ADVISORY/Virtual Representatives to be Highlighted at eAutoWorld; Ford Motor to Present Case Study on Benefits of Implementing a vRep from NativeMinds

    SAN FRANCISCO--April 9, 2001--"Ernie," a virtual representative created by NativeMinds and used by Ford Motor Co., will be the focus of a presentation at this year's eAutoWorld in Chicago. NativeMinds Inc., the leading provider of software and services to create automated natural-language customer service and sales representatives for the Web, along with Ford will be presenting a case study that explains how the company has employed Ernie to provide highly customized online service to mechanics at its North American dealer franchises. The case study will exhibit ways in which companies use the accessibility and 24x7 availability of the Internet to reduce the high costs generally associated with call centers or email. The Ford case study is a perfect example of how the automotive industry is starting to turn to new online technologies to provide support for its dealers.

When and Where

Conference:       eAutoWorld Detroit, April 10-12, 2001

Session Title:    Empowering Customers to Use Online Self-Service
                  Technologies: Case Study

Presenters:       Kevin O'Keefe, executive vice president of
                  marketing, sales and business development at
                  NativeMinds and Frank Ligon, director of Global
                  Technical Services Organization at Ford Motor Co.

Date:             Wednesday, April 11, 2001

Session Time:     9:30 - 10:15 AM

Site:             Cobo Convention Center - Detroit, Michigan

For more information, please visit: http://www.eautoworld.com/

    About NativeMinds

    NativeMinds is a pioneer in the development of self-service interaction management software to build and maintain automated online customer service and support agents called vReps. Created with NativeMinds' flagship product, NeuroServer(R), vReps answer customer questions via two-way, conversational dialog and rules-based display of relevant content from pre-existing information sources including Web site search, CRM knowledge bases, and customer-facing databases. vReps enhance the customer experience and lower support costs by emulating live customer service representatives to deflect inquiries from higher support channels such as phone and email. Leading customers of NativeMinds' vRep solutions include Ford Motor Company, Oracle, Convergys, One 2 One (Deutsche Telekom), Misys and GlaxoSmithKline. NativeMinds is a privately held corporation based in San Francisco. For more information and to talk to a vRep, visit www.nativeminds.com.

    Note to Editors: NativeMinds, vReps, NeuroServer, and the NativeMinds logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of NativeMinds, Inc.