminal-side communication unit 74 , the chat server 12 and the server-side communication unit 40 . As a result, a message (Msg01) is added to the service screen 30 of the user terminal 16 to notify that the user A has newly invited the user D to the users A, B, and C of the group.

[S02] Updating Participating Members The interaction control unit 48 of the bot server 14 is triggered by the posting from the user A and starts a catch-up support operation. The event management unit 50 (more specifically, the participation status monitoring unit 66) confirms the participation of the user D by the notification from the chat server 12, and adds the user D to the "member composition" and "participating members" of the group information 60. Update to be done.

[S03] Notification of room entry: Addition of (Msg02) When the exchange processing unit 82 of the user terminal 18 accepts a posting operation by the user D via the UI unit 80, it transmits data including the message to be posted. control. The exchange processing unit 46 of the bot server 14 acquires the shared data 56 including the message via the terminal-side communication unit 74 , the chat server 12 and the server-side communication unit 40 . As a result, a message (Msg02) is added to the service screens 30 of the user terminals 16 and 18 notifying that the user D has entered the chat room to the users A, B, and C in the group.

[S04] Inquiry about necessity of provision: Addition of (Msg03) After reading the updated group information 60, the interaction control unit 48 of the bot server 14 inquires of the user D about the necessity of providing the exchange information Iex. Generate a message. Then, when the message is supplied from the interaction control unit 48, the exchange processing unit 46 performs transmission control to transmit data including the message to be posted. The exchange processing unit 82 of the user terminal 18 acquires the shared data 56 including the posted message from the bot. As a result, on the service screen 30 of the user terminals 16 and 18, a message (Msg03) is added in which the bot asks the user D whether or not the exchange information Iex is necessary.

[S05] Inquiry Answer: Addition of (Msg04) When the exchange processing unit 82 of the user terminal 18 receives an answer operation by the user via the UI unit 80, the exchange processing unit 82 controls transmission to transmit data including the message to be posted. I do. The exchange processing unit 46 of the bot server 14 acquires the shared data 56 including the posted message from the user. As a result, on the service screen 30 of the user terminals 16 and 18, a message (Msg04) indicating whether or not the user requests the bot to provide the exchange information Iex is added.

[S06] Generation of exchange information The interaction control unit 48 of the bot server 14 generates exchange information Iex to be provided to the user D using the shared data 56 acquired during the chat conference. This exchange information Iex is, for example, already posted message records, electronic materials, or their locations. Here, the "location" means information that can specify the storage location of the electronic file, and consists of, for example, a URL (Uniform Resource Locator).

[S07] Provision of Exchange Information: Addition of (Msg05) The exchange processing unit 46 of the bot server 14 performs transmission control to transmit data including a message containing the exchange information Iex supplied from the dialogue control unit 48. FIG. Then, the display data creation unit 84 of the user terminal 18 creates display data according to the provision mode of the exchange information Iex, and outputs the display data to the UI unit 80 . As a result, on the service screens 30 of the user terminals 16 and 18, a message (Msg05) is added in which the bot provides the user D with the exchange information Iex.

As described above, the interaction control unit 48 of the bot server 14 ends the first catch-up support operation. That is, by sequentially performing the operations of [S01]→[S02]→ . . . →[S07] in FIG. Next, various variations of this assistance will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 13 in addition to the sequence of FIG.

8 to 13, the service screen 30 in the upper diagram shows a screen displayed on the user terminal 16 (user A's terminal) before the user D is invited. On the other hand, the service screen 30 shown below shows a screen displayed on the user terminal 18 (user D's terminal) after the user D has been invited.

