[February 08, 2008] Virtual assistant launched at alaskaair.com by Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air Tweet (Telecomworldwire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) A virtual assistant which has been called "Jenn" has been launched at http://www.alaskaair.com by Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air. According to the carriers "Jenn" can be accessed by clicking the "Ask Jenn" link on alaskaair.com's main toolbar, she has her own voice and personality and is able to answer common questions and help customers book travel. Users can type questions in "Jenn's" chat window and she then responds verbally, asking follow-up questions when necessary and providing a written response and related web links. Created using ActiveAgent technology from technology company Next IT, the software used as part of the virtual assistant program allows websites to interact with users using a natural-language interface, that can reportedly retrieve information across databases, answer questions and ask follow-up questions. ((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected])) Copyright ? 2008 M2 Communications Ltd. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]