Natural Language Interfaces: Present And Future

tificial Intelligence Corporation's I n t e l l ec t 1 was introduced in the 1970's, but expanded in this decade to support interaction with a wide variety of systems. Each year, AIC hosts a user group conference that draws hundreds of people. The middle of the decade saw the arrival of Symantec's Qg~A whose natural language interface has helped it win honors as one of the PC programs that is easiest to use. Qg~A now speaks many languages besides English. Worldwide sales have exceeded 100,000 copies. Just as highly rated and as popular is Lotus H A L whose English interface makes Lotus 1-2-8 more accessible. Last Fall, Lotus widely advertised a bundled package of 1-2-8 and HAL. The two newest products, BBN Laboratories' P a r l a n c e and Natural Language's D a t a T a l k e r , show the most extensive and detailed control of English yet achieved. Both have gathered significant financial support and are positioned for major impact on the marketplace. This achievement has not been easily obtained. Other products have not achieved these levels of acceptance or technical quality. Many development efforts have failed to produce products. The field has so far failed to develop the immense market predicted for it early on in the po.~ular press.