# AnswerDash

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{{Short description|B2B software company in Seattle, Washington}}
{{Infobox company
| name = AnswerDash
| logo = AnswerDash logo.png
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| former_name = Qazzow<ref name="GW14"/>
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| industry = [Computer software](/source/Computer_software), [Internet](/source/Internet)
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| founded = 2012<!-- if known: {{Start date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} in [city](/source/city), [state](/source/state), [country](/source/country) -->
| founders = {{unbulleted list|[Jacob O. Wobbrock](/source/Jacob_O._Wobbrock)|[Amy J. Ko](/source/Amy_J._Ko)|Parmit Chilana}}<ref name="PSBJ35-48"/>
| defunct = <!-- {{End date|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
| hq_location = 999 Third Ave., Suite 700
| hq_location_city = [Seattle, Washington](/source/Seattle%2C_Washington)
| hq_location_country = [United States](/source/United_States)
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| key_people = Don Davidge, CEO
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| equity = $2.54 million<ref name="PSBJ35-48"/>
| equity_year = 2015
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| num_employees = 12<ref name="PSBJ35-48"/>
| num_employees_year = 2015
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| website = {{URL|answerdash.com}}
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{{Coord|47|36|36.43|N|122|20|15.21|W|display=title}}
'''AnswerDash''' is a [B2B](/source/Business-to-business) software company that facilitates [customer service](/source/customer_service) for [e-commerce](/source/e-commerce) businesses. AnswerDash was founded in [Seattle, Washington](/source/Seattle%2C_Washington) in 2012 as a [spin-off](/source/university_spin-off) from the [Information school](/source/Information_school) of the [University of Washington](/source/University_of_Washington).<ref name="BL"/> Its [software-as-a-service](/source/software-as-a-service) utilizes [machine learning](/source/machine_learning) to create databases of [context-sensitive support answers](/source/Context-sensitive_help) for [end-user](/source/end-user)s of [webpage](/source/webpage)s and [mobile application](/source/mobile_application)s, thus reducing the need for human customer service.<ref name="PSBJ35-48"/> AnswerDash claims to be the first,<ref name="GW13a"/> and as of 2015, the world's leading provider of contextual point-and-click answer technology.<ref name="YF15"/> In June 2020, AnswerDash was acquired by CloudEngage.<ref name="GW20"/>

== History ==
200px|thumb|left|The former logo of AnswerDash
The company was founded under name ″Qazzow″ in 2012 by three [University of Washington](/source/University_of_Washington) employees:<ref name="BL"/> [Jacob O. Wobbrock](/source/Jacob_O._Wobbrock), a [professor](/source/professor) and the director of ACE Lab,<ref name="uwj"/> [Amy J. Ko](/source/Amy_J._Ko), an associate professor the director of Code & Cognition Lab,<ref name="uwa"/> and Parmit Chilana, a [research assistant](/source/research_assistant) and a [graduate student](/source/graduate_student) at the time, now a professor at [Simon Fraser University](/source/Simon_Fraser_University).<ref name="vb"/> Jake Wobbrock assumed the responsibilities of [CEO](/source/CEO), and Amy J. Ko became the company's [CTO](/source/Chief_technology_officer).<ref name="sed"/> The idea of the key company's service stemmed from Parmit Chilana's [dissertation](/source/dissertation) on [human–computer interaction](/source/human%E2%80%93computer_interaction).<ref name="ST"/> Her research has highlighted a very high proportion (up to 95%) of users' questions that are triggered by something seen on a website and should benefit from contextual help.<ref name="vb"/>

In November 2013, the company received $500,000 seed investment from W Fund to further develop its contextual Q&A service<ref name="GW13a"/><ref name="uwn"/> and in December 2013 additional $2.4 million from WRF Capital and Voyager Capital investment funds.<ref name="GW13b"/> In May 2014, the company re-branded itself to ″AnswerDash″ reacting to customers' confusion over the unusual sequence of letters in the original name.<ref name="GW14"/><ref name="BL"/>

