Zendesk Is Not Just a CRM Anymore

This week on Funnel Frontier: Introducing Zendesk’s new CCaaS platform, agentic AI hub, and employee service suite.

This week:

• Zendesk isn’t just a CRM anymore—it’s coming for your contact center too
• Genesys just dropped its most expensive bundle yet – here’s what you get for $240/user/month
• Your Support Team Deserves Better than Spreadsheets
• How to Flip the Script on 5 Most Common Sales Objections
• 20+ Ways Big Brands Keep Customers Coming Back

Stat of the Week

Market research firm Valuates Reports expects the global market for artificial intelligence to top $2.45 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual rate of 16.5%. (SpeechTechMag)

Zendesk isn’t just a CRM anymore—it’s coming for your contact center too

Zendesk just pulled a full platform power move.

At Zendesk Relate 2025, the company unveiled a new CCaaS platform, a new agentic AI hub, and a new employee service suite—basically launching an all-out assault on every part of the customer (and employee) service stack.

Zendesk has been quietly stacking pieces. First came CRM. Then came Klaus (QA), Tymeshift (WFM), and Ultimate (customer support automation). Toss in a voice AI alliance with Poly AI, and you’ve got most of the contact center puzzle.

The one thing missing? A real CCaaS platform.

Enter: Local Measure—the AWS-native platform Zendesk just acquired for $100M. Previously, Zendesk only had Zendesk Talk (later Zendesk Voice), a Twilio-powered solution mostly suited for SMBs. Local Measure changes that. It’s already being used by companies with thousands of seats.

Now, Zendesk is relaunching it as Zendesk for Contact Center, an enterprise-grade CCaaS platform designed to integrate natively across their entire stack.

As Jonathan Barouch, CEO of Local Measure, said at Enterprise Connect 2025:

“It’s all enterprise-grade. All its products are properly integrated.”

Translation: Zendesk is officially in the CCaaS game and it’s not easing in. 

“If you think about other CCaaS vendors, they don’t have the knowledge repository, the multiple years of tickets and engagements on which you can train AI. Zendesk does,” Barouch says.

Translation? Zendesk thinks they’re sitting on a goldmine—and they’re done playing nice with CCaaS partners like NICE and Genesys. Those same partners? Now direct competitors.

From CRM Vendor to Full-Stack AI Powerhouse

But the CCaaS launch wasn’t even the main event. That spotlight went to the Zendesk Resolution Platform, a new hub for building and managing AI agents that learn, adapt, and resolve more issues over time.

It includes a pre-built agent library, an AI Agent Builder for creating custom use-case agents, a Knowledge Graph to unify data sources, and a Knowledge Builder that uses AI to spot gaps and auto-generate content.

Think of it as Zendesk’s AI command center—one that connects to the rest of the stack and helps automate more of the customer journey with less manual setup. Oh, and yes, it comes with real-time reasoning controls, so you’re not flying blind when AI makes decisions on your behalf.

Then there’s the Zendesk Employee Service Suite. It’s not for customers—it’s for internal teams. The goal? Faster IT and HR resolutions.

It connects to HCM and ITSM systems, lets employees check tasks and approvals, and includes AI agents that surface answers to common questions—all inside a personalized agent workspace.

Basically: it’s internal service, Zendesk-style, and it’s aiming to outpace Salesforce’s employee service module by adding deeper workforce management features over time.

From Partner-Friendly to Platform Predator

Zendesk’s CCaaS launch means one big thing: it’s now competing with its former partners—Genesys, NICE, Five9, and more. And they know it.

CEO Tom Eggemeier is swinging big, stating the goal isn’t just to maintain its 60 Local Measure customers. It’s to scale to “ten, 20, or 30 thousand” contact center customers.

That’s a massive jump. But with over 100,000 customers already using Zendesk for CRM and support, the upsell opportunity is real.

Now the question is: can Zendesk pull it off without alienating the ecosystem it once leaned on?