<1. Provision of electronic data>
As a first variation, the bot server 14 may provide user D with a message record in the form of electronic data that records all or part of the messages that have already been exchanged within the group. In this case, the information processing system 10 sequentially performs the operations of [S01]→[S02]→ . . . →[S07] in FIG. As a result, messages shown in FIG. 8 are exchanged between user A, user D, and bot.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a first variation of message exchange.
Msg01: User A sends a message to the chat conference participants (users A, B, and C) to the effect that user D is invited to the chat conference being held in the group.
Msg02: User D issues a message expressing participation in the chat conference to all participants.
Msg03: The bot issues a message to user D asking whether or not to record messages up to now.
Msg04: User D issues a message to the bot indicating his intention to require message recording.
Msg05: The bot issues a message to User D providing a message record. Here, in the operation field 91 of Msg05 is set a hyperlink leading to a URL where a message record as exchange information Iex is stored. By receiving a tap operation on the operation field 91, the user terminal 18 can access the specified URL and download the electronic file containing the message record.

Thus, through interaction between User D and the bot, User D is provided with a message record as exchange information Iex. By participating in the chat conference while browsing the message record, User D can quickly grasp the situation of the meeting.

In the above example, the bot server 14 provides the message record to the user D, but the provided exchange information Iex is not limited to this. For example, the interaction control unit 48 may provide the user D with at least one of the message records already posted in the group, the electronic materials already posted, the location of the message records, and the location of the electronic materials. dialog control may be performed. As a result, the user D can obtain the message record or the electronic material, which is the evidence showing the situation of the place, and can easily grasp the situation as compared with the case where such information is not provided.

In the above example, the bot server 14 provides message records to users A, B, C, and D all at once. You may In other words, the interaction control unit 48 may provide the exchange information only to the user D without providing the exchange information Iex to the users A, B, and C who have already participated in the message exchange. As a result, users A, B, and C who have already grasped the situation of the field do not need to receive unnecessary information. Message exchange is performed more smoothly.

For example, the restrictions on the destination of provision described above include: [1] peer-to-peer communication between the user terminal 18 and the bot server 14; 16, [3] making it possible to set a hyperlink in the operation field 91 only on the service screen 30 of the user terminal 18, and the like.

<2. Provision of printed materials>
As a second variation, the bot server 14 may provide user D with all or part of the electronic materials already posted in the group in the form of printed matter (hard copy). In this case, the following operations [S08] to [S11] may be added after [S07] in FIG.

[S08] Request for printing: Addition of (Msg06) When the exchange processing unit 82 of the user terminal 18 accepts the posting operation by the user D via the UI unit 80, the data including the message to be posted is transmitted. control. The exchange processing unit 46 of the bot server 14 acquires the shared data 56 including the posted message from the user D. As a result, a message (Msg06) is added to the service screen 30 from the user D requesting the bot to print the exchange information Iex.

Then, when the interaction control unit 48 extracts characters indicating the intention of the print request (for example, a character string of "yes" and "please") from the message (Msg06), the user ID and the exchange information Iex regarding the user D are extracted. It is supplied to the print instructing section 52 .

[S09] Determination of print settings The print instruction unit 52 reads out and refers to the printer information 64 in FIG. . The print instruction unit 52 also acquires print setting information suitable for printing the exchange information Iex.

[S10] Print Instruction The print instruction unit 52 outputs the data including the exchange information Iex and the print setting information to the selected printing device 20, thereby printing the exchange information Iex using the print setting information. instruct. After printing the exchange information Iex according to the desired print settings, the printing device 20 notifies the bot server 14 that the printing has been completed.

[S11] Notification of print end: Addition of (Msg07) The dialog control unit 48 of the bot server 14 receives the notification from the printing device 20 via the print instruction unit 52, and sends a message notifying that printing has ended. Generate. Then, when the message is supplied from the interaction control unit 48, the exchange processing unit 46 performs transmission control to transmit data including the message to be posted. As a result, on the service screen 30 of the user terminals 16 and 18, the bot adds a message (Msg07) notifying the user D that the printing of the exchange information Iex has been completed.

In this manner, the information processing system 10 sequentially performs the operations of [S01]→[S02]→ . . . →[S11] in FIG. As a result, messages shown in FIG. 9 are exchanged between user A, user D, and bot.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a second variation of message exchange.
Msg01: User A sends a message to the chat conference participants (users A, B, and C) to the effect that user D is invited to the chat conference being held in the group.
Msg02: User D issues a message expressing participation in the chat conference to all participants.
Msg03: The bot issues a message to user D inquiring about the necessity of electronic materials posted so far.
Msg04: User D sends a message to the bot indicating that he wants the electronic material.
Msg05: The bot issues a message to User D to provide the electronic material and inquire whether or not the material should be printed. Here, in the operation field 92 of Msg05, a hyperlink leading to the URL where the electronic material as the exchange information Iex is stored is set.

