Microsoft acquired Colloquis, now branded "Windows Live Service Agent" a few months ago, and I had the opportunity at BAI to speak with a specialist in this area from the acquired firm about the impact of this service in the industry.
Windows Live Service Agent is a Natural Language chat engine which is loaded up with policies and practices, so it can respond to questions in a conversational manner, yet provide consistent, accurate, information in response to questions. This is done within the IM window, so the agent is presented as a "buddy" on the list.
This service is currently being used as first tier support to lower the number of live calls needed by the internal IT helpdesk, business helpdesk, public facing support, or as an answer script for the support group.
The genesis of this service was a chat buddy with ads called smarterchild, to try the informal "sassy" version, add smarterchild@hotmail.com to your buddy list, and ask about state capitals, football standings, or play a game with it.
Have fun, and Merry Christmas!