Automated Support Company Acquired

Colloquis, which sells automated online support solutions that mimic a person in a real chat session, has been acquired by Microsoft. The company will resell Colloquis’s customer support solution, incorporate its agent technology into its own support offerings, and add automated agents to Windows Live Messenger (the company’s text, voice, and video messaging client and service for consumers).

Automated Support

Colloquis’s Automated Service Agent solution helps companies lower support costs by providing automated responses to the most common support questions. Support seekers participate in text-based chat with an online “agent,” which is programmed to provide responses based on keywords and phrases in the user’s questions. The solution can refer users to other forms of support if they are not satisfied with the responses. Colloquis has several major customers in the telecommunications industry, including Cingular Wireless, Comcast, Cox Communications, Time Warner Cable, and Vonage, as well as consumer electronics company Panasonic of North America.