Automated generation of recommended response messages

Abstract

An electronic device providing a message service includes: a communication unit configured to exchange a message with another device; a display configured to display a message received from the another device, a message input by the electronic device, and at least one response message generated by the electronic device, all together on a message service screen of the display; and a processor configured to determine whether the received message includes an inquiry, and provide at least one piece of recommended content based on the inquiry in response to the received message being determined as including the inquiry, and transmit the at least one response message comprising the at least one piece of recommended content to the other device.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An electronic device providing a message service, the electronic device comprising:
 a communicator configured to exchange a message with another electronic device; 
 a display configured to display a message service screen; and 
 a processor configured to:
 control the display to display a message received from the another electronic device, a message input by the electronic device, and at least one response message generated by the electronic device, all together on the message service screen, 
 determine whether the received message includes an inquiry, 
 in response to the received message being determined as including the inquiry, control the display based on the inquiry to display a plurality of recommended application icons, which enable execution of corresponding application programs that have different categories from each other, together with a plurality of recommended images stored on the electronic device, and 
 transmit the at least one response message comprising a content corresponding to at least one of the application programs to the other another electronic device. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to mark the received message in response to the received message being determined as including the inquiry, and provide the application programs through the plurality of recommended application icons in response to the marked received message being selected. 
     
     
       3. The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to obtain the application programs based on relational data between a user of the other another electronic device and a user of the electronic device. 
     
     
       4. The electronic device of  claim 3 , wherein the relational data comprises at least one of data stored in the electronic device, data stored in a server communicating with the electronic device, and data stored in the other another electronic device. 
     
     
       5. The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the controller processor is further configured to control the display to display the plurality of recommended application icons based on a user input requesting the application programs in response to a settings menu being set to manually recommend the application programs, display the plurality of recommended application icons based on a user input indicated in the received message in response to the settings menu being set to semi-automatically recommend the application programs, and display the plurality of recommended application icons without a user input when the electronic device obtains the application programs by recognizing the received message in response to the settings menu being set to automatically recommend the application programs. 
     
     
       6. The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to obtain the application programs based on types of words included in the message, relations among the words, and meanings of the words. 
     
     
       7. The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to obtain the application programs based on a relation between a user of the electronic device and a user of the other another electronic device, which is set based on a user input. 
     
     
       8. The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the different categories comprise a first category of a map application and a second category of a messenger application. 
     
     
       9. The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to extract keywords from the received message and obtain content related to each of the keywords in order of descending priority of the keywords. 
     
     
       10. A method of providing a message service of an electronic device, the method comprising:
 receiving a message from another electronic device; 
 displaying the received message on a message service screen of the electronic device; 
 determining whether the received message includes an inquiry; 
 in response to the received message being determined as including the inquiry, controlling based on the received message to display a plurality of recommended application icons, which enable execution of corresponding application programs that have different categories from each other, together with a plurality of recommended images stored on the electronic device based on the received message; and 
 transmitting a response message comprising a content corresponding to at least one of the application programs to the other another electronic device. 
 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 10 , further comprising marking the received message in response to the received message being determined as including the inquiry,
 wherein the controlling to display the plurality of recommended application icons comprises providing the recommended programs in response the marked received message being selected. 
 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 10 , wherein the controlling to display the plurality of recommended application icons comprises obtaining the recommended programs based on relational data between a user of the electronic device and a user of the other another electronic device. 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 12 , wherein the relational data comprises at least one of data stored in the electronic device, data stored in a server communicating with the electronic device, and data stored in the other another electronic device. 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 10 , wherein the controlling to display the plurality of recommended application icons comprises:
 controlling to display the plurality of recommended application icons based on a user input requesting the application programs in response to a settings menu being set to manually recommend the application programs; 
 controlling to display the plurality of recommended application icons based on a user input indicated in the received message in response to the settings menu being set to semi-automatically recommend the application programs; and 
 controlling to display the plurality of recommended application icons without a user input when the electronic device obtains the application programs by recognizing the received message in response to the settings menu being set to automatically recommend the application programs. 
 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 10 , wherein the controlling to display the plurality of recommended application icons comprises obtaining the recommended programs based on types of words included in the message, relations among the words, and meanings of the words. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 10 , wherein the controlling to display the plurality of recommended application icons comprises obtaining the recommended programs based on a degree of closeness in relationship between a user of the electronic device and a user of the other another electronic device, which is set based on a user input. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 10 , wherein the different categories comprise a first category of a map application and a second category of a messenger application. 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 10 , wherein the controlling to display the plurality of recommended application icons comprises:
 extracting keywords from the received message; and 
 obtaining content related to each of the keywords in order of descending priority of the keywords. 
 
     
     
       19. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a computer program for performing the method of  claim 10 . 
     
