The U.S. Army Launches Conversational Virtual Assistant for Smart Devices

The U.S. Army has placed its very popular voice-enabled virtual guide on smart devices. This new approach to real-time conversations, which uses real voice and text inputs, is available for download on Google Play for Android phones and tablets; the iOS version is slated to be available in January.

"We are bringing the elegance of simplicity to consumer-brand interactions with our new intelligent mobile platform," said Denise Caron, Next IT's chief technology officer, in a statement. "Sgt. Star is an excellent demonstration of how Next IT delivers a truly conversational platform, and that's the future of customer service."

Since he enlisted in 2006, Sgt. Star has revolutionized how the Army communicates with recruits and their families. The sergeant has answered more than 11-million sensitive, personal and potentially life-altering questions, from 'Will I have to serve in combat?' to 'Are the showers co-ed?'

"Another advantage of our platform is that it is able to work with any speech recognition commodity, since the power is in the conversational understanding," Caron continued. "We believe in proving that our technology works, and Sgt. Star is the first of many upcoming deployments, including releases in healthcare."

Along with the Army, Next IT has created brand-changing online experiences for major healthcare providers, airlines and banks, including Aetna, Amtrak, Alaska Airlines, BECU, and United Airlines. Its virtual assistants range from providing general information to delivering highly personalized service, and they are available 24/7. With more than 10 years of experience building IVAs, this latest move into the mobile space is the first of many for Next IT's new intelligent mobile platform, which is expected to include a software development kit (SDK).