Gladly Snaps Up Thankful, Launches AI & Automation Platform

The longtime partners come together to launch a new automation platform that supports service teams

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Gladly Snaps Up Thankful, Launches AI & Automation Platform
Contact CenterLoyalty ManagementLatest News

Published: July 13, 2023

Charlie Mitchell

Gladly has acquired Thankful, a provider of AI-powered customer service solutions.

These include agent-assist, voice of the customer, and loyalty management tools.

Yet, in recent times, Thankful has invested significant time and resources into generative AI and no-code automation to streamline customer communication.

Gladly will now transfer these capabilities to Sidekick, its new AI and automation solution that works on the shoulder of contact center agents.

In doing so, Sidekick will suggest responses to customer queries – which incorporate customer context and stored information – for personalization.

The move is significant for Gladly, as it strives to build upon its helpdesk platform – which places on G2’s Top 50 list for customer service products.

Underlining the value Thankful and Sidekick will add to the broader portfolio, Joseph Ansanelli, CEO of Gladly, said:

By layering Thankful’s AI and automation on top of our people-centered platform, we’re making the customer service ecosystem more personalized for consumers in a more scalable way for brands.

Already, many companies use both brands’ software, with the two tech providers partnering in 2020. These include businesses such as Bombas, Breeze Airways, and Crate & Barrel.

Yet, both vendors will now work in lockstep to automate customer queries with Sidekick while maintaining a degree of personalization.

What Differentiates Sidekick?

What perhaps differentiates Sidekick most is its ability to create automated conversation threads.

These threads help customers find resolutions to common queries relating to order tracking, returns, subscription cancellations, and more.

Across these contact reasons, companies can ensure that Sidekick has the best material to draw from by updating entries within Gladly Answers, the vendor’s knowledge base.

Leveraging these, Sidekick can mold responses to the specific customer.

For example, if one customer suggests they’re in a slightly sticky situation, Sidekick can a smidgeon of empathy to deliver a more meaningful reply.

That’s personalization that goes beyond referencing the customer’s name or details. Instead, Gladly strives to ensure each response results in the customer feeling valued as a person, not a case number.

Picking up on this point, Ted Mico, CEO and Co-Founder of Thankful, stated: “Gladly has the team, product, and strategy to deliver Thankful’s vision.”

And, we’ve already proven the value of offering personalized service at scale with our shared customers.

Much of that value comes from Gladly Hero, the company’s hallmark helpdesk platform, which comes with the mantra: “Built around people, not tickets.”

Within that platform are also several agent-assist solutions, including conversation summaries, copy revisions, and reply suggestions.

Both Mico and Ansanelli will hope to considerably extend upon these capabilities– particularly the latter – with Sidekick.

And customers will soon be able to test out for themselves in a fashion where businesses only pay for what they use.

Indeed, Gladly plans to implement a consumption-based pricing model that considers the number of interactions Sidekick supports.

If there does prove a significant value-add, Gladly may further enhance its reputation in the contact center space.

Last month, this earned the business “high performer” status in The G2 Enterprise Grid Report for Contact Center, Summer 2023.

 

 

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