LivePerson has partnered with Air2Web to roll out a fully integrated mobile chat service powered by SMS.

The AirCare Mobile Assist service lets chat agents engage with consumers via any mobile device, anywhere in the world. In addition, the service provides a suite of functionality for handsets with offerings for SMS, mobile Web sites and applications.

?For LivePerson, this is the first of many applications that extends the reach of live chat beyond the browser, enabling online brands to acquire new customers and provide service at lower costs from any mobile device,? said Kelly Ford, head of marketing at LivePerson, New York.

?Consumers are now able to text with live agents associated with their mobile providers, banks and favorite travel providers,? she said.

LivePerson provides online engament services that facilitate real-time assistance.

Air2Web is a mobile technology company that creates and delivers mobile messaging campaigns to subscribers around the world.

Chatty service
The service extends live chat capabilities to any device that can send and receive text messages.

According to the company, the service can save call centers millions of dollars in deflected call costs compared to pennies on the dollar with interactive messaging.

?SMS is a critical application for businesses to implement in order to engage with their mobile consumers,? Ms. Ford said.

Here is a screen grab of the service:

With the service, companies can add chat capabilities to tbeir existing mobile-optimized sites.

Additionally, there is a Mobile Assist application that runs on platforms such as iPhone, Android and BlackBerry.

Air2Web is offering mobile Web and application tools to help companies that do not have a mobile presence.

?We want to extend the reach of live chat from the Web site to the mobile channel,? Ms. Ford said. ?We also want to deflect costly service calls from mobile consumers, while maximizing the same live chat agent resources used on company?s Web sites to convert and service online visitors and consumers.

?The company also wants to create new sales and service channels for online and mobile brands,? she said.