Zoho has introduced new AI and work orchestration features to its customer experience (CX) platform, powered by its proprietary AI engine, Zia. These enhancements aim to simplify the adoption and collaboration within CRM for cross-functional teams, facilitating improved customer outcomes.

“Multiple people in an organisation need access to customer information, yet historically, CRMs have been relegated to only sales teams,” said Hyther Nizam, President Middle East and Africa (MEA), Zoho. He added, “As we democratise CRM with the launch of CRM for Everyone, we also need to build in capabilities that make it easy for anyone to build and extend CRM with simple prompts, without having to be an expert in the system. This is where Zia’s advanced capabilities come in. Now, anyone can create capabilities, workflows, or reports in CRM with a simple prompt. They can also make their CRM look the way they want with Zia’s image to design capabilities”.

The new capabilities, available across MENA countries, include expanded Zia features and the introduction of “Connected Records” and “Connected Workflows”. These additions are designed to make CX tools more intelligent, accessible, and collaborative across organizations.

Among the new Zia capabilities is Report Creation with Ask Zia, an agentic feature allowing users to generate reports via simple prompts. Zia builds the report in real time, adhering to user access permissions, and allows for user intervention and modifications during the process. This is part of a wider rollout of agentic AI across Zoho’s platform.

Additionally, Custom Module Creation enables CRM configuration using natural language without requiring code, allowing users to tailor the system through plain-text instructions for tasks like creating modules or adjusting permissions. Similarly, Workflow Creation with Ask Zia facilitates the design and implementation of custom workflows via simple prompts, with Zia acting as an intelligent agent to execute tasks. Image to Canvas also introduces an image-to-design function that converts static visuals into dynamic CRM layouts.

Building on the foundation of CRM for Everyone, Zoho aims to reshape team collaboration across the customer journey. Connected Records ensures automatic linking of work and context across different team modules, maintaining consistent and up-to-date customer information. Connected Workflows acts as a coordination layer, managing cross-functional processes across departments such as sales, marketing, and finance. These features are intended to enhance visibility and alignment among teams, ensuring informed and consistent customer interactions.