With a full-stack, AI-powered, enterprise-grade suite—built around data you already own—the odds aren’t bad.

This isn’t the Zendesk you think you know. And if you’re still treating it like just another CRM? You might be missing the bigger picture.

The Week @ CRM.org

CRM for Startups. Building a startup without a CRM is like launching a rocket and hoping the fuel shows up mid-air. Here’s what to pick when every dollar—and second—counts.

Best Personal CRMs. Never forget a name, a note, or a networking promise again. These CRMs help you remember, reconnect, and maybe even send that “let’s grab coffee” text.

Weekly Bloom

5 Ways to Create a High Performance Team. Investors today value a quality team over the founding idea. So ditch the ego and focus on building a dynamic, inclusive group.

Genesys just dropped its most expensive bundle yet – here’s what you get for $240/user/month

Genesys is stacking the deck in 2025. Its newest contact center bundle, Genesys Cloud CX 4, is the most feature-loaded package it’s ever launched—and it’s priced to match: $240/user/month.

For comparison: Genesys Cloud CX 3 comes in at $155/user/month and includes the standard CCaaS suite—voice + digital channels, WEM, IVR, co-browsing, analytics, and knowledge management. CX 4 stacks three major AI tools on top.

So, what do you get for all that cheddar?

Everything from voice and digital channels to WEM, IVR, co-browsing, knowledge management, and real-time analytics—plus three major upgrades:

• Agent Copilot: Gives live reps AI-powered next-best-action nudges and auto-summarizes post-call wrap-ups.

• Customer Journey Management: Ties together data from every interaction, maps full customer journeys, and tracks behavior across the customer lifecycle.

• 30 AI Tokens per agent: Your pick of virtual agents, Supervisor Copilot, predictive routing, social listening, and more. Want more? Just buy more tokens.

That last one? That’s where things get interesting.

AI, but Tokenized

Genesys doesn’t just bundle AI in and call it a day. Instead, it gives you 30 tokens per agent to activate the AI features you actually want. Need more? Buy more. Don’t need them? Don’t pay extra.

This is Genesys’s way of avoiding unpredictable consumption-based billing, while still giving you the flexibility to scale. No surprise AI cost spikes here.

You can apply tokens toward:

• Supervisor Copilot (real-time management help)

• Virtual agents

• Predictive engagement and routing

• Sentiment monitoring

• More AI workflows as you scale

The result? A customizable AI layer on top of a full-stack CCaaS platform—with Genesys claiming it delivers “exceptional value.”

Genesys vs. Everyone Else

CX 4 is Genesys’s move to stay on top of the CCaaS leaderboard. But this is also a preemptive strike in a market that’s heating up.

The company’s already:

• Partnering with ServiceNow to embed CCaaS into CSM workflows

• Scooping up talent from Avaya via a new TeKnowledge collab

• Launching hybrid models with Mitel for large-scale rollouts

• And fine-tuning its Supervisor Copilot with real-time upgrades

Oh, and that long-rumored IPO? Delayed for now. Blame the markets.

The Bottom Line

Genesys Cloud CX 4 isn’t for everyone. But if you’re ready to infuse AI across your contact center—and want a single platform to do it all—this might be your next upgrade.

It’s flexible, powerful, and priced to tempt CCaaS buyers who want innovation without blowing up their budgets.

Just be ready to do the math: 30 tokens may not be enough for every use case, but for many contact centers, it’s a sweet spot.

Galactic Gourmet

CRM blips from around the web

Intercom’s Fin Gets a Massive AI Upgrade. In its Spring ‘25 release, Intercom turns Fin into a true omnichannel AI support agent. It now handles phone calls, understands screenshots, translates inboxes in real time, automates tasks like refunds—and plugs into Zendesk, Salesforce, and more. 

Oracle Launches AI Agent Studio. Oracle’s new AI Agent Studio lets customers build, test, and deploy their own AI agents directly within Fusion Applications and at no extra cost. With 50+ prebuilt agents already live, users can now customize, extend, and orchestrate cross-functional workflows using trusted LLMs and secure integrations.

