Amtrak Completes Strategic Nationwide Roll Out for 1.800.USA RAIL; 'Julie' Speech Persona Improves Caller Satisfaction 61 Percent Over Touch-Tone.

Business/Technology Editors

Conversations 2002

BOCA RATON, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 8, 2002

Guests calling into Amtrak's 1.800.USA.RAIL reservation line are voicing their approval for the passenger rail's perky, customer service agent named "Julie." Julie debuted last October as the voice of Amtrak's new automated speech recognition system, providing callers with immediate access to train status information in response to spoken requests. Today, Julie also provides schedules, fares and reservation information to callers nationwide. As a result of Amtrak's strategic implementation of speech recognition technologies, customer satisfaction has increased 61 percent over the previous touch-tone system.

Amtrak's speech strategy is a component of its overall goal to contain costs and still deliver premium services to customers through self-service distribution channels like the Internet, kiosks and the phone. In 2001, Amtrak launched the first phase of its speech strategy with SpeechWorks International, Inc. (Nasdaq: SPWX), the global leader in speech technologies and services, and Intervoice (Nasdaq: INTV), the world leader in converged voice and data solutions. This phase replaced the touch-tone systems and introduced a speech-enabled train status application allowing callers to obtain arrival and departure times for trains. Prior to the implementation of speech recognition, the touch-tone systems handled approximately 40 percent of the train status calls. The speech system is now handling 70 percent of train status calls without the help of an Amtrak agent, representing a 75 percent improvement in automation.

"Speech recognition has proven to be a powerful and friendly way to assist our callers," said Bob Hackman, Sr. Director Distribution Systems at Amtrak. "It allowed us to expand the number of self-service offerings available over the phone including various discount types, complex itineraries, a variety of classes of service and reservations for our frequent traveler program members."

Schedules, Fares & Reservations

The second phase of the speech deployment introduced the more complex schedule, fare and reservation services, which handles additional cities and services. This application represents over 70 percent of all call center transactions and directly impacts Amtrak's revenues. The speech system supports a number of service offerings and information, including Amtrak's high speed service Acela Express train; long distance train service with connections; various discounts for different types of passengers such as senior citizens, students or AAA members; carry-on baggage policy; seating availability; and where guests can pick up tickets.

Amtrak worked with SpeechWorks' User Interface Design team to develop a dialog that would flow naturally between "Julie" and the caller. The system delivers detailed schedule and fare information and facilitates bookings in the Amtrak reservations system. In 2002, the application was gradually introduced throughout the country and was continually tuned and monitored to understand caller behavior, vocabulary and pronunciation, and to ensure that it could perform during peak hours and manage spikes in call volume during severe weather conditions and holiday travel.

"Julie" is now receiving 70,000 calls per day for schedules, fares and reservations. A survey indicates that 90 percent of callers that completed their reservations via speech plan to use the speech system again. In addition, ticket sales processed by the system have increased by more than 90 percent since the introduction of the reservations capabilities. Amtrak is working on new enhancements including credit card payments, special discounts and promotions.

"We're pleased that Amtrak has achieved these impressive customer satisfaction levels and reduced its operating costs," said Steve Chambers, chief marketing officer at SpeechWorks. "Amtrak has taken a very focused and deliberate approach to implementing its speech strategy, and as a result has met all of its goals. The company's speech efforts have resulted in increased loyalty of Amtrak customers and the admiration of millions of callers who rely on `Julie' to handle their travel needs."

About Julie

SpeechWorks and Amtrak worked together to design the personality of "Julie." Rather than follow its traditional approach of interacting with callers in a formal dialogue, Amtrak adopted a more casual and conversational approach for its speech system, putting the caller at ease. When callers dial 800-USA-RAIL they are greeted by the following: "Hi, this is Amtrak. I'm Julie..." Julie provides reassurance as callers navigate through the application and callers always have the option to speak with an operator at any point during the call.

Amtrak also promotes other self-service channels through the speech system. For example, during the initial greeting, "Julie" invites callers to visit www.amtrak.com for online reservations and service information. "Julie" also informs callers where they will have access to kiosks to pay for their reservation and print their ticket. Amtrak is currently developing a new feature to encourage callers who generally go directly to a live operator to try the speech system. While on hold for a live agent, the caller will be informed of the wait time and offered the opportunity to talk to "Julie." Those callers that accept will be taken back to the main menu for immediate service from "Julie."

Amtrak designed a communications and training program to first introduce "Julie" to its sales agents so that agents were familiar with the speech system's capabilities and friendly tone. "Julie" has become so well known among Amtrak employees and Amtrak customers that the company has made it a priority to inform all Amtrak employees of the various phases of deployment. "Julie" has been featured in a number of company-wide weekly Employee Advisories and was covered in INK Magazine, Amtrak's corporate newsletter.

About Intervoice

With more than 21,000 systems deployed around the globe, Intervoice is the world leader in converged voice and data solutions providing the applications, tools and infrastructure that enable enterprises and carriers to attract and retain customers and promote profitability. Omvia(TM), Intervoice's open, standards-based product suite, is transforming the way people and information connect. Omvia offers speech-enabled IVRs and applications, multimedia and network-grade portals, wireless application gateways, and enhanced services such as unified messaging, short messaging services (SMS), voicemail, prepaid services and interactive alerts. Intervoice is headquartered in Dallas with offices in Europe, the Middle East, South America, and Asia Pacific. For more information, visit http://www.intervoice.com.

About SpeechWorks

Organizations around the world trust SpeechWorks to manage their customer conversations. As the leading provider of speech technologies and services, SpeechWorks helps companies create and implement unique Speech Strategies that ensure maximum financial return and the highest levels of caller satisfaction. The Company provides speech recognition, text-to-speech (TTS) and speaker verification for network and embedded environments, including new multimodal devices with both an audio interface and visual display. SpeechWorks' customers include carriers, corporations and government organizations, such as Amtrak, Citibank Europe, CIBC Bank, Thrifty Car Rental, and United Airlines. For more information, please call 617.428.4444 or visit www.speechworks.com.

About Amtrak

Amtrak guests enjoy service in more than 500 communities in 46 states throughout a 22,000-mile route system. Acela Express, America's only high-speed rail service, was introduced on Amtrak's route between Washington and Boston in the fall of 2000. Last year, the company set all-time records for passenger ridership and overall revenue. For more information, including schedules, fares and reservations, visit Amtrak's Web site at www.amtrak.com.

SpeechWorks is a registered trademark of SpeechWorks International, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.