Best AI Agents For Business Operations in 2026
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Featured AI Agents For Business Operations At A Glance
A weekly snapshot of rising stars, new launches, and what everyone's buzzing about.
Buyer's Guide: AI Agents For Business Operations
Written by G2’s researcher using verified user reviews and product data, with no personal bias.
Pros and Cons are compiled from review feedback and grouped into themes to provide an easy-to-understand summary of user reviews.
Users value the ease of use of Microsoft Copilot, seamlessly integrated within Microsoft products for everyone.
Users find Microsoft Copilot to be incredibly helpful, enhancing productivity with seamless integration in Microsoft 365 applications.
Users value the efficiency of Microsoft Copilot, benefiting from fast responses and seamless integration with Microsoft 365.
Users experience inaccuracy issues with Microsoft Copilot, as it often misunderstands context and provides outdated information.
Users express concern over limited understanding from Microsoft Copilot, leading to ambiguity and discomfort in usage.
Users note the lack of creative responses and limited chat sessions in Microsoft Copilot, affecting their experience.
Written by G2’s researcher using verified user reviews and product data, with no personal bias.
Pros and Cons are compiled from review feedback and grouped into themes to provide an easy-to-understand summary of user reviews.
Users appreciate the ease of use of Retell AI, finding the platform intuitive and fast for quick results.
Users praise the easy-to-use interface of Retell AI, highlighting its simplicity and intuitive design.
Users appreciate the easy-to-use interface of Retell AI, enjoying its simplicity and fast support.
Users find the missing features in Retell AI, like limited voice options and country support, disappointing.
Users experience a significant learning curve with Retell AI, requiring time to grasp its advanced features effectively.
Users feel that the limited features of Retell AI restrict usability and hinder effective client management.
Written by G2’s researcher using verified user reviews and product data, with no personal bias.
Pros and Cons are compiled from review feedback and grouped into themes to provide an easy-to-understand summary of user reviews.
Users praise the ease of use of Synthflow, highlighting its user-friendly interface and quick setup process.
Users find the setup ease of Synthflow remarkable, appreciating its intuitive and user-friendly interface for quick deployment.
Users value the easy integrations of Synthflow, enhancing their experience with seamless connections to other services.
Users feel that the high cost of Synthflow limits its accessibility and overall value for potential buyers.
Users find the cost limitations of Synthflow significant, with steep pricing plans and inadequate trial minutes.
Users report a significant learning curve, making it difficult to fully utilize Synthflow's capabilities initially.
Written by G2’s researcher using verified user reviews and product data, with no personal bias.
Pros and Cons are compiled from review feedback and grouped into themes to provide an easy-to-understand summary of user reviews.
Users find Guru extremely user-friendly, making it easy to access information and manage content without struggles.
Users value the seamless access to knowledge provided by Guru, enhancing their ability to find information quickly.
Users value the comprehensive information in Guru, enhancing their productivity and making daily tasks easier.
Users find inefficient searching in Guru, as locating relevant information can be challenging with vague keywords.
Users note the challenging search functionality that often requires specific keywords to effectively locate Guru cards.
Users struggle with inefficient search in Guru, often requiring specific keywords and facing slow results.
Written by G2’s researcher using verified user reviews and product data, with no personal bias.
Pros and Cons are compiled from review feedback and grouped into themes to provide an easy-to-understand summary of user reviews.
Users find Jira's ease of use enhances task tracking and project organization, facilitating efficient Agile management.
Users appreciate the efficient project management capabilities of Jira, enhancing organization and tracking throughout the project lifecycle.
Users appreciate the accurate task tracking of Jira, which enhances focus and keeps them updated throughout projects.
Users find the learning curve steep, facing challenges with setup, customization, and understanding workflows.
Users find Jira's complexity challenging, noting its steep learning curve and overwhelming interface for task management.
Users find Jira complex and difficult to learn, particularly for newcomers and those needing extensive customization.
Written by G2’s researcher using verified user reviews and product data, with no personal bias.