     
       20. A server for providing message-related content to an electronic device, the server comprising:
 a memory storing instructions; and   at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to:
 obtain information for messages between an electronic device and another electronic device, the messages being exchanged between the electronic device and the another electronic device through a message application installed in the electronic device, 
 analyze a meaning of the messages based on the obtained information for the messages, 
 identify information for location in association with the messages by analyzing the meaning of the messages, 
 receive, based on the identified information for the location, information for at least one recommended content related to the messages from an external server for providing search service, and 
 in response to receiving the information for the at least one recommended content, control to provide, through the message application installed in the electronic device, the information for the at least one recommended content for sharing the at least one recommended content with the another electronic device. 
   
     
     
       21. The server of claim 20, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to perform the natural language interpretation of the message between the electronic device and the another electronic device for analyzing the meaning of the messages. 
     
     
       22. The server of claim 21, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to determine, based on the analyzed meaning of the messages, that the messages include a location-based inquiry. 
     
     
       23. The server of claim 22, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to determine, as the identified information, a location for the location-based inquiry. 
     
     
       24. The server of claim 20, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to control to receive, from the electronic device, the identified information for the location in association with the messages. 
     
     
       25. The server of claim 20, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to control to receive, from the electronic device, the meaning of the messages. 
     
     
       26. The server of claim 20, wherein the message are received by the electronic device from the another electronic device, and the at least one recommended content is at least one recommended content for responding to the message. 
     
     
       27. The server of claim 20, wherein, based on the analyzed meaning of the messages indicating that the messages include a weather-related inquiry, the at least one recommended content comprises weather information corresponding to the identified information for the location in association with the messages. 
     
     
       28. The server of claim 27, wherein, based on the analyzed meaning of the messages indicating that the messages include the weather-related inquiry, the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to control to obtain, from an external weather service, the weather information corresponding to the identified information for the location in association with the messages. 
     
     
       29. The server of claim 27, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to:
 perform the natural language interpretation of the messages between the electronic device and the another electronic device, and   determine, based on the natural language interpretation, that the message includes the weather-related inquiry.   
     
     
       30. The server of claim 20, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to determine, based on the analyzed meaning of the messages, the at least one recommended content to include restaurant information corresponding to the identified information for the location in association with the messages. 
     
     
       31. The server of claim 30, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to obtain, from an external service, the restaurant information corresponding to the identified information for the location in association with the messages. 
     
     
       32. The server of claim 31, wherein the restaurant information includes information on a plurality of restaurants corresponding to the identified information for the location in association with the messages. 
     
     
       33. The server of claim 30, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to perform the natural language interpretation of the messages between the electronic device and the another electronic device. 
     
     
       34. The server of claim 20, wherein the messages are exchanged between the electronic device and the another electronic device via a text chatting service. 
     
     
       35. An electronic device comprising:
 a display;   a memory storing instructions; and   at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to:
 control to output, via the display, a screen of a messaging application, the screen including one or more messages exchanged between the electronic device and another electronic device via the messaging application, and an input portion to receive an input message input by a user for sending to the another electronic device, 
 control to transmit, to a server distinct from the electronic device and the another electronic device, information on messages displayed on the screen, 
 control to receive, from the server, at least one recommended content determined to be related to the messages, 
 control to output, via the display, the at least one recommended content so as to be selectable by the user, on the input portion of the screen, and 
 based on a selection of a recommended content, from among the at least one recommended content output via the display, control to transmit, toward the another electronic device, a message including the selected recommended content. 
   
     
     
       36. The electronic device of claim 35, wherein the at least one recommended content is information on at least one restaurant determined to be related to the messages according to an analyzed meaning of the messages, or weather information determined to be related to the messages according to the analyzed meaning of the messages. 
     
     
       37. The electronic device of claim 35, wherein the at least one recommended content output via the display comprises a displayed list of a plurality of restaurants determined to be related to the messages, and the selected recommended content is information on one of the plurality of restaurants. 
     
     
       38. The electronic device of claim 35, wherein the information on the at least one recommended content is determined by the server to be related to the messages according to an analyzation performed by the server with respect to the messages. 
     
     
       39. The electronic device of claim 35, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to:
 perform an analyzation of a meaning of the messages,   control to transmit, to the server, the information on the messages comprising the analyzed meaning of the messages, and   control to receive, from the server, the at least one recommended content based on the transmitted information comprising the analyzed meaning of the messages, and   wherein the transmitted information comprising the analyzed meaning of the messages comprises at least one of a determined keyword and a determined context corresponding to the messages.   
     
     
       40. The electronic device of claim 35, wherein the control to transmit, the control to receive, and the control to output the at least one recommended content are performed automatically by the at least one processor without a user input. 
     
     
       41. The electronic device of claim 35, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to control to output, via the display, a notification that at least one recommended content is displayable in relation to the message text, and
 the control to output the at least one recommended content is performed based on a user input received within a predetermined time relative to the output of the notification.   
     
     
       42. The electronic device of claim 35, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the instructions to control to output, via the display, a notification that at least one recommended content is displayable in relation to the messages, and
 wherein the notification is not displayed when a predetermined time is exceeded.