By receiving a tap operation on the operation field 92, the user terminal 18 can access the designated URL and display the contents of the electronic file storing this electronic material. Thereby, the user D can quickly determine whether or not the printed material of the material is necessary by viewing the content of the electronic material.
Msg06: User D issues a message to the bot indicating the intention to print the material.
Msg07: The bot issues a message to User D notifying that the printing of the material has been completed.

In this way, user D is provided with printed materials as exchange information Iex through interaction between user D and the bot. By participating in the chat conference after collecting the printed matter output from the printing device 20, the user D can quickly prepare the necessary paper materials.

As described above, the bot server 14 of the information processing system 10 includes the print instruction unit 52 that instructs the printing device 20 to print the exchange information Iex, and the interaction control unit 48 is a bot (avatar of the printing device 20). and the user D may receive a request for printing the exchange information Iex from the user D, and supply the identification information of the user D or the printing device 20 to the print instruction unit 52 . This saves the user D the trouble of obtaining the exchange information Iex and instructing printing when obtaining the printed matter of the exchange information Iex.

<3. Selective printing of electronic materials>
As a third variation, the user terminal 18 may be configured to be able to select a print target from a plurality of electronic materials provided by the bot server 14 . In this case, operations [S08] to [S11] may be added after [S07] in FIG. 7, as in the second variation. The operation of [S08], which is different from the second variation, will be described below.

[S08] Request for printing When the exchange processing unit 82 of the user terminal 18 receives a posting operation by the user via the UI unit 80, it sends data including identification information (hereinafter referred to as material ID) of the electronic material to be printed. to control transmission. The exchange processing unit 46 of the bot server 14 acquires the shared data 56 including the material ID. Then, when the material ID included in the shared data 56 is extracted, the dialogue control section 48 supplies the user ID and the material ID to the print instruction section 52 .

Thereafter, the information processing system 10 sequentially performs the operations of [S09]→[S10]→[S11] in FIG. As a result, messages shown in FIG. 10 are exchanged between user A, user D, and bot.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a third variation of message exchange.
Msg01: User A sends a message to the chat conference participants (users A, B, and C) to the effect that user D is invited to the chat conference being held in the group.
Msg02: User D issues a message expressing participation in the chat conference to all participants.
Msg03: The bot issues a message to user D inquiring about the necessity of electronic materials posted so far.
Msg04: User D sends a message to the bot indicating that he wants the electronic material.
Msg05: The bot sends a message to User D to provide electronic materials. Here, in the operation fields 93, 94, and 95 of Msg05, file names of electronic materials as exchange information Iex are written respectively. The user terminal 18 can independently and selectively request printing of a plurality of electronic materials according to user D's tap operation on the operation fields 93 to 95 .

Specifically, when receiving a tap operation on the operation field 93 , the user terminal 18 generates the material ID of the electronic material whose file name is “material 1 ”, and sends data including the material ID to the chat server 12 . Send to. Further, when receiving a tap operation on the operation field 94, the user terminal 18 generates the material ID of the electronic material whose file name is "material 2" and transmits data including the material ID to the chat server 12. do. Further, when receiving a tap operation on the operation field 95, the user terminal 18 generates the material ID of the electronic material whose file name is "Material 3" and transmits data including the material ID to the chat server 12. do.
Msg07: The bot issues a message to user D notifying that printing of the selected material (here, "material 2") has been completed.

In this way, user D is provided with printed materials as exchange information Iex through interaction between user D and the bot. User D can prepare only the paper material selected by him/herself, and wasteful printing is suppressed.

