GoDaddy gets client support patent

Patent describes and easier way of authenticating and helping clients.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted patent number 11,223,617 (pdf) to GoDaddy for a client support system. The patent is titled Domain name registrar database associating a temporary access code and an internet related activity of a user.

Here’s the basic idea:

Someone using a website (such as GoDaddy.com) needs help. The website provides a temporary access code to the website user that they can use to call in for support. If they give this access code to the website provider, it acts as their authentication. When the client support representative uses the access code, it brings up data regarding what the user was trying to do, such as recent activity on the website.

This seems like something I’ve seen on a number of websites. It’s very helpful compared to calling a support number and authenticating a number of ways. My pet peeve is entering my account information into an IVR, only to have the account representative ask for it again.

The patent lists former GoDaddy Chief Architect Arnold Blinn, former GoDaddy software engineer Mitch Olson, current senior software engineer Jacob Brooks, and current director of software development John Kercheval as inventors. The first two inventors now work for LegalShield.

GoDaddy applied for the patent in 2018, and it was granted today.