Zendesk has announced an AI-specific pricing model.
The announcement builds on the "industry first" outcome-based pricing it unveiled in August.
Indeed, the company’s AI Dynamic Pricing Plan adds "market-first" flexibility to that model.
As such, businesses looking to implement AI within their Zendesk environments may optimize spending across various pricing models – such as outcome-based and seat-based – which will enable them to maximize returns on their AI investments.
Moreover, it aims to help users to adapt and scale their AI strategies at their own pace.
Zendesk argues that "traditional AI pricing models often limit adaptability", whereas the Dynamic Pricing Plan allows users to leverage a combination of human and AI agents, with the capacity to alter their investments when/if needed.
In doing so, the vendor believes that it is equipping users with the tools to be more "responsive" to an ever-changing business and customer landscape.
When discussing the launch, Tom Eggemeier, CEO of Zendesk, detailed how the strategy outlined the company’s commitment to automation and AI – predicting that within a few years, "100% of interactions will involve AI."
"With this in mind, we want to give our customers the freedom and flexibility to adopt AI and automation at a pace that best suits their business needs," he continued.
The AI Dynamic Pricing Plan allows our customers to adjust as they learn and refine their approach to service without being constrained to one setup.
Interestingly, the latest announcement marks the second time this year that Zendesk has sought to differentiate itself from traditional pricing models.
Breaking Tradition
With the CRM space becoming more and more competitive, vendors have begun experimenting with their pricing strategies to provide potential customers with a point of difference.
This has certainly been the case for Zendesk, with its outcome-based model only charging users for issues resolved autonomously by its AI agents.
The company believes that this system provides its customers with enhanced flexibility, transparency, and scalability.