In January 2015, Kevin Knoepp replaced [Amy J. Ko](/source/Amy_J._Ko) as AnswerDash's CTO.<ref name="YF15a"/> AnswerDash service came on-line in May 2015.<ref name="SEA15"/> At the same time, after serving as a CEO for three years, Jake Wobbrock stepped down as the CEO. His performance was generally favored by [the board](/source/Board_of_directors), but Wobbrok has admitted his tendency to focusing on interesting scientific details that might not be relevant to business success.<ref name="NYT"/> Wobbrock was replaced by William Colleran, a former CEO [Impinj](/source/Impinj).<ref name="YF16"/>

By the end of 2015, the company has "matured dramatically".<ref name="GW15"/> After announcing the successful deployment of its software to [Zendesk](/source/Zendesk),<ref name="xc"/> in September, AnswerDash raised additional $2.9 million.<ref name="GW15"/> In 2016, AnswerDash has recorded the biggest jump in [GeekWire](/source/GeekWire) 200 rating, a ranked index of [Pacific Northwest](/source/Pacific_Northwest) [startups](/source/Startup_company).<ref name="GW16"/>

In June 2020, AnswerDash was acquired by Spokane, WA-based startup CloudEngage.<ref name="GW20"/>

== Services ==   
Offered under [SaaS](/source/SaaS) model by subscription, the service aims to eliminate the need for separate FAQs or ″help islands" offering contextual answers to end-users' questions.<ref name="CIO"/> The service can be used on [website](/source/website)s, [web application](/source/web_application)s, and [mobile application](/source/mobile_application)s. It employs a [natural-language engine](/source/Natural_language_processing) and [machine learning](/source/machine_learning) technology that allows website and application owners to build the database of answers in a matter of several days.<ref name="vb"/>
  
In addition, AnswerDash utilizes [data mining](/source/data_mining) technology to provide business owners with valuable analytics on their consumers' behavior that leads to further improvement of their e-commerce services.<ref name="sbt"/><ref name="PDSSE"/> AnswerDash claims to reduce the need of traditional [customer support](/source/customer_support) by 30 to 50 percent.<ref name="YF16"/>
   
== See also ==
* [Machine learning](/source/Machine_learning)
* [Data mining](/source/Data_mining)

