Salesforce has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Cresta, which describes itself as "the voice-first operating system for customer experience". Salesforce did not disclose the price.
What Cresta does
Cresta's voice agents handle customer service calls from start to finish, including natural conversation with interruptions. The same platform guides human customer service staff in real time, analyses every interaction, coaches staff, and tests and improves the voice agents. Salesforce said Cresta runs at enterprise scale for brands including Marriott, Comcast and Alaska Airlines.
How it fits into Salesforce
Cresta will become part of Service Cloud, Salesforce's customer service software. Businesses will be able to link call conversations to customer records and to outcomes such as whether a problem was resolved, whether the customer stayed, and revenue. Cresta's conversation analysis and AI agent features will be built into Salesforce's service platform. Cresta will continue to support the contact centre and telephone systems its customers already use.
"Voice is where service is hardest to get right, and where it matters most to customers."Kishan Chetan, EVP and GM of Agentforce and Service Cloud, Salesforce
"Now, by uniting our platform with Salesforce, we will realize our full vision at scale."Ping Wu, CEO, Cresta
Timing
The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of Salesforce's fiscal year 2028, subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory approvals.
Second AI deal in a week
On 29 October, Salesforce agreed to acquire Rune Technologies, which makes edge software that helps military teams forecast supply needs and run logistics with little or no connectivity. Both deals are listed in the AI Money tracker.
Announced by Salesforce in its newsroom: read the announcement
