Companies Are Ditching Basic AI For Smart, Specialized Helpers
PLUS: Build AI That Actually Knows Your Business
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📅 October 22, 2025 | ⏱️ 3-min read
🎯 The big picture
Here’s what’s happening: Generic AI chatbots are becoming old news. Companies are now building AI that actually knows their business inside and out.
Think about it like this - would you rather have a doctor who studied medicine or someone who just reads WebMD? Same idea with AI.
📊 What we’re covering today
• NICE + Salesforce team up to build smarter customer service
• Hyro gets $45M to make healthcare AI that actually works
• Yelp creates AI phone helpers just for restaurants
• Nextiva writes the playbook for smart AI
• Talkdesk makes AI that thinks like your best employee
1️⃣ NICE and Salesforce team up to build the future of customer service
What happened:
• NICE’s platform now works directly with Salesforce’s AI agents
• AI can now handle phone calls right inside Salesforce
• When AI can’t help, it smoothly hands customers to real people
Why this is huge: Most companies treat AI like an add-on feature. But these two companies built AI right into the foundation.
It’s like the difference between buying a house and adding solar panels later versus building a house that runs on solar from day one.
What this means for you: Companies using old, disconnected tools will struggle to keep up. The future belongs to businesses where AI runs the whole show, not just answers basic questions.
Read more: SiliconANGLE
2️⃣ Healthcare AI company Hyro gets $45M because investors believe in specialized AI
What happened:
• Hyro raised $45 million from healthcare investors
• They work with 45 health systems serving 30 million patients
• Their AI solves 85% of routine patient questions
Why this matters: Healthcare is tricky. You need AI that understands medical privacy laws and connects with hospital systems.
Hyro’s big funding shows that investors will pay big money for AI that actually knows what it’s doing in specific industries.
The bottom line: When AI can schedule appointments and answer patient questions safely and legally, hospitals don’t just want it - they need it to compete.
Read more: Hyro
3️⃣ Yelp creates AI phone helpers that restaurants love
What happened:
• Yelp launched AI phone agents for restaurants
• They cost $99-$149 per month
• The AI sounds human and handles reservations
Why restaurants love this: Ever called a busy restaurant during dinner rush? Good luck getting through.
Yelp’s AI fixes this by answering every call, booking tables, and answering questions while staff focuses on customers in the restaurant.
The big picture: When good AI becomes this cheap, every small business can afford it. That raises the bar for everyone in customer service.
Read more: Cybernews
4️⃣ Nextiva writes the playbook for smart AI
What happened:
• Nextiva published a guide called “Winning the Customer Experience Race”
• It shows how to use AI in different industries
• Research shows 92% of companies use AI, but only 9% do it well
Why this guide matters: Most companies try AI projects that go nowhere. They waste money on pilots that never become real solutions.
This book gives you actual steps instead of vague “AI will change everything” advice.
What you can do: The guide shows exactly what to automate, where humans are still needed, and how to measure if it’s working. Think of it as a roadmap instead of just cheerleading.
Read more: Business Wire
5️⃣ Talkdesk makes AI that thinks like your smartest employee
What happened:
• Talkdesk upgraded their AI assistant called Copilot
• It can now understand complex questions and give smart suggestions
• It automatically writes summaries after customer calls
The breakthrough: Old AI just read scripts. This new AI actually thinks through problems.
For example: If a diabetic patient calls about their first eye exam, the AI helps the agent prep the patient AND schedule the appointment at the same time.
What this means for your team: Your agents stop hunting for information and start solving real problems. The AI handles the boring stuff so humans can focus on building relationships with customers.
Read more: CMSWire
⚡ Quick hits
• Codi launches AI office manager → saves companies $80K per year
• Bluwhale gets $10M for blockchain AI → helps banks work 24/7
• ChipAgents raises $21M → makes computer chips with AI
💡 CX Tip of the Day
Build AI That Actually Knows Your Business
I need AI that understands my industry instead of giving generic answers.
Problem: When customers ask specific questions about [your industry], our AI gives useless responses.
Your mission:
1. List the top knowledge your AI needs to know about your business
2. Find conversation patterns that are unique to your industry
3. Create AI responses that show real expertise
4. Set up rules for when to get human help
5. Build a system to check that AI answers are always correct
Goal: AI that customers trust as a real expert, not a fake assistant.
Quick test: Ask your AI the 10 hardest questions in your industry. If it struggles, your customers notice too.
🤔 Think about this
Today’s question: If your competitor launches AI with deep knowledge of your industry while you’re still using basic chatbots, how will you compete?
(Hit reply - I read every response!)
👋 Talk tomorrow,
Mark
💡 P.S. Ready to master AI for CX? Grab my FREE 32 Power Prompts That Will Transform Your Customer Strategy → Get the prompts