CloudEngage Inc., a personalization software company operating in downtown Spokane, has bought a Seattle company that specializes in online self-service through the use of artificial intelligence.

Located on the 15th floor of the Paulsen Center, at 421 W. Riverside, CloudEngage has acquired AnswerDash to support the company in its specialty area of helping customers improve personalized online chat, says Paul Wagner, CloudEngage’s CEO and founder.

Wagner says the purchase was an all-cash acquisition, but he declines to disclose financial terms of the transaction.

CloudEngage will preserve the AnswerDash name as a suite of tools offered by CloudEngage. 

The company now has 19 employees, most of whom are based in Spokane, Wagner says.

CloudEngage’s customer base ranges from small businesses and restaurants to larger corporations, including beverage maker Steinhauser Inc. and telecommunications company T-Mobile, he says.

Wagner says AnswerDash will improve on CloudEngage’s software platform titled Chord, a live chat offering that the company says personalizes the web experience for visitors based on conversational learning.

The AnswerDash acquisition improves Chord through automated and predictive support as an alternative to live assistance or the use of help tickets, he says.

Wagner says AnswerDash’s adaptive learning also is designed to improve protection for sensitive customer information.

“Combining our product with a platform that is leading the industry in personalization was an easy decision to make,” says Don Davidge, AnswerDash’s former CEO in a joint press release issue by the two companies at the end of June.

“CloudEngage is an ideal partner to accelerate innovation, scale faster, and deliver value to our customers,” he says.

Wagner says Davidge joined CloudEngage as the company’s new vice president of sales.

Founded by Wagner in Portland, Oregon, in 2013, CloudEngage moved its operations to Spokane in 2018. 

“We’ve got a growing tech team that’s largely generated by local talent,” says Wagner.

Spokane-based Cowles Co. is CloudEngage’s top investor, he says. The Journal of Business is owned by Northwest Business Press Inc., which is a Cowles subsidiary.