LE PERSPECTIVE / THE STORY

Salesforce has agreed to acquire Cresta, whose AI handles customer-service phone calls. The idea is to connect what callers say with the customer information Salesforce already stores, so support teams have a clearer picture of the problem.

Cresta makes voice agents that can manage calls, including interruptions and more complicated requests. It also gives human representatives suggestions while they speak to customers and analyzes calls afterward. Marriott, Comcast and Alaska Airlines are among its customers, according to Salesforce.

What Happens After a Support Call
A customer may explain a problem on the phone, but those details can stay in a separate call-center system. Salesforce wants to put the conversation alongside the customer’s account, so the next step is easier to work out.

Ping Wu, Cresta’s CEO, said the acquisition would bring Cresta’s voice AI and conversation analysis into Salesforce’s customer-service software. Wu previously worked on Google’s contact-center AI products and became Cresta CEO in 2023.

Think of a customer calling again about the same issue. Instead of searching through recordings or asking them to repeat everything, a support representative could have the call details alongside the customer’s history. That is what Salesforce hopes the combination will make easier.

Salesforce says Cresta will keep supporting other major contact-center and phone platforms after the deal closes. That matters to companies already using Cresta alongside different systems.

The companies have not disclosed a purchase price. The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of Salesforce’s fiscal 2028, pending regulatory approvals and other conditions.

For customers, the test is simple: will the next support call involve less repeating and a faster fix?

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