Pros and Cons are compiled from review feedback and grouped into themes to provide an easy-to-understand summary of user reviews.
Users find Podium's features easy to use, streamlining communication, payments, and customer engagement effortlessly.
Users appreciate the timely communication Podium provides, resulting in higher review completion rates and reduced appointment no-shows.
Users appreciate the efficient communication provided by Podium, enhancing client interactions and streamlining operations.
Users struggle with messaging issues, finding it difficult to manage large volumes of inquiries and past correspondence.
Users find that the missing features in Podium hinder accessibility and create inconvenience during use.
Users find Podium's limited features frustrating, particularly in integration and user tracking capabilities.
Written by G2’s researcher using verified user reviews and product data, with no personal bias.
Pros and Cons are compiled from review feedback and grouped into themes to provide an easy-to-understand summary of user reviews.
Users find ClickUp's ease of use remarkable, simplifying project management and team collaboration effortlessly.
Users commend ClickUp for its efficient task management features, greatly enhancing workflow and team collaboration.
Users love the impressive array of features in ClickUp that enhance collaboration, organization, and productivity.
Users find missing features in ClickUp that hinder visibility and functionality for improved daily use.
Users find the steep learning curve challenging, especially for tech novices navigating ClickUp's extensive features.
Users note the limited features in ClickUp, expressing a need for essential functionalities and smoother performance.
Written by G2’s researcher using verified user reviews and product data, with no personal bias.
Pros and Cons are compiled from review feedback and grouped into themes to provide an easy-to-understand summary of user reviews.
Users find Kore.AI easy to use, appreciating its simple infrastructure and beginner-friendly chatbot development tools.
Users appreciate the fascinating and user-friendly features of Kore.AI, making bot development easy for beginners.
Users value the ease of chat bot development with Kore.AI, benefiting from user-friendly templates and error rectification.
Users find the learning curve steep, needing more time to grasp all the features of Kore.AI.
Users report usage limitations like server issues and scalability concerns affecting long-term development and testing.
Users find the system to experience slow performance, causing frustrations during NLP configurations and hindering learning.
Written by G2’s researcher using verified user reviews and product data, with no personal bias.
Pros and Cons are compiled from review feedback and grouped into themes to provide an easy-to-understand summary of user reviews.
Users highlight the exceptional customer support from Qualified’s team, significantly enhancing their overall experience and success.
Users highlight the massive support from Success Architects at Qualified, enhancing lead generation and team efficiency.
Users praise Qualified's outstanding customer service, noting exceptional support and responsiveness that enhances their overall experience.
Users note a significant learning curve with Qualified, particularly for those unfamiliar with conversational marketing and sales tools.
Users find the lack of intuitive reporting and reusability features cumbersome, hindering efficient data management and insights.
Users find the steep learning curve of Qualified intimidating, but support helps ease the process.
This description is provided by the seller.
Pros and Cons are compiled from review feedback and grouped into themes to provide an easy-to-understand summary of user reviews.
Users commend the ease of use in IBM watsonx Orchestrate, facilitating seamless communication across different roles.
Users appreciate the easy integrations of IBM watsonx Orchestrate, streamlining workflows and connecting with external resources effortlessly.
Users value the easy automation offered by IBM watsonx Orchestrate, significantly improving workflow efficiency and scalability.
Users find the learning curve steep, particularly when integrating with complex systems and utilizing all features effectively.
Users find the complexity of integrations a challenge, creating potential performance lags and debugging difficulties.
Users find the integration issues challenging, often facing a steep learning curve and tedious workflows for effectiveness.
Written by G2’s researcher using verified user reviews and product data, with no personal bias.
Pros and Cons are compiled from review feedback and grouped into themes to provide an easy-to-understand summary of user reviews.
Users appreciate the ease of use of Jotform AI Agents, facilitating a smooth onboarding and quick workflow automation.
Users find that Jotform AI Agents streamline client onboarding, significantly enhancing efficiency and saving time and costs.
