SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — Nov. 10, 1998 — Inference Corp. (Nasdaq:INFR) and eShare Technologies today announced an agreement wherein Inference will resell eShare's NetAgent Customer Interaction Center software.

As part of the new Inference k-Commerce Support application, NetAgent delivers interactive chat-based access to customer service knowledge, a significant step towards its overall goal of providing universal access to answers and solutions across the evolving customer Contact Center — including call center, Web, e-mail, chat and Interactive Voice Response systems.

"This reseller agreement with eShare, the leading provider of interaction software for the Internet, enables Inference to help our customers with another touch point for customer service," said Charles W. Jepson, president and chief executive officer of Inference Corporation.

"The combined product allows customers to communicate with customer service representatives directly from the Web page without the need for a second phone line. In addition, representatives will have the ability to manage multiple interactive chat sessions to answer customer questions."

"NetAgent and Inference's market leading conversation-based knowledge systems deliver compelling solutions for customer service and support," said Jim Tito, President and CEO of eShare. "The integrated system allows companies to deliver knowledge-driven communications with their customers, interactively push Web pages and documents to them, and track and record session transcripts for future review."

Inference k-Commerce applications and products replicate the experience of a company's best customer service representatives to ensure rapid problem resolution and consistent service across the Contact Center and throughout the entire customer lifecycle. Inference k-Commerce captures both the information needed to answer questions and the dialogue needed to deliver the most satisfying interaction.

Case-Based Reasoning (CBR), the core technology behind Inference k-Commerce, employs a conversation-based approach to problem solving. Customers enter their question in everyday language and then answer a set of questions designed to refine the search and find the best solution. This conversation replicates the manner in which superior customer service representatives deliver correct answers and a satisfying experience for the customer.

eShare's NetAgent enables e-commerce support by allowing sales and service representatives to interactively communicate with customers, deliver tutorials and push files and product information. Agents can automatically toggle between queues to handle as many as six customers simultaneously. In addition, automated response and customer self-service tools free up agents to deal with priority or more complex issues.

Availability
NetAgent is available from Inference today. Inference is selling and marketing NetAgent as well as providing first level customer support.

eShare Technologies
eShare Technologies, Inc. (www.eshare.com) delivers powerful enterprise-class interaction software and services that are crucial for eBusiness. These innovative technologies include web-based customer service and support, customer self-service, live conferencing and events, distance learning, Community chat, threaded discussion forums, and custom integration tools.

Current eShare Technologies clients include AT&T WorldNet Service, Computer Associates, GeoCities, Lycos, networkMCI, UUNet, the University of Florida, Pfizer, Bertelsmann, Columbia University, Hewlett Packard, Xerox and 1-800-FLOWERS.

Inference Corporation
Inference develops and markets the most advanced knowledge-based customer service solutions for Internet self-service and call centers used by over 500 customers worldwide. These solutions offer universal access to a comprehensive knowledge base that includes human experiences and documents via an intuitive, conversational interaction that replicates the best customer service representative to improve customer satisfaction, reduce support costs and accelerate growth.

Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay area, with international headquarters near London, England, Inference offers a complete line of consulting, support and training services from offices throughout North America and Europe. For further information, contact Inference at 415/893-7200, send an e-mail to info@inference.com or visit www.inference.com.

Note to Editors: The Inference logo, CBR Express and CasePoint are registered trademarks CBR Content Navigator and k-Commerce are trademarks of Inference Corporation. All other company names and products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

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