As described above, the user terminal 18 of the information processing system 10, when there are a plurality of electronic materials that have already been posted in the group, responds to the operation of the user D via the service screen 30, at least one or more electronic materials. A UI unit 80 (UI means) configured to be able to instruct acquisition or printing of materials may be provided. Thereby, the user D can obtain the desired material in the desired output mode through his/her own operation.

<4. Setting the scope of disclosure by regulation>
As a fourth variation, the bot server 14 may set the disclosure range of the exchange information Iex for the user D according to a predetermined rule. In this case, the following operations [S12] and [S13] may be added between [S03] and [S04] in FIG.

[S12] Setting of Disclosure Range The disclosure range setting unit 68 sets the disclosure range for the user D by reading and referring to the disclosure range information 62 indicating rules regarding information disclosure restrictions. This disclosure range may be set, for example, in units of messages, in units of posting times, in units of materials, and in units of contributors. Here, the disclosure range setting unit 68 determines the disclosure range from the relationship between the attributes of the users A, B, and C and the attribute of the user D, and sets the information indicating the disclosure range to the "disclosure restriction" of the group information 60. Set the disclosure range that applies to user D by writing. This attribute may be an organization (eg, department, project, team) as well as job title, age group, gender, and work location.

For example, it is assumed that users A, B, and C who are members of the development department have already participated in a chat conference hosted by the development department, and user D who is a member of the sales department has been invited. In this case, based on the disclosure range information 62 shown in FIG. 5(c), the disclosure range is uniquely defined as "message records can be disclosed" and "materials cannot be disclosed."

[S13] Notification of Disclosure Restriction The interaction control unit 48 reads the updated group information 60, and when disclosure restriction is imposed on the user D, generates a message including the set disclosure range. Then, when the message is supplied from the interaction control unit 48, the exchange processing unit 46 performs transmission control to transmit data including the message to be posted. As a result, on the service screen 30 of the user terminals 16 and 18, the bot adds a message (Msg08) for notifying the user D of the disclosure range set for the user D.

Thereafter, the information processing system 10 sequentially performs operations of [S04] → . . . → [S07]. It should be noted that in [S06], the interaction control unit 48 generates the exchange information Iex within the disclosure range set by the user D. As a result, messages shown in FIG. 11 are exchanged between user A, user D, and bot.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a fourth variation of message exchange.
Msg01: User A sends a message to the chat conference participants (users A, B, and C) to the effect that user D is invited to the chat conference being held in the group.
Msg02: User D issues a message expressing participation in the chat conference to all participants.
Msg08: The bot issues a message to User D notifying the disclosure range set for User D.
Msg03: The bot issues a message to user D asking whether or not to record messages up to now.
Msg04: User D issues a message to the bot indicating his intention to require message recording.
Msg05: The bot issues a message to User D providing a message record.

Thus, through interaction between User D and the bot, User D is provided with a message record as exchange information Iex. User D can obtain the exchange information Iex within the set disclosure range.

As described above, the disclosure range setting unit 68 may set the disclosure range for user D according to the relationship between user D's attributes and users A, B, and C's attributes. As a result, the man-hours for setting are reduced, and the disclosure range is set according to a uniform and objective standard, compared to the case of setting manually for each group and for each user.

<5. Setting the scope of disclosure by declaration>
As a fifth variation, the bot server 14 may set the disclosure range of the exchange information Iex for the user D according to declarations made by members of the group. In this case, in addition to [S12] and [S13] described above, the following operations [S14] and [S15] may be added before [S01] in FIG.

[S14] Declaration of Scope of Disclosure When the exchange processing unit 82 of the user terminal 16 receives a posting operation by the user A via the UI unit 80, it performs transmission control to transmit data including a message to be posted. The exchange processing unit 46 of the bot server 14 acquires the shared data 56 including the posted message from the user A. As a result, on the service screen 30, a message (Msg09) is added in which user A declares the scope of disclosure for user D to the bot.

Note that the method of declaring the scope of disclosure is not limited to posting a message as described above. For example, tag information indicating the disclosure range may be added to the electronic document in advance, and the disclosure range may be declared by posting the electronic document.

