Talk to me, says Jenn, Alaska Airlines' new virtual assistant

Tired of slogging through an airline Web site to get information?

Alaska Airlines has a solution — a new virtual assistant called Jenn. Type in your question on her section of the Alaska/Horizon Air Web site and Jenn will answer immediately in a friendly voice and link you to the relevant Web page.

It's much faster and more fun than searching through the Alaska/Horizon site to get your questions answered.

However, Jenn, who came to virtual life today, doesn't do much except talk. Her little picture — she's a digitally bland brunette — doesn't change. She is not a sophisticated avatar who will take you on a virtual journey. But Jenn does answer questions quickly — such as how do I find my mileage number — with her voice and also in print.

You can find Jenn at www.alaskaair.com — look on the righthand side of the blue bar at the top of the Web page.

And she will answer questions not strictly related to your travels.

I typed in "Are you married?" Jenn replied: "I am not married, but you never know what my inventors are working on now."

Next I asked why flights are so late.

Dear Jenn, you avoided my question, simply sending me to the airline's "Customer service commitment" Web page.

Jenn doesn't have an answer for everything, unfortunately.

Kristin Jackson: kjackson@seattletimes.com