== References ==
{{Reflist|2|refs=
<ref name="BL">{{cite web |url= https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=248290611|title= Company Overview of AnswerDash, Inc.|website= bloomberg.com|publisher= [Bloomberg L.P.](/source/Bloomberg_L.P.)|accessdate= 25 September 2016}}</ref>
<ref name="CIO">{{cite web |url= http://www.cio.com/article/3040119/e-commerce/5-ways-ecommerce-business-can-improve-customer-service.html|title= 5 ways ecommerce businesses can improve customer service|author= Jennifer Lonoff Schiff|date= March 2, 2016|website= cio.com|publisher= [CIO magazine](/source/CIO_magazine) |accessdate= 25 September 2016}}</ref>
<ref name="GW13a">{{cite web |url= http://www.geekwire.com/2013/uw-spin-qazzow-scores-500000-customers-questions-answered-ecommerce-sites/|title= UW spin out Qazzow scores $500,000, helps customers get questions answered on e-commerce sites|author= John Cook|date= November 5, 2013|website= GeekWire.com|publisher= [GeekWire](/source/GeekWire)|accessdate= 25 September 2016}}</ref>
<ref name="GW13b">{{cite web |url= http://www.geekwire.com/2013/uw-spinout-qazzow-scores-24/|title= UW spin-out Qazzow scores $2.4M to bolster customer service on e-commerce sites|author= John Cook|date= December 13, 2013|website= GeekWire.com|publisher= [GeekWire](/source/GeekWire)|accessdate= 25 September 2016}}</ref>
<ref name="GW14">{{cite web |url= http://www.geekwire.com/2014/answerdash/|title= UW spinout AnswerDash launches, names ex-Drugstore.com CEO Dawn Lepore to board|author= Taylor Soper|date= May 20, 2014|website= GeekWire.com|publisher= [GeekWire](/source/GeekWire)|accessdate= 25 September 2016}}</ref>
<ref name="GW15">{{cite web |url= http://www.geekwire.com/2015/uw-spinout-answerdash-raises-2-9m-to-support-growth-of-online-contextual-help-platform/|title= UW spinout AnswerDash raises $2.9M to support growth of online contextual help platform|author= Taylor Soper|date= September 14, 2015|website= GeekWire.com|publisher= [GeekWire](/source/GeekWire)|accessdate= 25 September 2016}}</ref>
<ref name="GW16">{{cite web |url= http://www.geekwire.com/2016/geekwire-200-june-update/|title= GeekWire 200 June Update: AnswerDash, Placed and other startups climb the ranks|author= Monica Nickelsburg|date= June 10, 2016|website= GeekWire.com|publisher= [GeekWire](/source/GeekWire)|accessdate= 25 September 2016}}</ref>
<ref name="NYT">{{cite news |title= Jake Wobbrock of AnswerDash: Lead With Strength, and Weaknesses|author= Adam Bryant|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/05/business/jake-wobbrock-of-answerdash-lead-with-strengths-and-weaknesses.html?_r=0|newspaper=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)|issn= 0362-4331|oclc=1645522|date= 30 June 2015}}</ref>
<ref name="PDSSE">{{cite book |editor1-first= Tim|editor1-last= Menzies|others= [Laurie Williams](/source/Laurie_Williams_(software_engineer)), Thomas Zimmermann|title=  Perspectives on Data Science for Software Engineering|year= 2016|publisher= Morgan Kaufmann|isbn= 978-0128042069|oclc=  951234165|page= 377}}</ref>
<ref name="PSBJ35-48">{{cite news |title= They answer the riddle of online user confusion|author= Steven Goldsmith|newspaper= [Puget Sound Business Journal](/source/Puget_Sound_Business_Journal)|publisher= [American City Business Journals](/source/American_City_Business_Journals)|location= Seattle|issn= 8750-7757|lccn=99107105|oclc=11683053|date= 20 March 2015|page= 40| volume = 35| issue = 48}}</ref>
<ref name="sbt">{{cite web |url= http://smallbiztrends.com/2016/02/answerdash-customer-questions.html|title= AnswerDash: Provide Predictive Answers Before Your Customers Even Ask Them|author= Aubrielle Billig|date= 8 February 2016|website= smallbiztrends.com|accessdate= 25 September 2016}}</ref>
<ref name="sed">{{cite web |url= http://softwareengineeringdaily.com/2016/02/24/academia-to-industry-in-computer-science-with-andy-ko/|title= Applying Software Research to Industry with Amy Ko|author= Pranay|date= February 24, 2016|website= softwareengineeringdaily.com|accessdate= 25 September 2016}}</ref>
