CDP Institute

Customer service provider Zendesk has acquired AI-native analytics platform HyperArc. Zendesk users should experience enhanced reporting with genAI-powered insights. HyperArc’s technology will build on the existing foundation of Zendesk’s Explore analytics solution.

Cyara is announcing the general availability of an enhanced customer experience assurance platform. It features AI-powered monitoring and validation of customer experience performance including monitoring increasingly important conversational and agentic AI-driven CX. This represents an evolution from Cyara’s roots in CX testing.

Seventy-five percent of B2B marketers feel that 10% of their leads are inaccurate, stale or non-compliant, according to a new report from Integrate. More than 60% say that bad data disrupts lead handoffs to sales and has a negative effect on sales productivity. As for a solution, over 90% of respondents say they are investing in automated governance for lead data.

Customer engagement platform Twilio has announced new platform capabilities, including the general availability of Twilio Segment’s Event-Triggered Journeys, supporting personalization based on customer intent signals in real time. In addition, Data Residency (EU) will ensure that email sending and event data are managed within the EU region, both for compliancy and customer trust. WhatsApp Business Calling will enable conversations with customers in another important channel using Twilio’s Programmable Voice Platform.

WP Engine, the WordPress hosting platform, is launching a new AI toolkit designed to integrate with websites built on WordPress. The aim is to lift barriers to AI usage for the large WordPress community. Features include Smart Search AI, an AI-powered recommendation tool, as well as support for developers building apps for digital experiences powered by a site’s WordPress data.

Big tech seems to have deep pockets when it comes to acquiring AI talent, shown by Google paying $2.4 billion to license the agentic coding tech of startup Windsurf. Extra drama springs from the fact that OpenAI had come close to acquiring Windsurf before the deal was reportedly blocked by Microsoft. Instead, while Google has licensed the tech and picked up Windsurf’s CEO and co-founder, Windsurf itself has been acquired by Cognition, the AI lab that created AI teammate Devin.

The consent management space is consolidating as Didomi acquires former rival Sourcepoint with its strong publisher market share. The acquisition is backed by Didomi’s Marlin Equity Partners, which recently completed a majority investment in the company to support its global expansion. The recently acquired server-side tagging platform Addingwell will now serve Sourcepoint as well as Didomi customers.

Stord, the commerce-focused CX suite has acquired Penny Black, a platform that specializes in post-purchase personalization. Penny Black helps brands provide product recommendations, coupon codes, and gift messages based on an individual buyer’s data and purchase history. The personalized inserts are delivered on-demand at packing stations allowing the creation of branded unboxing experiences.

Almost 60% of consumers are concerned about their data being used to train AI, according to a survey of 10,000 frequent internet users by Usercentrics. Consumers support innovation but also value transparency and control. Almost 50% accept cookies less often than a year ago, while over 40% are taking more care to read consent agreements.

Amplitude, the product analytics platform, has acquired a voice of customer (VoC) startup, Kraftful. Amplitude seeks to boost customer engagement and retention by analyzing interactions with products in real-time. A VoC component like Kraftful will add AI-derived insights from sources like support tickets, app reviews, customer calls and social media.

Email marketers should be aware that Google has made it much easier to unsubscribe from promotional email lists. The new Manage Subscriptions feature in Gmail’s left-hand margin displays a list of the promotional emails users receive with a one-click-unsubscribe option next to each one. Gmail itself does the heavy lifting of sending the unsubscribe request so users don’t have to search for an unsubscribe button in the email.

In a new licensing deal, major magazine publishers Hearst and Condé Nast will allow Amazon’s AI shopping assistant Rufus access to their large libraries of content. Magazines featured include Cosmopolitan, GQ, Vogue and The New Yorker. Rufus, also trained on Amazon data of course, helps shoppers with product recommendations and other shopping-related needs.