[S15] Notification of Disclosure Scope When the dialog control unit 48 of the bot server 14 extracts characters (for example, character strings of "allow", "restrict", and "prohibit") related to the information disclosure range from the message (Msg09), , generates a message announcing the scope of disclosure declared by user A. Then, when the message is supplied from the interaction control unit 48, the exchange processing unit 46 performs transmission control to transmit data including the message to be posted. As a result, on the service screen 30 of the user terminal 16, the bot adds a message (Msg10) that notifies the user A of the content of the declared disclosure range.

[S12] Setting disclosure range The disclosure range setting unit 68 sets the disclosure range for user D based on the content of the message (Msg09) posted by user A before user D is added. If the disclosure range is not declared, the disclosure range may be set to "all disclosure is possible" or may be set based on the disclosure range information 62 described above. Also, if the declared disclosure range does not match the disclosure range obtained from the disclosure range information 62, either the former or the latter may be prioritized.

Thereafter, the information processing system 10 sequentially performs operations of [S04] → . . . → [S07]. As a result, messages shown in FIG. 12 are exchanged between user A, user D, and bot.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a fifth variation of message exchange. Note that the messages after Msg03 are the same as in FIG. 8, so the description thereof is omitted.
Msg09: User A issues a message to the bot declaring the scope of disclosure for user D to be invited.
Msg10: The bot sends a message to user A notifying the content of the declared disclosure range.
Msg01: User A sends a message to the chat conference participants (users A, B, and C) to the effect that user D is invited to the chat conference being held in the group.
Msg02: User D issues a message expressing participation in the chat conference to all participants.
Msg08: The bot issues a message to User D notifying the disclosure range set for User D. Since there is no exchange information Iex available for user D, the bot does not issue a message to provide user D with exchange information Iex after this message (Msg08).

In this way, the disclosure range setting unit 68 may set the disclosure range for user D based on the content of the messages posted by users A, B, and C before user D is added. This allows users A, B, and C, who are members of the group, to make settings by posting messages, making it easier to set the disclosure range than when setting authority is given to persons other than members of the group.

<6. Setting the scope of disclosure through negotiation>
As a sixth variation, the bot server 14 may set the disclosure range of exchange information Iex for user D through negotiations between the bot and group members (at least one of users A, B, and C). In this case, in addition to [S12] and [S13] described above, [S16] "disclosure range negotiation" may be added before [S01] in FIG.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a sixth variation of message exchange.
Msg11: User A issues a message to the bot asking for a recommended disclosure range setting for user D to be invited.
Msg12: The bot issues a message to User A notifying the details of the disclosure range that can be set based on the disclosure range information 62 .
Msg13: User A issues a message to the bot instructing to change some of the recommended settings proposed by the bot.
Msg14: The bot issues a message to user A notifying the contents of the changed disclosure range.
Msg01: User A sends a message to chat conference participants (users A, B, and C) to the effect that user D is invited to a chat conference being held in the group.
Msg08: The bot issues a message to User D notifying the disclosure range set for User D.
Msg05: The bot issues a message to User D providing a message record.

Thus, through the interaction between User A and the bot, User D is provided with a message record as exchange information Iex. User D can obtain the exchange information Iex within the set disclosure range.

<Effect of first catch-up support operation>
As described above, the bot server 14 of the information processing system 10 includes the participation state monitoring unit 66 (monitoring means) that monitors the participation state of the members of the group that share messages in the message exchange service, and the participation state monitoring unit 66, When the participation of user D (first user) who has not participated in the message exchange in the group is confirmed or a sign of participation is detected, the bot (virtual character) and user D or users A, B, C (second A dialog control unit 48 is provided for performing dialog control of the bot so as to provide the user D with exchange information Iex relating to message exchanges that have already occurred within the group through dialog between users.

Further, in this information processing method and information processing program, the one or more computers monitor the status of members of a group sharing messages in the message exchange service, and When the participation of user D is confirmed or a sign of participation is detected, through dialogue between the bot and user D or users A, B, and C, exchange information Iex regarding message exchanges already performed in the group is sent to user D and a dialog control step of performing dialog control of the bot to provide the .

