Sutherland announced that it has acquired AI-based customer experience platform Augment CXM, as the industry doubles down on AI and automation solutions amid cost-cutting and declining revenues.
Sutherland makes several AI-powered tools for the contact center industry, including an AI-powered chatbot and cybersecurity solutions.
Augment CXM makes a navigation system for the contact center, harnessing AI to provide real-time agent conversational guidance, which the company says is built from hundreds of millions of customer interactions.
The acquisition comes as tech vendors double down on AI and automation to cater to cost-conscious buyers, who are faced with pressure from high staff costs, declining consumer demand, and an industry-wide transition to the cloud.
Indeed, a recent survey found that AI use in contact centers is up fourfold since 2019.
“The addition of Augment CXM technology to our solutions expands and accelerates the innovative AI solutions we deliver,” said Doug Gilbert, Chief Information Officer and Chief Digital Officer at Sutherland.
“This powerful combination of augmenting human intelligence with AI technology to solve complex business problems enables our clients to achieve transformational business outcomes.”
Sutherland or Augment did not specify the acquisition amount, although Augment last raised $5 million in 2017 and is estimated to be worth at least $10 million, according to private company database PrivCo.
AI has become the name of the game in CX, with Salesforce announcing Genie, its “biggest innovation in 20 years”, during last week’s Dreamforce conference.
