You may have heard about how IBM created an artificial intelligence (AI) system called Watson ^[1] that competed on Jeopardy against humans, or Apple’s Siri ^[2] technology on the iPhone 4S that understands what you say, knows what you mean, and even talks back.

Now even small businesses can get some of that magic.

MyCyberTwin yesterday announced the launch of its low cost Intelligent Virtual Agents (IVAs) for SMBs and developers. IVAs are self-learning digital “people” who provide automated assistance 24/7 by engaging in a personalized conversation with customers — responding quickly and accurately. They also capture analytics that show why and which kinds of customers are dropping out of a process, as well as what key product features interest potential new customers.

While this kind of technology has traditionally run from 25 cents-$1.00 per chat, plus tens of thousands in service costs, MyCyberTwin now offers a free pilot and a starting price ranging from $25/month through a few hundred dollars per month depending on the type of Web site and how much traffic it gets.

It’s fun to play around with. When I asked the IVA at MyCyberTwin.com–a pretty “girl” named Sarah–if she was alive, she answered, “I would love to be real myself, but I am as real a person as I can be. If you would like to speak to a human, visit our Contact Us page.”

While chatting with her I also asked, “Could I get an IVA that doesn’t look like you?” She responded by providing me links to information about how to customize an avatar and other CyberTwins I could talk to.

I also asked Sarah, “What if you don’t know the answer?” She replied, “If I can’t answer a question it’s usually best to ask me the question in a slightly different way. The more we talk, the more I can learn.”

You can interrogate Sarah for yourself at http://site.mycybertwin.com/ ^[3].