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BotSpot® Bi-Weekly Newsletter January 17, 2001 Interviewing Virtual People: NativeMinds As a reporter, I have interviewed all kinds of people. Prison inmates, bishops, government officials--even local leader of the KKK. From rightous to malignant, I've talked to them all. Until I came onto BotSpot. Now I interview a whole new type of news source: the virtual person. I used to feel a bit silly doing this, until I realized that by interviewing the bot, I could learn more about the bot itself. Which, of course, is the whole purpose to an interview. This doesn't work with all bots, of course, but I find it a very effective method in dealing with the commerce bots, particularly the virtual representatives being put into place for 24/7 customer support. That's how I met Nicole, a natural-language customer support bot from NativeMinds. Nicole is a vRep, who right now greets people to the NativeMinds Web site. NativeMinds is a company with a new name, but it is one that is been in the business of bots for some time. Formerly Neuromedia, NativeMinds still employs an enhanced version of the NeuroServer technology used to produce the former Shallow Red chat bot. Today, NativeMinds has launched itself full force into the customer service game, and has recently announced a partnership with Ford Motor Company to provide the U.S. automaker's with vRep technology" to provide quicker and more targeted online technical and support assistance to about 5,400 Ford and Lincoln Mercury dealerships in the U.S. and Canada that use Ford's Worldwide Diagnostic System (WDS). " While speaking with Nicole, I learned quite a bit about vReps and the NeuroServer technology. The response rate and the flow of the conversation I had with this vRep was very smooth and pertinent. None of my questions seemed to throw Nicole. I even asked her about the weather, just to see what a nonsense question would do, and I was pleasantly surprised to see a new browser window appear with The Weather Channel's page for San Francisco. Clearly this Nicole is no slouch. The benefits of having a good virtual rep as your front-line customer support are obvious: less time and money is spent on human reps, for one. NativeMinds' bots also track the questions being put to the vRep, in order to track trends in customer issues. Like most virtual rep companies, NativeMinds does not offer a fixed pricing structure, because of the consulting services that go along with implementing a bot system such as this. Thus, it is not possible to tell whether Nicole and her fellow vReps are a good value. But, given the ease of conversation I had with this virtual customer support rep, clearly NativeMinds is a firm to look at for leading-edge natural-language bot technology. BotSpot Forum Up and Running Have you tried BotSpot forum yet? The BotSpot Forum is a Web-based message center designed to allow ongoing conversations and messages to be posted for all to share. This service will add a wonderful level of depth to the site, since various topics and ideas can be shared with people already interested in Bot and AI technology! I hope you visit the new Forum page to learn, inform, or even rant about what's knew in the world of Bots! BOT2001 Coming Soon! We're just over two weeks away from BOT2001. My bags are almost packed, ready for the big trip to BOT2001 at the Fairmount Hotel in San Francisco on January 25, 2001! BotSpot, along with BotTechnology.com, is pleased to be hosting BOT2001, a one-day seminar crammed with information on bots. Presented by BotSpot Creator and Founder Marcus P. Zillman, BOT2001 will be the event of the year for bot developers and implementors, new or experienced. At BOT2001, SearchBots, ChatterBots and KnowledgeBots will be discussed in specific defined presentations from the leaders in the field. Case studies and implementation strategies will take you deeply into the bot arena to take back specific recommendations for both marketing and research. Conference proceedings will cover all aspects of bots and intelligent agents allowing the most inexperienced observer to the seasoned professional to have a better understanding of this field. Experts will diffuse the latest hype and give you specific information on how to implement bots and intelligent agents into your marketing or research plans. For more information, visit the conference site, where you'll find a full agenda, travel and lodging information, and a list of conference participants. We look forward to seeing you there! News Stories StoreScanner infoGIST:
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