Zendesk Makes AI Accessible With Cleverly.ai Acquisition

The companies share a similar vision to improve AI-driven processes so that customer service teams can focus on customer demand.

September 14, 2021 , David Pepin

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Award-winning CRM and sales software Zendesk has announced it will be acquiring Cleverly.ai as a part of its strategy to integrate AI into its applications. According to Zendesk’s own research, conversation volume has increased over 20 percent year-over-year, leading to AI as a necessary tool for success.

“Cleverly and Zendesk share a vision of democratizing AI, as well as a passion for creating practical applications that make it possible for businesses to get started with AI right out of the box—without a team of data scientists required.” Wrote Zendesk’s Shawna Wolverton, Executive Vice President, Product on the Zendesk Blog. “We will integrate Cleverly’s technology across our platform, enhancing the trusted Zendesk AI solutions already enabling teams to automate more of their processes, reduce costs, and keep up with customer demand.”

The move comes as part of Zendesk’s plan to use AI capabilities to empower their customers to achieve better customer service results. With business organizations increasingly reliant on AI, the move helps Zendesk customers stay competitive in their markets.

Cleverly’s solution works by sorting and prioritizing customer service requests based on intent to help streamline and optimize workflows. Cleverly offers multiple language capabilities, help desk, and FAQ support in a single CRM software with the power to automate answers to common questions.

Zendesk’s platform is currently used by over 160,000 customers in 160 countries and territories around the world. In the past several years, Zendesk has made a number of acquisitions to boost its customer service capabilities, including its 2019 acquisition of Smooch’s messaging platform and 2018 purchase of Base.

“With Cleverly, we will deliver a range of capabilities that automate key insights, further reduce manual tasks and improve workflows, and overall lead to happier, more productive support teams.” Added Wolverton.