Users highlight the easy setup of Jotform AI Agents, facilitating a smooth onboarding process for clients.
Users find Jotform AI Agents to have limitations in flexibility and accuracy, leading to confusion and frustration.
Users find the limited AI capabilities frustrating, as it struggles with data interpretation and staying on topic.
Users desire more features in Jotform AI Agents for better customization and integration capabilities.
This description is provided by the seller.
Pros and Cons are compiled from review feedback and grouped into themes to provide an easy-to-understand summary of user reviews.
Users appreciate the ease of use of HubSpot Marketing Hub, especially its user-friendly interface and workflow automation.
Users appreciate the all-in-one marketing solution of HubSpot, allowing efficient lead management and easy automation setup.
Users appreciate the user-friendly email marketing tools that enhance collaboration and streamline campaign execution.
Users note several missing features in HubSpot, such as limited integrations and gaps in B2C workflow support.
Users find the learning curve steep, especially due to frequent updates and overwhelming data for CRM newcomers.
Users find the limited features of HubSpot Marketing Hub restrictive, especially regarding social media integrations and pricing.
This description is provided by the seller.
Pros and Cons are compiled from review feedback and grouped into themes to provide an easy-to-understand summary of user reviews.
Users appreciate the ease of use of Zendesk, thanks to its intuitive interface and centralized support management.
Users appreciate the robust and flexible features of Zendesk, enhancing customer service through seamless multi-channel support.
Users praise quicker response times and effective customer service, enhancing their overall support experience with Zendesk.
Users note a lack of important features in Zendesk, particularly around log retention and field management.
Users find the limited features of Zendesk frustrating, requiring significant effort for customization and setup.
Users experience a steep learning curve with Zendesk, making setup for advanced features challenging for non-experts.
This description is provided by the seller.
Pros and Cons are compiled from review feedback and grouped into themes to provide an easy-to-understand summary of user reviews.
Users value the flexibility and efficiency of Workleap's compensation management, streamlining processes and enhancing decision-making.
Users commend the intuitive design of Workleap, enhancing their compensation management experience significantly.
Users find Workleap's ease of use exceptional, thanks to its intuitive interface and seamless implementation process.
Users desire more flexibility in report features and budget adjustments, wishing for direct changes in the system.
Users express a need for insufficient features, particularly regarding reporting and flexibility in comp cycle settings.
Users desire more flexibility in Workleap's reporting features and budget adjustments post-cycle launch.
This description is provided by the seller.
Pros and Cons are compiled from review feedback and grouped into themes to provide an easy-to-understand summary of user reviews.
Users love the seamless task management in Asana, making tracking and organizing projects effortless and efficient.
Users value the ease of use of Asana, praising its intuitive design that enhances organization and productivity.
Users love Asana's robust features and integrations, enhancing collaboration and streamlining project management across teams.
Users find the learning curve steep, encountering challenges with setup and functionality despite available resources.
Users find missing features in Asana, expressing a desire for improved automation and easier UI accessibility.
Users note the limited features of Asana, particularly in advanced reporting and UI tools for non-technical users.
Learn More About AI Agents For Business Operations
What is Intelligent Virtual Assistants Software?
Businesses interact with clients, customers, and internal stakeholders across various channels which include telephone, email, websites, and social media platforms. Historically, businesses needed to manually engage with humans, who would provide support and communication. However, in this current age of digital transformation, conversational agents of different flavors have emerged which are helping businesses be available and at the ready 24/7.
One particular instantiation of this technology is chatbots. These tools provide a simple conversational interface where users input text (or speech) and receive a canned or scripted response. With chatbots, a company is enabled to scale its functions, such as IT support and recruitment with limited resources, both in terms of money and time. If a company has more time and energy, as well as fiscal resources, it is wise for them to explore intelligent virtual assistants (IVAs), which provide the same basic capabilities of chatbots and more. With IVAs, users are enabled to have natural conversations via a host of different channels to solve their business problems. In addition, this advanced software has the ability to use the conversations to update systems such as a CRM, an ERP, or human resource management systems.
