This personal assistant sends your voice search queries to real people

Before Google dominated search, Ask Jeeves depended on a team of humans to answer your internet queries. Ultimately, search algorithms killed the internet’s favorite butler, but the idea that humans are worthy competition for the software we create didn’t follow him to the grave. Case in point: Ask Ooloo, a digital assistant powered by living, breathing human beings. According to Ooloo’s makers, the PPDA is staffed with “real people 24/7″ ready to offer you quick, localized search results with a personal touch. All you have to do is speak your question, as you would with Google Now, Siri or Cortana, and wait for an answer. We put the iOS app to the test, asking it ‘Who invented the Internet?” What it revealed, probably won’t shock you.

Sick of virtual assistants like Siri mangling your searches? Well, the new Ooloo app for iOS and Android dispenses with voice recognition and just sends your request to an actual human being. Ooloo, which has been spun off from online backup service IDrive, will have staff on hand 24/7 to answer your questions. I’m curious how that cost structure will work for the fledgling app, but the startup will benefit from being supported by a company that’s already generating revenue. To 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 sends you the answer, you can rate it as Awesome, Good or Meh. Sample queries provided by Ooloo include asking about authentic local restaurants in a new city, simple word translation requests, and the fastest route to the airport. It’s a lot like having a really patient friend on the other line who’s willing to Google stuff for you. The first question I asked Ooloo was about plane ticket pricing. I got an answer quickly, but it was 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 search a couple minutes later.