Hootsuite Acquires AI Tech Firm Heyday for CA $60 Million
Hootsuite, the Vancouver-based social media management software firm, announced that it has acquired AI tech company Heyday for $60 million.
This deal will enable Hootsuite users to get in touch with their customers directly via Heyday’s AI-powered video and chat function. Besides, it also allows companies to respond to customer queries in real-time.
Hootsuite stated that Hootsuite and Heyday will operate as different entities. However, Hootsuite will leverage Heyday’s AI to power its own products.
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Evolving e-commerce landscape in North America
Hootsuite said that more and more e-commerce companies are turning to message and social platforms to improve their customer experience.
This acquisition will allow Hootsuite to offer better solutions to brands so that they can improve their customer experience.
Besides, the e-commerce sector is showing no signs of slowing down across North America. U.S. e-commerce sales increased by an impressive 39% in the first quarter of 2021 [1].
Hopping onto this trend, a lot of brands are relying on social media to improve customer engagement and experience. This is where Hootsuite’s solutions help them forge stronger relationships with their customers.
Tom Keiser, Hootsuite’s Chief Executive said that social platforms are the new face of customer care. He also said that modern-day companies are interacting with customers on multiple channels at scale, which is impossible with AI intervention.
What does this deal mean for Hootsuite?
After successfully acquiring Heyday, Hootsuite will now be able to provide AI capabilities to sales, support, and marketing teams from around the world to improve customer experience.
It was critical for Hootsuite to expand its services as competition across the social media management landscape continues to grow. In addition, a lot of companies have recognized the importance of social media management, which is why the development of analytics and scheduling tools has picked up speed in recent years.
Hootsuite’s competitors such as Sprout Social and Buffer are also eyeing similar opportunities.
AI Chatbots: Future of customer care?
The deal is likely to be pretty lucrative for Hootsuite as AI chatbots are becoming increasingly popular.
The adoption of chatbot technology from e-commerce and social media platforms is on the rise. Today, a multitude of cutting-edge AI chatbots are taking over the customer experience space as customers are becoming used to engaging with chatbots to address their queries.
The pandemic is certainly one of the main driving forces behind this trend.
More about Hootsuite
Hootsuite is a Canadian social media management platform with over 18 million users from around the world. To date, it has managed to raise around $300 million.
More about Heyday
Heyday is an AI-powered conversational software that enables users to improve customer engagement. Before being acquired by Hootsuite, Heyday has successfully raised around $6.7 million.
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Image Source: Hootsuite