In this way, exchange information Iex is provided to user D through dialogue between the bot and user D or users A, B, and C, so that user D can see the state of the field formed by exchanging messages in the group with the bot. It is possible to grasp smoothly through two-way communication with In addition, since the bot mainly provides the exchange information Iex, the users A, B, and C can concentrate on exchanging messages without distracting the user D. As a result, when exchanging information using the message exchange service, the first participant does not explain the situation of the situation to the participants who are in the middle, or the situation of the situation is explained independently. Messages are exchanged more smoothly compared to .

In particular, in the first catch-up support operation, the participation state monitoring unit 66 monitors whether or not a member of the group has been added. In this case, the dialogue control unit 48 may perform dialogue control so as to provide exchange information Iex within the disclosure range set by the disclosure range setting unit 68 to user D who is an added member. As a result, compared to the case where the disclosure range is not set, the possibility of erroneously providing information that a group member does not wish to disclose to user D, who is an added member, is suppressed.

[Second catch-up support operation]
Next, the second catch-up support operation in the information processing system 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 14 and FIG. 15 . During execution of this "second catch-up support operation", the participation state monitoring unit 66 of the bot server 14 checks the participation of users who have not participated in the message exchange while sequentially monitoring the participation state of the members of the group. do. For example, the participation status monitoring unit 66 checks whether there is "participation by return" according to the presence status, absence status, or status transition of the participating members of the chat conference.

In step S21 of FIG. 14, the participation status monitoring unit 66 receives a print request for the posted electronic material through the interaction control unit 48. FIG.

In step S22, the participation status monitoring unit 66 refers to the group information 60 (participating members) in FIG.

In step S23, the participation state monitoring unit 66 confirms whether or not a member has been added. If no member has been added (step S23: NO), skip step S24 and proceed to step S25. On the other hand, if a member has been added (step S23: YES), the process proceeds to step S24.

In step S24, the participation state monitoring unit 66 adds a dialogue flag corresponding to the new member. This "dialogue flag" is a flag indicating whether or not a dialogue has been established between the bot and the member regarding the necessity of printing the material. A dialog flag with a value of 0 indicates that the dialog is incomplete, and a dialog flag with a value of 1 indicates that the dialog has been completed. Note that the bot is not interacting with the newly added member, so the initial value of the interaction flag is always given as "0".

In step S25, the participation state monitoring unit 66 confirms whether or not the dialogue flags of all the members are all "1". If the dialogue flags of all the members are all "1" (step S25: YES), the process proceeds to step S26.

In step S26, the participation state monitoring unit 66 confirms whether or not the chat conference being held has ended. If it has not finished yet (step S26: NO), the process returns to step SS22 to repeat confirmation of the members of the group (step S22). On the other hand, if the dialogue flags of one or more members are "0", it is determined that the dialogue flags of all the members are not "1" (step S25: NO), and the process proceeds to step S27.

In step S27, the participation state monitoring unit 66 determines the presence state or absence state of each member. Here, the "presence state" means a state that can participate in message exchange, and the "absence state" means a state that cannot participate in message exchange. The participation state monitoring unit 66 may define a determination condition regarding one state (eg, presence state), and determine that the user is in the other state (eg, absence state) if the determination condition is not satisfied. .

For example, the participation status monitoring unit 66 checks that [1] the no-response time from the last posting time does not exceed the threshold, [2] the user's login status is detected, or [3] the other party's message On the other hand, it may be determined to be in an "existing state" when a determination condition such as a non-response time during which no "already read" check is performed does not exceed a threshold.

In step S28, the participation state monitoring unit 66 asks the member whose dialogue flag is "0" and who has changed from "absent state" to "present state" (hereinafter referred to as "specific member") to Performs processing to inquire whether or not printing is required. Specifically, the participation state monitoring unit 66 notifies the interaction control unit 48 that the specific member is requested to make this inquiry.

