ChaCha Gets Some Love (and Cobranding) From AT&T

ChaCha, a free search service that lets you call or text in a question and get an answer in minutes via a return text message, got a confidence boost yesterday. AT&T announced a “strategic relationship” with the company that, to start, gives callers a cobranded greeting from both AT&T and ChaCha.

To use the service, call or text a query to 1-800 2ChaCha (1-800-2-242242).

We’ve questioned the scalability of the business, which uses human guides to answer questions. And we’ve also made fun of some of the answers that have been sent to users.

ChaCha says that they are approaching profitability on a per-call basis, though. And the usefulness of the service is undeniable.

What we’re digging to find out is how deep this relationship with AT&T goes. AT&T says “The two companies also will work together to further enhance ChaCha’s free mobile-answers service and explore opportunities in both text and voice ad-based services.” This may be a first step towards an acquisition. ChaCha has raised $16 million in capital.