AOL is making Instant Messenger more useful for business folks with new voice and Web conferencing options. Its new AIM Voice Conferencing product allows users to select names off their buddy list and invite them to into a conference call on the fly. The cool thing is the system will call out to users when the provide a phone number, making it easier to reach mobile users who may not have access to pen and paper to write down dial-in numbers and passcodes. Registered users can also set preferences to be reached at specified phone numbers in the event their not logged into IM. Powering the whole thing behind the scenes is LightBridge's GroupTalk service, which connects users, handles the billing and other related services. Currently, customers will be limited to 15 (host + 14) people in a call and the host pays the freight (number of users X number of minutes). The service is pre-paid with users purchasing "buckets" of minutes when needed.
AIM Web Meetings is similar, except the Web conference piece is handled by WebEx and non-IM users are invited via e-mail. Both services are available now via a AOL Instant Messenger upgrade.
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