In step S29, the participation state monitoring unit 66 checks through the dialogue control unit 48 whether or not an answer has been received from the specific member within a predetermined grace period. If there is no reply from the specific member (step S29: NO), the process returns to step S22. On the other hand, if there is an answer (step S29: YES), the participation status monitoring unit 66 updates the value of the dialogue flag from "0" to "1" (step S29: YES) regardless of whether printing is necessary or not (step S30) and returns to step S22.

Thereafter, the participation status monitoring unit 66 repeatedly executes the operations of steps S21 to S30 along the above-described flow until the chat conference ends. On the other hand, if the chat conference has ended (step S26: YES), the dialogue control unit 48 of the bot server 14 ends the second catch-up support operation. In parallel with this operation, the information processing system 10 sequentially performs the operations of [S01]→[S02]→ . . . →[S11] in FIG. As a result, the messages shown in FIG. 15 are exchanged among the users A, B, C, D and the bot.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a seventh variation of message exchange. A service screen 30 in the figure shows a screen displayed on the user terminal 16 (user A's terminal).
Msg21: User A sends a message to all participants of the chat conference (users A, B, C, and D) to the effect that electronic materials to be used in the chat conference have been posted.
Msg22: The bot issues a message to all participants asking whether or not the electronic material posted by User A should be printed. Assume that at this time, user D is temporarily away from the desk for some reason and cannot access the service screen 30 (absent state).
Msg23: User A sends a message to the bot indicating that he/she does not need to print the material.
Msg24: User B issues a message to the bot indicating the intention to print the material.
Msg25: User C sends a message to the bot indicating the intention to print the material.

Msg26: The bot issues a message to User D asking again whether printing of the material is necessary. Here, it is assumed that there is no reply from the user D when the grace period has passed since the posting time (Msg22) of the bot.
Msg27: The bot issues a message to all participants that users B and C request printing and that user D is absent. After that, the bot server 14 instructs the printing devices 20 associated with the users B and C to print the materials. It is assumed that after printing the material, user D returns (becomes present) after finishing his business.
Msg28: User D sends a message to all members indicating his intention to participate in the chat conference.
Msg29: The bot issues a message to User D asking again whether printing of the material is necessary.

User D responds to the bot as to whether or not printing is necessary, so that all of the dialog flags of users A, B, C, and D (FIG. 14) are set to 1. FIG. Then, unless the number of participating members increases further, the second catch-up support operation for this electronic material ends.

<Effect of second catch-up support operation>
As described above, in the second catch-up support operation, the participation state monitoring unit 66 monitors the presence state or absence state of the group members (users A, B, C, and D). In this case, the dialogue control unit 48 may perform dialogue control so as to ask the member (user D in the example of FIG. 15) who has changed from the absent state to the present state whether or not to provide the exchange information Iex. As a result, it is possible to make an inquiry immediately after the member returns to the place of information exchange. It becomes easier to grasp the situation of the field.

Further, the dialogue control unit 48 may perform dialogue control so as not to inquire about the necessity of providing the exchange information Iex to the members of the absent group. As a result, unnecessary inquiries to members who cannot immediately access exchange information Iex can be suppressed, and message exchange can be performed more smoothly than when exchange information Iex is provided regardless of the presence or absence of members.

Further, the dialogue control unit 48 performs dialogue control so as to inquire again about the necessity of providing the exchange information Iex to the current member who did not post a message after inquiring about the necessity of providing the exchange information Iex. you can go This provides an opportunity to provide exchange information Iex to members who may have been temporarily absent.

In addition, the participation state monitoring unit 66 [1] determines that the member has changed from the presence state to the absence state when the member in the presence state has not participated in the message exchange for a predetermined time interval, while [ 2] It may be determined that the absent member has changed to the present state when the member in the absent state starts participating in the message exchange. By considering the time interval of involvement in message exchange, the determination accuracy of switching between the two types of states increases.

10 information processing system, 12 chat server, 14 bot server, 16, 18 user terminal, 20 printing device, 30 service screen, 48 dialogue control unit (dialogue control means), 52 print instruction unit (print instruction means), 66 participation state Monitoring unit (monitoring means) 68 Disclosure range setting unit (setting means) 80 UI unit (UI means) Iex Exchange information.

