Amplitude Acquires Command AI to Enhance User Experience with AI-Powered Assistance

Amplitude buys Command AI to help companies integrate AI-assisted onboarding and product tours into software - SiliconANGLE

Amplitude buys Command AI to help companies integrate AI-assisted onboarding and product tours into software Behavioral analytics tracking company Amplitude Inc. is planning to add a dose of artificial intelligence to its platform after acquiring a startup called Command AI for an undisclosed sum. Command AI, officially named Foobar Inc., is the creator of AI-powered tools that help to streamline software experiences by making digital applications and services easier to use. By accusing the company, Amplitude says it will be able to provide personalized user assistance within its customers' software and applications, extending to product tours and nudges, onboarding guides and surveys to gather feedback from users. In turn, Amplitude's customers will be able to deliver superior user experiences, hopefully boosting user satisfaction and retention, the company said. Command AI's AI tool seems perfectly suited to Amplitude, which sells a software suite for enterprises to track and analyze customer interactions with digital products and services. For example, a company that creates a new application for online shopping can use Amplitude's platform to obtain insights about how that app is being used, what problems users experience and so on. This information can then be used to guide new updates and features within that app. The software goes even further, tapping AI to provide recommendations on what new features companies might consider adding to their digital products and services, as well as tools for experimenting with such additions. Given Amplitude's focus on helping companies understand what their users are doing and when they're getting stuck, the integration of Command AI's user assistance functionality makes a lot of sense. Not only will Amplitude be able to recognize where users are having problems with an app, but it will also be able to guide those users around those problems. As the company puts it, the insights it delivers will become "more actionable." Command AI's software infuses AI into other applications, and has the ability to proactively "nudge" users or respond to them. With Amplitude behind it, Command AI will be better able to identify the best times to intervene. Co-founder and Chief Executive James Evans said his company's AI guides can become much more powerful when paired with Amplitude's analytics and insights. Moreover, he believes there's an urgent need for greater customer assistance in digital products. "While software has become ubiquitous, most of it is still based on a one-size-fits-all approach that can make it hard to use," Evans said. "And a lot of the things that purport to help users actually end up just annoying them." Amplitude said it's already getting busy with the task of integrating Command AI's capabilities within its platform, adding that they will power a number of new features expected to launch early next year. The new features include step-by-step guides and product tours that can be customized for each new application and service, and smart triggers that can share product updates, event invites and special offers at the most appropriate times for users. Other capabilities will include in-app surveys that can help companies obtain deeper feedback on their products, and checklists to help new users get up and running with more complex apps and services. Command AI said its entire team will join Amplitude once the acquisition closes, and that it will continue to serve its current customers while it works to integrate its software with the Amplitude platform.

Amplitude buys Command AI to bolster its app engagement offerings

Most of Command AI's 30-person, San Francisco-based team will be joining Amplitude. Command AI's co-founder and CEO James Evans wouldn't reveal the terms of the deal, but said candidly that an acquisition wasn't something he'd been planning on. "Our growth was great and we had plenty of runway," Evans told TechCrunch. "We weren't out shopping ourselves or anything. But when Amplitude reached out a little while ago -- this summer -- we got really excited about the combination and became convinced that we could grow faster and reach more users together." Evans started Command AI in 2021 as a way for developers to easily integrate search functionality into their web apps. Together with co-founders Richard Freling and Vinay Ayyala, he built Command AI's first product: an in-app search bar that provided personalized results, shortcuts, and the ability to highlight new app enhancements. Over the years, Command AI's product portfolio expanded to include a chatbot and AI Co-Browsing, which walks a user through in-app features by effectively taking control of their mouse. A more recent tool in development, Nudge Autopilot, shows "nudges" (e.g., reminders to try out certain app features) to users automatically based on metrics. Twenty-five million end-users interact with Command AI's products on a regular basis through apps built by clients like Hashicorp, Gusto, Yotpo and LaunchDarkly, Evans said. Before the Amplitude buyout, Command AI managed to raise $23.8 million from backers including Insight Partners, Itai Tsiddon and Thrive Capital. So how does Command AI's technology fit into Amplitude's product roadmap? Amplitude CEO and co-founder Spenser Skates says the startup will enable Amplitude to offer "personalized user assistance" via in-product tours, onboarding experiences, and more. Specifically, early next year, Command AI will launch checklists and guides for Amplitude, which will let customers create app and website action plans as well as interactive product tours. Announcements, another Command AI-powered capability heading to Amplitude, will allow customers to set up "smart triggers" in apps for things like updates and special offers. Evans sees the integrations as a natural evolution for Command AI, which has offered connectors to Amplitude for some time. "There's a really tight loop between tools that help you understand user behavior -- Amplitude -- and tools that help you influence user behavior -- us," he said. "Imagine you identify a user segment that seems to not be digging your product. Well, naturally, you then might want to ask those users a question with a survey, or try to steer them to some feature they might care about, and then aggregate that feedback or see the impact of that change. We've always solved that connection with integration, but being on the same team is going to allow us to build a much tighter feedback loop." Evans will become director of product at Amplitude once the deal closes, while Ayyala will become engineering director. They'll both oversee Amplitude's new Command AI product org, which will continue to serve current Command AI customers through the end of the year. Command AI is Amplitude's third acquisition since its founding a decade ago. In 2020, Amplitude bought ClearBrain, a predictive analytics company, and in 2021, it purchased data pipeline firm Iteratively. Amplitude claims to have more than 2,700 paying customers, including 26 of the Fortune 100.