The crm, saas & automation stories our desk judged worth your time, written so anyone can follow them.
Gartner again named Salesforce a Leader in digital commerce software, as Salesforce says shoppers increasingly start their buying in AI assistants.
Read more: Salesforce's online store software ranked a top pick again by GartnerA recruiting team says it cut chat noise by sending only the few hiring updates that need action to chat, and keeping the official record in one system.
Read more: How one recruiting team stopped drowning its chat in hiring alertsEbanx now lets global subscription services charge Nigerians through the OPay wallet app, a big opening in a country where few people own credit cards.
Read more: Nigerians can now pay for global subscriptions straight from a wallet appAnekha Sokhal, a former energy trader, is building Moshi, an AI tool that links market news to what matters for each trader, and she says fit with daily work is key.
Read more: A former energy trader built an AI tool to cut through market noiseZoho Expense now uses AI to read receipts, match card charges and send low-risk claims straight to payment, while odd ones go to a person.
Read more: Zoho's expense software now uses AI to approve and match claimsKarta AI, a startup whose voice bots answer calls for banks and lenders, raised $3 million. Your next call to a lender may be handled by AI.
Read more: Karta AI raises $3 million for phone bots that serve bank customersA Tom's Guide writer replaced his cloud chatbot with a free AI agent on his laptop, trading speed for privacy and no usage fees.
Read more: A writer swapped his cloud chatbot for a free AI that runs on his own laptopOracle's new AI Agent Studio lets small and mid-size firms build their own AI helpers with little or no coding, but connecting them to your data is the hard part.
Read more: Oracle launches a tool to build AI helpers without writing codeWhatsApp on iPhone is rolling out YouTube playback inside chats, so you can watch a shared video without leaving the conversation.
Read more: WhatsApp now plays YouTube videos inside your chatsAbout 243 million people in Southeast Asia use generative AI, but few pay for it. Businesses are finding other ways to profit, from chatbots to shopping tools.
Read more: Southeast Asia adopts AI fast, but few people pay for itGoogle Keep now has a Gemini sparkle button that turns a short request into a tickable checklist, but it needs a Google AI plan or a supported Pixel phone.
Read more: Google Keep's Gemini Button Builds Your Checklists in SecondsINMO's new GO3 smart glasses put a display in front of your eyes, work with Gemini, and add a physical cover for the camera lens.
Read more: New INMO GO3 smart glasses add a built-in display and GeminiFord issued 152 safety recalls last year, a record for any automaker. Inc. says the lesson is about automation and keeping people who can spot problems.
Read more: Ford set a recall record last year with 152 safety alertsXero and Bookkeeper360 will let accounting firms offer bill pay and invoicing tools under their own brand, so clients may handle both in one place.
Read more: Xero and Bookkeeper360 team up so firms can offer bill pay toolsWorley linked a smart-contract system to HSBC so approved invoices can start instant bank payments. Here is what businesses should settle before trying it.
Read more: Approved invoices can now trigger bank payments automaticallyA How-To Geek writer lists five smart home automations that use bulbs, phones and gadgets you already have, from sun-matched lighting to saving heat in an empty house.
Read more: Five smart home upgrades you can set up with devices you already ownAt SaaStr, two AI assistants set up their own shared mailbox and agreed on a safe word, so a human must approve any action. It shows why approval rules matter.
Read more: Two AI assistants built their own shared mailbox and a safe wordSalesforce built a voice AI for business calls that shows its written answer before speaking it, so a person can check it first. The test scores are the company's own.
Read more: Salesforce unveils Launa-Omni, a voice AI built for business callsAmazon Connect Customer now lets administrators pick a Modern or Classic agent screen for each support team, which could save agents time.
Read more: Amazon's call center software gets two new screen layoutsMicrosoft is raising the supported OneDrive sync limit on Mac to one million items, up from 300,000. A preview starts this month, with full release aimed at June 2027.
Read more: OneDrive on Mac will sync up to one million files, up from 300,000Banks use AI to sort fraud cases and disputes, but new state laws mean they must explain how it shaped a decision. Many cannot yet.
Read more: Banks Are Using AI on Fraud Cases, but Struggle to Prove How It DecidesHubSpot now lets customers swap paid seats nobody uses for AI credits, and Inc. warns the flexibility can quietly drain a budget.
Read more: HubSpot now lets you trade unused seats for AI creditsElevenLabs has launched live voice translation in more than 90 languages, so two people can talk and each hears the other in their own language.
Read more: ElevenLabs launches live voice translation in more than 90 languagesGoogle Cloud and NVIDIA unveiled new AI servers for big companies, with cloud sales starting next month and options to keep sensitive data under tighter control.
Read more: Google and NVIDIA announce new AI computing power for large companies