Forrester Wave 2025 – Top CRM Rankings in 2025. The latest Forrester Wave names Salesforce, Microsoft, Oracle, and Pegasystems as CRM Leaders. The report compares 12 vendors across CX, sales, and automation, highlighting what sets the best apart.

Stellar Strategies: Tips & Tricks for Sales, Marketing & Service

Your Support Team Deserves Better than Spreadsheets

When customer service teams use the wrong CRM, tickets vanish, calls drop, and Karen's still on hold. 

And, if your team doesn't have a CRM at all? Let’s just say your company is probably being dragged on Reddit right now.

The truth is that most CRMs weren’t built for customer service teams. But the right one? It’s like giving your agents psychic powers, a chill manager, and a magic wand—all in one tab.

Here are the CRM features customer service teams actually need (but rarely know to look for):

1. Journey orchestration

This one’s huge: map out the entire customer experience, then trigger the right message, resource, or human touch based on where someone is in their journey. Welcome emails are nice, but, tailored onboarding flows and proactive support? Even better.

2. Ghost ticket detection

You follow up once… twice… then it slips through the cracks. Advanced CRMs spot neglected tickets and flag them before a customer rage-posts. Think of it as a watchdog for your CX.

3. Real-time customer sentiment tracking

Forget post-call surveys. Modern CRMs analyze tone and language during live chats and calls, then alert managers before a customer churns mid-convo.

4. Self-service that actually serves

FAQs are fine, but AI-powered self-service that pulls answers from real-time data? That’s how you cut down ticket volume and keep customers happy.

5. Role-based access controls

Not every agent needs to see billing info. The best CRMs let you fine-tune access so everyone sees what they need—and nothing they don’t.

Your CRM shouldn’t just babysit tickets; it should prevent meltdowns. Here’s our shortlist of CRMs that will actually make the lives of your support agents easier.

How to Flip the Script on 5 Most Common Sales Objections

Sales objections aren’t roadblocks—they’re neon signs pointing to what your prospect actually cares about. Ignore them, and you’re ghosted. Handle them well, and you’re closing deals like it’s a sport.

Here are 5 of the juiciest objections—and how to handle them like a sales legend.

1. “It’s too expensive.”

Translation: I don’t see the value. Don’t argue price—reframe the risk. Tie your pitch to ROI. Show how much they’ll lose by not buying. If it’s B2B, bring the numbers. If it’s B2C, bring the FOMO.

“Totally fair. Most of our best customers felt the same way—until they saw [X result] and realized it was more of an investment than an expense.”

2. “We’re already working with someone.”

Great. That means they know the pain. Now, be the upgrade. Ask what they like about their current solution—then zero in on what’s missing and how you deliver it better, faster, cheaper, or all three.

“Love that you’ve already made moves here. Curious—what’s working well, and where do you wish they’d step it up?”

3. “I’m too busy right now.”

Your prospect isn’t lying—they’re just drowning. Show empathy, then sell the time you’ll save them. Bonus points if you offer a no-pressure follow-up.

“Totally get it. Out of curiosity—how much time are you spending on [pain point] each week? If we could cut that in half, would it be worth a 15-minute chat?”

4. “Just send me some info.”

A classic dodge. Don’t send a PDF into the void—ask what they want to know so you can personalize it, and use that window to schedule a real convo.

“Happy to. But to keep it relevant—what’s the biggest thing you’re hoping to solve right now?”

5. “I need to talk to my boss.”

Perfect. Help them pitch you. Make your champion look like a genius with a quick-hit “business case in a box”—ROI, use cases, client wins. Bonus points: offer to join the pitch.

“Can I help you prep for that convo? I’ve got a 2-slide deck you can steal.”

Need a full objection-squashing arsenal? Check out HubSpot’s complete guide.

Astronomical Assets

Significant moves in the past 7 days

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