Gupshup, an India-based conversational engagement firm, announced Thursday the acquisition of OneDirect, the omnichannel, artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled customer service platform for brands in India, South East Asia and the Middle East.

The acquisition strengthens Gupshup’s suite of conversational solutions and enables superior omnichannel conversational engagement with a powerful and flexible live agent assist solution that can scale to thousands of agents with configurable workflows, integrations with existing customer relationship management (CRM) and helpdesk systems, Gupshup said in a statement.

The live agent assist solution works seamlessly with chatbot automation solutions to provide the best customer experience on-demand, 24/7, in customer’s choice of channel and language, it said.

“Customer support is being transformed with conversational experiences that deliver instant, personalized experiences using both automated and manual solutions across a range of messaging channels. Businesses are using these solutions at scale to dramatically increase customer delight and reduce support cost. OneDirect, with their proven leadership in helping leading brands transform omni-channel customer service, is a valuable addition to our conversational engagement platform. We welcome OneDirect to the Gupshup family,” said Beerud Sheth, Co-founder and CEO, Gupshup.

OneDirect’s platform enables businesses to manage all customer conversations across multiple channels – SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram, Google Business Messenger, RCS, Voice, Email and more – using a simple and unified Agent Dashboard interface. Businesses can leverage Gupshup’s no and low-code chatbot automation tools to deflect incoming tickets and frequent customer issues automatically, while freeing up time for agents to handle more complex support queries, convert prospects with consultative sales and drive commerce with personalized upsell and cross-sell.

Using OneDirect’s platform, agents are able to access a full 360 degree view of the customer profile, their past interactions and view data stitched across existing CRM and Ticketing systems. The platform also supports active listening and monitoring across social media and includes a feedback module for timely and rapid customer experience management.

OneDirect has processed over one billion customer interactions across ten different languages for leading brands across banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), retail, consumer electronics, travel and hospitality. Its notable customers have a strong overlap with those of Gupshup and include brands like Canara Bank, Tata Capital, SBI Card, Paytm, Whirlpool, IFB, Acer, ASUS, Vistara, Indigo, OYO, McDonald’s, KFC, Pizza Hut, Tata Sky, Dabur, Puma, Tata CLiQ and Flyin.

“We are excited to join the Gupshup family and look forward to building more efficient and personalized conversational experiences. Gupshup’s advanced AI capabilities combined with OneDirect’s robust customer service and engagement platform will provide businesses the ability to reinvent customer experience,” said Vishrut Chalsani, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, OneDirect.

OneDirect’s key investors include Sequoia Capital, American Express and ru-Net.

“Gupshup’s proven expertise and market leadership in the communications platform as a service (CPaaS) space and OneDirect’s truly omnichannel customer service platform is a winning combo for businesses looking to redefine digital customer experience (CX). This will help both companies unlock new growth opportunities and further scale their enterprise CX offerings,” said Bharat Singh, Operating Partner, Sequoia Capital.

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