Friday, March 07, 2008

Alaska Airlines Jenn - your virtual agent!

Jenn works for Alaska Airlines 24/7, answering questions. Check it out by clicking at the top right of their home page. Jenn is a virtual agent and appears to have a bunch of clever banter in addition to what I assume is a great knowledge of Alaska Airlines.

You Asked: how old are you?
Jenn: I am rather young, or as we say in the virtual world - new. But I like to think I have the experience of someone much older. How can I help you?

Although these agents are hardly an example of "real" artificial intelligence, I think they are warming us up for the big game where the computers will have human-like abilities to understand and answer even the most complex questions.