ActiveBuddy Announces HR Agent; Conversational Self-Service for Human Resources Information and Services.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 27, 2003

ActiveBuddy, Inc., the messaging industry's leading provider of interactive agent technology, today announced the immediate availability of HR Agent, which provides corporate employees with immediate self-service access to human resources information and services.

Using ordinary conversational language, employees talk to the HR Agent over any wired or wireless text-messaging network. Employees can request payroll and benefits information, check the availability of vacation and sick leave, view and update personal information, and perform a variety of other common human resources tasks. Rather than navigating typically complex enterprise HR systems, employees simply ask the HR Agent questions, (e.g. "What are the details of our dental plan?"; "How many sick days do I have left?"; "Can I see my most recent pay stub?") and get immediate responses with data sourced from a company's existing HR management software. The HR Agent is designed to integrate with leading enterprise HR systems and corporate messaging solutions, enhancing the value of a company's existing technology investment.

ActiveBuddy technology is used to produce interactive agents, which are software applications, often called "bots," that interact with users in natural language conversations over text messaging networks. Interactive agents are well-suited for self-service applications because their conversational question-and-answer style interfaces require no training. Unlike traditional menu- or search-driven solutions, users can interactively clarify requests or change subjects abruptly. Interactive agents excel at guiding users through multi-step processes and offering advice on related topics, much like a person does in the normal course of a well-informed conversation. Because text messaging is universally available, users can access an interactive agent from virtually any desktop or mobile device.

"Our clients are investing in making their operations more efficient," said Paul Taroli, managing director of the PeopleSoft Practice at Computer Sciences Corporation (NYSE:CSC) -- one of the world's leading IT services companies. "Solutions capabilities like ActiveBuddy's HR Agent that deliver on the goal of employee self-sufficiency are in demand in today's market."

The HR Agent recognizes hundreds of common human resources requests and can be customized to suit a company's specific needs. The complete solution consists of the HR Agent application itself, BuddyScript Server Enterprise Edition, and an integration layer, which enables the interactive agent to access the enterprise's human resources system. BuddyScript Server supports data access via a wide range of data formats and protocols including XML, SOAP and SQL, allowing integration with virtually any enterprise application or database management system. HR Agent is configured to work seamlessly with leading enterprise HR systems, including PeopleSoft 8, and is available through leading systems integrators including CSC.

"Delivering self-service access to human resources data is an excellent application for ActiveBuddy's interactive agent technology, the obvious candidate for our first enterprise application," said Pierre Berkaloff, vice president of engineering for ActiveBuddy, Inc. "Employees don't access HR systems on a daily basis, but they should be able to get help quickly and easily when they need it -- the HR Agent delivers on this goal."

About ActiveBuddy, Inc.

ActiveBuddy (www.activebuddy.com) is the leading provider of software tools and systems for developing and hosting interactive agents. ActiveBuddy software and hosting solutions enable marketers, content and service providers, and businesses to deploy interactive agents that deliver a wide range of personalized content and service across all platforms that support interactive text messaging. Leveraging the rapidly expanding global messaging audience, ActiveBuddy provides companies with a new environment to more efficiently interact with their customers and employees. ActiveBuddy's highly popular demonstration agent, SmarterChild, has interacted with over 9 million people since its launch in June 2001. Among ActiveBuddy's customers are Keebler, eBay, Warner Bros. Records, New Line Cinema, Dr Pepper/Seven Up, and Young & Rubicam. Founded in March 2000, ActiveBuddy is based in New York, NY, and Sunnyvale, CA. Principal investors are SoundView Ventures and Reuters.

Note to Editors: ActiveBuddy, the ActiveBuddy robot logo, SmarterChild, and BuddyScript are trademarks or registered trademarks of ActiveBuddy Inc. PeopleSoft is a trademark of PeopleSoft Inc.