The next generation of Intelligent Virtual Assistants (IVAs) is making human/machine conversation even more relevant and personal – and a new alliance promises to push the envelope even further.

Next IT, the world’s largest provider of IVAs, today announced a partnership with technological thought-leader and futurist Nova Spivack (@novaspivack), who will advise the natural-language understanding innovator on new ways to adapt its technology to meet the needs of our increasingly information-centric society.

"Next IT has made an impressive commitment to the advancement of natural language understanding technology – more so than any other company in the space,” said Spivack. “They are quickly becoming the market leader, providing virtual assistants, at scale, to real blue-chip customers."

Spivack’s impressive resume includes work with the DARPA CALO artificial-intelligence project, with SRI International, where he co-founded startup incubator nVention. nVention launched SIRI, the voice-driven virtual-assistant technology used by Apple, Inc. on its iPhone. Spivack’s opinion on matters as far ranging as collective intelligence, real-time search, social media, and the future of technology is widely sought-after, and he’s a contributor to publications such as TechCrunch and Mashable. He’s currently the CEO of Bottlenose, a startup focused on social analytics.

“Next IT is at a critical juncture,” said Denise Caron, Chief Technology Officer at Next IT. “Nova brings that futuristic vision that will help us to break from the pack and lay down the path to the ‘intelligent web’, where virtual assistants will not only navigate the web but act on our behalf to create an experience people can’t live without.”

"The future of virtual assistants goes beyond just SIRI or Nuance-like apps on mobile devices,” said Spivack. “Virtual assistants will be everywhere: on the Web, in stores, embedded into consumer electronics, cars, and a range of products. Next IT is the company that will drive this trend."

About Next IT

Next IT is the world’s largest provider of Intelligent Virtual Assistants that help companies deliver the perfect online customer experience. Its Intelligent Virtual Assistants combine the intimacy of 1-to-1 service that customers love with the speed and accuracy of automated self-service that scales cost-effectively. Some of the world’s largest organizations rely on Next IT for conversational customer care that boosts satisfaction, loyalty and revenue, including Aetna, Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, and the U.S. Army. Please visit www.NextIT.com for more information and follow us @Next_IT.

Nova Spivack: @novaspivack

Denise Caron: @denise_caron