Claims (11)

monitoring means for monitoring the participation status of members of a group sharing messages in a message exchange service;
When the monitoring means confirms the participation of the first user who has not participated in the message exchange in the group or detects a sign of participation, through the interaction between the virtual character and the first user , already in the group interaction control means for performing interaction control of the virtual character so as to provide the first user with exchange information relating to the exchange of messages;
setting means for setting a disclosure range of the exchange information;
with
The monitoring means monitors whether or not a member of the group has been added,
The dialogue control means performs dialogue control so as to provide the first user who is the added member with the exchange information within the disclosure range set by the setting means;
The setting means sets the disclosure range for the first user according to the relationship between the attributes of the first user and the attributes of a second user who is a member of the group.
An information processing system characterized by: The interaction control means provides the first user with at least one of a message record already posted in the group, an electronic material already posted, a location of the message record, and a location of the electronic material. 2. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the interactive control is performed on the . The dialogue control means performs dialogue control so as not to provide the exchange information to the second user who has already participated in the message exchange, but to provide the exchange information only to the first user. The information processing system according to claim 1 or 2. further comprising print instruction means for instructing a printing device to print the exchange information;
the virtual character is an avatar of the printing device associated with the first user;
said interaction control means accepts a request for printing of the exchange information from the first user through dialogue between the avatar and the first user, and supplies identification information of the first user or the printing device to the print instruction means.
4. The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by: When there are a plurality of said electronic materials already posted in said group, obtaining or printing at least one or more of said electronic materials according to said first user's operation via said service screen of said message exchange service. 3. The information processing system according to claim 2, further comprising UI means configured to be able to instruct. the monitoring means monitors the presence or absence of members of the group;
6. The dialogue control means according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein said dialogue control means performs dialogue control so as to inquire whether or not to provide said exchange information to a member who has changed from an absent state to a present state. Information processing system. 7. The information processing system according to claim 6 , wherein said dialogue control means performs dialogue control so as not to inquire whether or not to provide said exchange information to members of said group who are absent. The dialogue control means performs dialogue control so as to inquire again about the necessity of providing the exchange information to the current member who did not post a message after inquiring about the necessity of providing the exchange information. 8. The information processing system according to claim 6 or 7 , characterized by: The monitoring means
Determining that the member has changed from the present state to the absent state when the member in the present state has not participated in the message exchange beyond a predetermined time interval,
9. The information processing system according to any one of claims 6 to 8 , wherein it is determined that the absent member has changed from the absent state to the present state when the absent member starts participating in message exchange. a monitoring step of monitoring the status of members of a group sharing messages in the message exchange service;
In the monitoring step, if the participation of the first user who has not participated in the message exchange within the group is confirmed or a sign of participation is detected, through dialogue between the virtual character and the first user, within the group an interaction control step of performing interaction control of the virtual character so as to provide the first user with exchange information relating to a message exchange that has already taken place;
a setting step of setting a disclosure range of the exchange information;
is executed by one or more computers,
the monitoring step monitors whether or not a member of the group has been added;
The dialogue control step performs dialogue control so as to provide the first user who is the added member with the exchange information within the disclosure range set by the setting step;
The setting step sets the disclosure range for the first user according to the relationship between the attributes of the first user and the attributes of a second user who is a member of the group.
An information processing method characterized by: a monitoring step of monitoring the status of members of a group sharing messages in the message exchange service;
In the monitoring step, if the participation of the first user who has not participated in the message exchange within the group is confirmed or a sign of participation is detected, through dialogue between the virtual character and the first user, within the group an interaction control step of performing interaction control of the virtual character so as to provide the first user with exchange information relating to a message exchange that has already taken place;
a setting step of setting a disclosure range of the exchange information;
on one or more computers, and
the monitoring step monitors whether or not a member of the group has been added;
The dialogue control step performs dialogue control so as to provide the first user who is the added member with the exchange information within the disclosure range set by the setting step;
The setting step sets the disclosure range for the first user according to the relationship between the attributes of the first user and the attributes of a second user who is a member of the group.
An information processing program characterized by:

Images