Key Benefits of Intelligent Virtual Assistants Software
- Provides a solution which is available 24/7 for internal and external stakeholders
- Allow users to have a natural, personalized conversation with a business
- Provides a key tool for automating core business functions, such as customer service
- Updates front end and back end systems effectively with conversational agents
Why Use Intelligent Virtual Assistants Software?
IVAs should be part of a broader automation strategy, one in which a business considers areas where they increase efficiency with minimal effort and expenditure. For example, for a shoe selling business to be successful, they need to look for ways to increase margins, sell more shoes, and hire in a smart manner. They may want automation to streamline processes through tools such as robotic process automation (RPA) software, and make an effort to dynamically change pricing with retail pricing software. A prong in this automation strategy could be IVAs, which could help automate interactions between the business and customers, current or prospective.
The medium of this interaction is variable, depending on the software being used, as well as the particular use case. Thus, the business may choose to provide an IVA on their website as well as via email and telephone. These virtual agents engage with customers across all of these various channels. At times, they are even able to replace legacy systems such as interactive voice response (IVR), engaging customers for the purposes of identity verification, for example. The impact of IVAs vary greatly based on industry and use cases.
Unified and uniform experience — IVAs help maintain consistency across channels and various touchpoints. This presents business users with a unified experience for all support in areas such as IT and human resources (HR).
Cost saving — Businesses looking to cut costs and handle inefficiencies from operations, call centers, internal functions can look to IVAs. With this software, they can scale in a fiscally smart manner.
Customer satisfaction — Net promoter score (NPS) is a core metric which businesses track to keep tabs on how their customers feel about them. Providing a successful conversational solution in the form of an IVA helps businesses maintain customer satisfaction. With their always-on capabilities, IVAs provide a tailored customer experience. This personalization is likely to improve satisfaction.
Who Uses Intelligent Virtual Assistants Software?
IVAs are impacting all industries across various use cases and are affecting any touchpoint where businesses communicate with people. It is beneficial for businesses to explore how it impacts their industry and particular use case.
Banking and finance — IVAs are a hot commodity in the financial sector in which there is frequently a high volume of interactions with customers. For these industries, IVAs interact with customers on the phone, provide information regarding transactions and deals, and verify identity.
Telecommunications — Within the telecommunications sector, IVAs replace outdated automated voice systems in contact centers to improve resolution times and customer satisfaction. This gives customers a more natural interface for communicating with the business.
Hospitality — The hospitality industry is being transformed by IVAs, with businesses using them to increase customer loyalty through on-demand support and personalized service.
Other uses in the hospitality sector include making reservations, enabling personalized services—preferred room features or local restaurant recommendations—supporting customer engagement and retention.
Retail — Retail and e-commerce stands to benefit greatly from the deployment of IVAs to enhance customer engagement and drive sales. They also deliver a personalized e-commerce experience for customers.
Travel — The travel sector is adopting IVAs to assist in customer bookings and provide customer support and complaints resolution, thus acting as a personal assistant to customize a traveler’s itinerary and experiences.
Kinds of Intelligent Virtual Assistants Software
Business leaders of all stripes can reap the benefits of IVAs, transforming their strategy with digital transformation. Focusing on sales and marketing, IT support, HR, and customer service use cases, businesses can communicate with their internal and external stakeholders in a supercharged manner. A successful deployment of IVAs can help businesses scale with the ability to engage in thousands of conversations.
Scale is not the only important factor to keep in mind. Intelligence is also key—the ability for the virtual assistant to respond to queries in a personalized fashion based on past interactions and stored data. Budget holders exploring different solutions should evaluate this level of intelligence through sustained conversations across various areas. Below are some prevalent use cases:
Customer service — Similar to IT virtual assistants, virtual customer service and customer success agents are able to resolve issues, problems, and concerns at scale. By conversing with current and prospective customers, IVAs quickly defuse difficult situations and reach resolutions. Frequently, they interact with both customers as well as human customer support teams. When an IVA does not have an adequate response at the ready, they escalate the conversation to a human agent. All of these benefits lead to faster response time, personalized self-service interactions, 24/7 support, and a unified automated experience across channels.