<ref name="ST">{{cite news |title= Tech Spotlight: AnswerDash solves your confusion when using websites|author= Rachel Lerman|url= http://www.seattletimes.com/business/technology/tech-spotlight-answerdash-solves-your-confusion-when-using-websites/|newspaper=[The Seattle Times](/source/The_Seattle_Times) |location= [Seattle, Washington](/source/Seattle%2C_Washington)|issn= 0745-9696|oclc=9198928|date= 20 September 2015}}</ref>
<ref name="uwa">{{cite web |url= http://faculty.washington.edu/ajko/|title= Amy J. Ko|website= washington.edu|publisher= [University of Washington](/source/University_of_Washington)|accessdate= 25 September 2016}}</ref>
<ref name="uwj">{{cite web |url= http://depts.washington.edu/acelab/|title= ACE Lab|website= washington.edu|publisher= [University of Washington](/source/University_of_Washington)|accessdate= 2 July 2020}}</ref>
<ref name="uwn">{{cite web|url= https://ischool.uw.edu/feature-stories/ischool-startup-qazzow-receives-seed-investment-w-fund|title= iSchool startup Qazzow receives seed investment from W Fund|website= uw.edu|publisher= [University of Washington](/source/University_of_Washington)|accessdate= 25 September 2016|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160927193345/https://ischool.uw.edu/feature-stories/ischool-startup-qazzow-receives-seed-investment-w-fund|archive-date= 27 September 2016|url-status= dead}}</ref>
<ref name="vb">{{cite web |url= https://venturebeat.com/2014/10/08/u-of-washington-spinoff-answerdash-launches-to-make-everything-on-a-web-page-questionable/|title= University of Washington-spinoff AnswerDash launches to make everything on a Web page questionable|author= Barry Levine|date= October 8, 2014|website= venturebeat.com|publisher= [VentureBeat](/source/VentureBeat)|accessdate= 25 September 2016}}</ref>
<ref name="xc">{{cite web |url= http://www.xconomy.com/seattle/2014/12/19/seattle-roundup-skytap-mercent-answerdash-flowvella-impinj/#|title= Seattle Roundup: Skytap, Mercent, AnswerDash, FlowVella, Impinj|author= Benjamin Romano|date= December 19, 2014|website= xconomy.com|publisher= [Xconomy](/source/Xconomy)|accessdate= 25 September 2016}}</ref>
<ref name="YF15">{{cite web |url= https://finance.yahoo.com/news/answerdash-reports-customers-experience-average-130100188.html|title= AnswerDash Reports Customers Experience an Average Cost Savings of $20K a Year in Customer Support|date= February 12, 2015|website= finance.yahoo.com|publisher=[Yahoo! Finance](/source/Yahoo!_Finance) |accessdate= 25 September 2016}}</ref>
<ref name="YF16">{{cite web |url= https://finance.yahoo.com/news/answerdash-appoints-don-davidge-vice-120100074.html|title= AnswerDash Appoints Don Davidge as Vice President of Sales and Marketing|date= March 31, 2016|website= finance.yahoo.com|publisher=[Yahoo! Finance](/source/Yahoo!_Finance) |accessdate= 25 September 2016}}</ref>
<ref name="YF15a">{{cite web |url= https://finance.yahoo.com/news/answerdash-announces-hire-kevin-knoepp-130100275.html|title= AnswerDash Announces New Hire Kevin Knoepp as Vice President of Engineering|date= January 22, 2015|website= finance.yahoo.com|publisher=[Yahoo! Finance](/source/Yahoo!_Finance) |accessdate= 25 September 2016}}</ref>
<ref name="SEA15">{{cite news|first1 = Sam|last1 = Becker|date=July 1, 2015|title=Bright Idea: UW-spawned platform makes websites more responsive|url=http://seattlebusinessmag.com/article/bright-idea-uw-spawned-platform-makes-websites-more-responsive|newspaper= Seattle Business Monthly|location=[Seattle](/source/Seattle) |publisher=Tiger Oak Publications |lccn=2006252302 |oclc=259466486 }}</ref>
<ref name="GW20">{{cite web |url= https://www.geekwire.com/2020/uw-spinout-answerdash-contextual-qa-service-customer-support-acquired-cloudengage/|title= UW spinout AnswerDash, a contextual Q&A service for customer support, acquired by CloudEngage|author= Taylor Soper|date= June 23, 2020|website= GeekWire.com|publisher= [GeekWire](/source/GeekWire)|accessdate= 2 July 2020}}</ref>
}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.answerdash.com Company Website]

Category:Business software companies
Category:Technology companies established in 2012
Category:Companies based in Seattle
Category:Online companies of the United States

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [AnswerDash](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AnswerDash) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AnswerDash?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.