• Blogs

AI Agents Take the Lead: What’s Next for Customer Engagement?

Artificial intelligence is fundamentally transforming customer engagement—but today, the real leap forward lies in Generative AI (GenAI) and the new paradigm of Agentic AI. These technologies aren’t just automating routine tasks; they’re powering a new era of hyper-personalized, always-on, and goal-driven interactions where digital agents own the customer outcome from start to finish. 

GenAI: Transforming Every Touchpoint 

GenAI moves customer engagement from reactive support to proactive, seamless experiences: 

 

Agentic AI: The Next Level of Engagement 

Agentic AI brings autonomy and decision-making to customer support, functioning less like a bot and more like a digital team member: 


New and Emerging Use Cases 

The evolving landscape of AI technologies is unlocking powerful new possibilities for customer engagement. The following infographic highlights some of the most innovative and practical ways GenAI and Agentic AI are being applied to create smarter, more tailored, and more proactive customer experiences across industries 

What Does This Mean for M&A Activity? 

All these advances are driving a wave of M&A in the AI-for-customer engagement space—not just among enterprises applying GenAI and Agentic AI, but more critically among the technology and solution providers making these breakthroughs possible. The logic is clear: as demand skyrockets for next-generation customer interactions, platform giants and enterprise SaaS leaders are racing to acquire the most innovative AI specialists to accelerate their own product roadmaps and stay ahead of the competition. 

A prime example is Gainsight’s recent acquisition of UpdateAI—a leader in conversational intelligence—which accelerates Gainsight’s agentic AI strategy and aligns with its vision for the Atlas next-gen AI agent. Other landmark transactions demonstrate this trend: 

Date 

Target 

Acquirer 

Rationale 

HQ Country 

Jul-25 

HyperArc 

Zendesk 

Advance GenAI-driven analytics and instant customer intelligence 

USA 

May-25 

Convergence.ai 

Salesforce 

Empower Agentforce with adaptive, autonomous AI agents 

UK 

Apr-25 

Context.ai 

OpenAI 

Enhance model evaluation and explainable AI capabilities 

UK 

Mar-25 

Moveworks 

Servicenow 

Expand agentic AI and automation for enterprise engagement 

USA 

Feb-25 

Laudable 

Base.ai 

Automate conversation capture for smarter advocacy and engagement 

Nigeria 

Sep-24 

Zoomin 

Salesforce 

Enhance knowledge delivery and contextual support experiences 

USA 

Sep-24 

Tenyx 

Salesforce 

Strengthen conversational AI for next-gen voice customer service 

USA 

Aug-24 

SupWiz 

Puzzel 

Integrate advanced conversational AI into omnichannel CX platform 

Denmark 

Mar-24 

Ultimate 

Zendesk 

Accelerate automation and agentic AI in customer support 

Germany 

Such M&A activity reflects rapidly escalating demand for advanced GenAI, agentic AI, and customer engagement solutions. Buyers are targeting companies with: 

  • Proprietary AI/LLM capabilities in customer interaction and analytics 
  • Demonstrated enterprise deployments and sticky, recurring revenue models 
  • Deep integration across sales, marketing, and support functions 

Turning AI into True Competitive Advantage 

Organizations that succeed with GenAI and Agentic AI start with clear business and customer goals, backed by unified data foundations. By empowering action across the customer journey—and amplifying the human touch—AI becomes more than a tool: it evolves into a trusted ally, personalizing experiences and driving agility in a rapidly changing market. 

At TH Global Capital, our Investment Banking team advises AI, GenAI, and digital customer engagement companies on M&A and capital raising. We help founders maximize business value by highlighting unique AI capabilities, refining their tech stack for acquirer fit, and connecting them with leading global buyers. If you’re building or investing in the next wave of conversational AI, let’s connect intelligence, let’s connect—our global reach and sector insight will help you seize the opportunity in this rapidly-evolving market. 

 

Group 9
View more Blogs
Group 9
WhatsApp LinkedIn