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"Sick of virtual assistants like Siri\u00A0mangling\u00A0your searches? Well, the new Ooloo\u00A0app for iOS and Android dispenses with voice recognition and just sends your request to an actual human being.\r\nOoloo, which has been spun off from online backup service IDrive, will have staff on hand 24/7 to answer your questions. I\u2019m curious how that cost structure will work for the fledgling app, but the startup will benefit from being supported by a company that\u2019s already generating revenue.\r\n\u00A0 \u00A0 \u00A0\r\nTo use the app, just tap to speak your question. If you want to get more specific, you can tag queries with specific categories. The assistants can take into account your location when preparing a response. Once Ooloo\u00A0sends you the answer, you can rate it\u00A0as Awesome, Good or Meh.\r\nSample queries provided by Ooloo\u00A0include asking about authentic local restaurants in a new city, simple word translation requests, and the fastest route to the airport. It\u2019s a lot like having a really patient friend on the other line who\u2019s willing to Google stuff for you.\r\nThe first question I asked Ooloo was about plane ticket pricing. I got an\u00A0answer\u00A0quickly, but\u00A0it\u00A0was a follow-up question that I had no way to reply to, so I just resubmitted my question with more information. The same helper sent back a reply with some prices and a link to Google flight\u00A0search a couple minutes later.\r\nOoloo's answers aren't much better than anything you could find on your own, but they do save you some time. The human element is a nice touch, too. I sent several questions in a row to test the app and got answers from the same assistant. When I asked about how to teach a toddler how to use a spoon, the reply included,\u00A0&amp;quot;Yikes! Good luck with that one.&amp;quot;\r\nKnowing that a human was answering my questions also made me think twice before asking silly or inane questions.\u00A0That's not necessarily a drawback, but it complicates the interaction. I found myself wanting to say thanks after asking my questions.\r\nI can see myself using Ooloo to rattle off questions when I'm driving\u00A0or for help finding local businesses when I'm out. It would also come in handy to answer the kind of factual disputes I have\u00A0with friends that usually result in one of us turning to Wikipedia or IMDB.\r\nI'm not opposed to a free app that\u00A0puts someone at my beck-and-call, but I'm confused as to how this will scale. Adding the\u00A0human element, actually takes a step backward from the artificial intelligence systems that tech companies have been trying to build. If it\u00A0gains traction, OOLOO will have to hire like mad to have enough helpers to answer\u00A0all the questions. There's no clear business model at the moment, though an OOLOO rep did says that the new company has &amp;quot;different plans in mind&amp;quot;\u00A0when it's ready to move beyond user acquisition.\r\n\u27A4 Ooloo\u00A0for iOS | Android"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://thenextweb.com/apps/2014/08/02/ooloo-ios-android-sends-search-queries-real-people/ooloo-1/>