The crm, saas & automation stories our desk judged worth your time, written so anyone can follow them.
A longtime no-code fan writes in Inc. that drag-and-drop app building is ending, as AI tools that write software from plain words take its place.
Read more: Building apps without code is fading as AI writing tools take overSamsung has posted a shutdown notice for a smart TV hub that only recently added Google Photos, so families who show photos on their TV should take note.
Read more: Samsung is shutting down a smart TV hub that just got Google PhotosTwilio describes a way to turn finished support calls into short summaries and customer profile updates, so callers do not have to repeat themselves.
Read more: Software Can Now Write Your Support Call Notes for YouSalesforce plans to buy Braze, a customer messaging company, for $5.66 billion. The deal is far off, but Salesforce marketing users may see new tools later.
Read more: Salesforce plans to buy Braze, a customer messaging company, for $5.66 billionElevenLabs released two new voice models for live AI phone-style conversations. The top one answers in 0.57 seconds, which could mean fewer awkward pauses.
Read more: ElevenLabs launches faster AI voice models for live phone-style conversationsAWS shows how a manager can ask three plain questions and get a cross-system answer on a supplier halt, with a person approving every change.
Read more: Ask one question in plain English, get a supply chain answerAudiophile.fm gathers lossless radio stations in one free app for iPhone and Android, with no account and no in-app ads. The developer is paying for it himself.
Read more: A free music app streams CD-quality radio with no ads or accountA four-person Iowa nonprofit says Microsoft Copilot gives its staff back up to 24 hours a month, mostly on grants and board reports.
Read more: Small Iowa nonprofit saves up to 24 hours a month using Microsoft CopilotA Zoho CRM extension called HyperForm builds web forms from your CRM's own records, so form answers land in the CRM without anyone retyping them.
Read more: HyperForm turns Zoho CRM modules into web forms that fill your CRMFacebook Pages that don't pay may be limited to two links a month, a reported change that could hit shops, clinics and nonprofits that send people to their sites.
Read more: Facebook Pages reportedly need a paid plan for more than two linksUPS-owned Happy Returns is now built into TikTok Shop, giving shoppers a way to send items back with no box and no printed label.
Read more: TikTok Shop adds easy returns with no box and no labelSalesforce will pay $47.50 a share in cash for Braze, a marketing app maker. If you use either company's tools, the deal could change what you get.
Read more: Salesforce buys Braze for $5.66 billion, a 58% premium over the stock priceSalesforce has agreed to buy Braze, a marketing messaging company, for almost $5.7 billion. Customers of either firm should watch for changes.
Read more: Salesforce agrees to buy marketing software maker Braze for $5.7BTrinity Logistics now lets AI answer most carrier calls and book loads. The company says margins rose 25% on those bookings while platform costs fell 40%.
Read more: Freight broker lets AI take carrier calls and books at 25% higher marginsElevenLabs released two voice agent models that handle listening, thinking and speaking in one piece, which could make phone and intake bots simpler to build.
Read more: ElevenLabs launches voice agent models that handle the whole callEmployees are building AI tools that touch customer data, and security teams often never see them. Here is why the usual fixes fall short and what works better.
Read more: Staff-built AI workflows are spreading faster than IT can track themA Schlotzsky's and Cinnabon franchisee says ChatGPT Work cut his cash counting time 94%. Owners stuck with daily paperwork may want to see how.
Read more: Franchisee cuts cash reconciliation time 94% using ChatGPT WorkCisco's Jeetu Patel says an AI agent found $9,000 a year in subscriptions and cut about $1,000 of it. His warning about access matters just as much.
Read more: Cisco's president used AI helpers to review $9,000 in subscriptionsA new report says callers care less about a human-sounding AI voice and more about honesty, useful answers and a way to reach a real person.
Read more: Voice AI's real test is earning customer trust, not sounding humanSalesforce says customers' AI assistants will send businesses more calls, not fewer, because the assistants often cannot finish a task on their own.
Read more: Customers' AI assistants may bring your business more calls, not fewerAnthropic's new small AI model, Haiku 5.5, lists at 90% lower prices, but the real saving is closer to 75% and older code can break.
Read more: Claude Haiku 5.5: what's new and how to use it for cheap workflowsSen. Chuck Schumer wants the FCC to refuse a request to let political groups call cell phones with AI voices without consent. A decision could come this week.
Read more: Schumer urges FCC to block AI-voice political robocallsAttackers are phishing open-source developers and hiding a password stealer in a fake font file across 94 GitHub projects. Here is why business owners should care.
Read more: Hackers hid password-stealing malware in a fake font file on GitHubResearchers showed a stranger's email can reach an AI agent inside Salesforce using standard features. Anyone running agents on customer messages should take note.
Read more: AI agents that read customer emails can inherit risks nobody planned for
