Crisp IM, a startup in the customer service software industry, has announced a 100% revamped platform. Known for empowering small and medium businesses (SMBs) through innovative customer service solutions, Crisp IM continues its journey of bootstrapped success with its dedicated 20-person team and 250m monthly active users. Now, the company is determined to shift upmarket while holding steadfast to its core values.
“One year and a half ago, we decided to start from scratch again, because the market changes, because our customers are growing and because we, as humans and as a company, are maturing as to what should be the best customer service platform,” said Baptiste Jamin, Crisp IM's CEO.
Past, present and future of customer service
As the customer service landscape evolves, artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping how businesses engage with customers. Crisp IM’s new platform embraces the era of Augmented Customer Service (ACS), merging human expertise with AI-driven technology to create seamless interactions for both agents and customers.
Baptiste Jamin, CEO and cofounder, explained the balance: "We don’t foresee a world where AI handles 100% of customer support inquiries. At some point, people want to talk to people. However, there’s a wide range of queries that can be automated. 10 years ago when we started Crisp IM with Valerian, we never thought artificial intelligence would be such a game changer. Not so soon."
Through enhanced first-response automation and quicker query resolution, companies can now leverage AI to relieve teams of repetitive tasks. As a result, companies can focus on what matters most — delivering exceptional customer experiences.
One counter-intuitive and innovative feature that is part of the new Crisp IM v4: the platform leverages company’s internal data to offer a website search engine that brings answers to customers and leads, leveraging AI, and goes against the chatbot trend.
AI-powered site search: a game changer for self-service
“Five years ago I created Sonic, a super lightweight internal search engine that is 100% open-source. I did it because there was no affordable solution that could fit with our fixed cost structure and volume of usage. It’s the reality of a bootstrapped company, you gotta count every penny,” said Valerian Saliou, Crisp IM's CTO and cofounder.
But Crisp IM’s new AI-powered site search widget takes self-service to the next level, blending AI efficiency with human touch. Saliou explained how this feature addresses customer reluctance toward automated interactions: "Many users avoid AI agents and don't search websites for answers. With our widget, we offer the best of both worlds. Customers are encouraged to search within company data to receive high-quality responses, preventing support teams from dealing with low-value queries while preventing the customer from leaving without solving their queries."
Following a successful beta phase, thousands of companies have already implemented the widget, with a robust roadmap for continued improvements.
Human at the core, with a simple and calm interface
Customer service roles are often stressful, especially in today’s economic climate where retention and repeat business are key. To get more headspace, Crisp IM’s latest update features a refreshed user interface (UI), designed with lighter colours and streamlined elements that provide a calm and efficient workspace.
Jamin highlighted the importance of this update: "We focused heavily on improving the UI to reduce anxiety and create higher headspace users."
This sentiment is echoed by Franck Caudrelier, CEO of Gibus-Cycle, a leading children's bicycle manufacturer: "Higher headspace and tranquility — this is what I feel when I open the new Crisp IM every morning."
Bringing order to chaos
High-volume support inquiries present challenges in terms of ownership and privacy. Over the 10 years of operating a help desk platform, Crisp IM has been the witness of major evolutions.
“We’ve seen a lot of companies struggling with conversation segmentation, even more since omnicanality is not a buzzword anymore,” said Jamin.
Crisp IM’s newly introduced sub-inbox feature addresses these pain points. Inspired by traditional email folders, this innovative tool allows companies to classify support conversations from any text-based channel. With automated assignment rules and enhanced privacy measures, teams can manage inquiries more efficiently, on any channel.
“Say you have a VIP customer that requires assistance on WhatsApp; the conversation lands straight into the right folder. The conversation is then handled by a customer care specialist to be cherished and guided,” Jamin added. "This feature has been a dream of mine for years. Now, companies can improve inquiry ownership and enhance operational efficiency while maintaining the highest level of privacy."
Scaling customer service with data-driven decisions
As a fully bootstrapped company, Crisp IM maintains competitive pricing while delivering powerful enterprise-level features.
“10 years ago, we didn’t even have an analytics dashboard when we released Crisp IM v1 because our customers didn’t need it. As we’re going upmarket, more and more customers are looking for a better way to measure customer service effectiveness. Our customers have simple questions: Who am I speaking with? How many conversations did I have? When are they speaking with me? How happy are customers with my support team?” explained Baptiste.
The latest update introduces custom dashboards, giving companies the ability to make data-driven decisions and measure their customer service return on investment (ROI).
"We’re now enabling companies to better track performance, which is key to making informed decisions and improving service," explained Jamin.
Founded in 2015 by Valerian Saliou and Baptiste Jamin in Nantes, France, Crisp IM is on a mission to redefine customer relationships. Every month, 250m people engage with companies using Crisp IM, with 600k companies worldwide leveraging its tools. Fully bootstrapped, Crisp IM operates with a 20-person team spread across the globe. The platform provides omnichannel inbox capabilities, AI-powered features, contact management solutions, knowledge management, and a marketplace to integrate with leading tools. Find out more here.
