Saskatoon-based software firm Vendasta has developed AI agents for small businesses, entering an ever-growing field of companies trying to sell virtual assistants.

The system, known as Conversations AI, can be deployed on websites, messaging apps or make phone calls, and connects to other software systems to complete tasks. Vendasta’s AI receptionist, for example, can make appointments, generate quotes or make sales.

The tool will let local stores, salons and franchisees respond to consumers round the clock, as they’ve come to expect, said Sanjay Manchanda, Vendasta’s chief marketing officer. That helps reduce the chances of wasted marketing efforts, and losing an interested customer to a competitor. To make the agents more personable, clients can configure them to riff on local sports teams’ results or offer suggestions based on the weather.

Many small businesses are interested in employing AI, but may find the tools currently available on the market too complicated and time-consuming to maintain and manage, said Rylan Morris, Vendasta’s vice-president of product marketing. So the firm is working with digital and marketing agencies, which resell and run its software for clients like beauty salons, car rental firms, insurance brokers and independent retailers. 

Founded in January 2008, Vendasta is best known for its technology marketplace, which lets partner agencies and small businesses access its own sales and marketing applications, as well as ones from other developers. Now, the company is repositioning itself as a maker of AI tools. 

Vendasta has raised US$161.5 million in venture capital to date, according to PitchBook data, including a $20-million Series E round in October 2023 meant to fund acquisitions. The firm filed for an initial public offering in March 2021, but paused its listing and raised $119.5 million in private financing instead. Backers include the Canadian Business Growth Fund, BDC Capital and Colorado’s Foundry Group.

The scale-up has over 600 employees, with 260 staff in Canada. Vendasta is now cash-flow positive, with annual recurring revenues of over $100 million, claimed Nykea Behiel, director of brand and experience.

The AI receptionist is the first of several agents Vendasta has planned, including some scheduled to launch this year that will help with sales and content creation. Other scale-ups and tech giants have already launched chatbots and voice assistants for customer service, sales, and marketing messages.

Vendasta’s long-standing work with small businesses gives it an advantage in selling AI agents to them, according to Manchanda. Those firms don’t have IT departments or easy access to developers, he said, so they’re looking for software that’s easy to install, and to enlist the support of the agencies with which Vendasta partners. 

The company has also collected a significant amount of data on independent firms in different sectors, which it’s using to tweak the agents’ scripts and features. It’s also designed Conversations AI so clients can manage customer communications for several different physical locations at once. Clients will pay Vendasta or its partner agencies a subscription fee to use the system, with additional charges based on their usage.