Sales and marketing — IVAs help engage buyers by initiating contact, empathizing intelligently to interpret replies, and responding with a tailored response. These assistants are useful throughout the entire customer journey, from determining interest to activating unresponsive demand and to winning back former customers.
HR — Businesses are able to deliver immediate, simplified, and intuitive access to HR applications with IVAs to improve employee experiences. They help employees find resources and information quickly, improving efficiency and user satisfaction.
Specific use cases within the HR function include travel and expense management, benefits management, and absence management. For example, an employee can converse with an IVA in a natural manner and ask them about vacation days or benefits. The benefits of this deployment include improving employee net promoter score (eNPS) and allowing the employee success team to focus on higher-level strategic engagements.
IT — Employees always have IT-related problems. In a typical organization, they submit a ticket to an IT professional (whether internal or outsourced), who takes time to evaluate the problem and respond properly. With IVAs, tasks such as password resets, access permissions, server diagnostics for IT support personnel, and more can be automated end to end.
IVAs help eliminate jammed ticket queues and provide quick resolutions for end users. These agents are trained to handle IT services use cases to ensure IT support staff remain one step ahead of the most common issues employees face. They handle queries at any time of day, meeting demand, and improving ticket processing times.
Intelligent Virtual Assistants Software Features
With the use of machine learning and deep learning, IVAs grow intelligently and understand a wider vocabulary and colloquial language as well as provide more precise and correct responses to requests. In addition, IVAs are able to provide personalized answers based on segmentation or other information provided. Below are some features:
Personalization — IVAs provide personalized responses to interlocutors based on segmentation or past responses.
Route to humans — The software has tools (e.g., dashboards and reports) to better understand conversations IVAs have had.
Natural language understanding (NLU) — With NLU features, the software can have a natural, human-like conversation with an interlocutor. The degree of intelligence and understanding differ between IVAs. For example, some providers have built robust sentiment detection capabilities that allow the assistants to communicate in a tailored way based on the person’s sentiment. This gives it some degree of emotional intelligence which is key for a successful conversation.
Conversation editor — This feature allows businesses to edit conversations to meet their unique needs. This includes aspects of process design, along with some tools that empower intelligent process execution to enable more dynamic conversations.
Integration — The integration feature gives users the ability to update systems, like CRM, based on conversations.
Human-in-the-loop — The software allows users to maintain and observe the accuracy and viability of IVAs by keeping human agents in the loop.
Additional Intelligent Virtual Assistants Software Features
Avatars — Some IVAs provide life-like avatars, which communicate in a strikingly human fashion. These avatars come in various forms and formats, such as on-site customer support agents. Some companies even choose to roll out these avatars in store as shopping assistants. In terms of the look of these avatars, some providers provide the ability to customize them to fit a particular business.
Other features of intelligent virtual assistant software: Alexa Capabilities, Google Assistant Capabilities, Microsoft Teams Capabilities, Skype Capabilities, Slack Capabilities, SMS Capabilities, Social Media, Video, and WhatsApp Capabilities.
Potential Issues with Intelligent Virtual Assistants Software
Preference for human agents — Although IVAs are great at many tasks, some contexts, such as those which require a significant amount of empathy, may be better served by a human agent.
Transparency — Despite the fact that IVAs might be better suited for repetitive tasks, users still deserve to know that they are speaking to an IVA, not a human. Legislation is catching up to this human desire and is requiring bots to state that they are not human in certain U.S. states like California.
Effective handoffs to humans — Sometimes, IVAs do not have an answer to a question from the user. It is critical that the system is designed in a way to successfully resolve this problem. Typically, the best way to solve this issue is to transition the user to a human agent.
