Zendesk experiment with pricing: Round 2

A couple of months back, we reported on Zendesk's experiment with outcome-based pricing. In short, you only pay Zendesk when an AI agent resolves a customer enquiry.

This was a sort of first in the CX industry. Laudable. Applauses all around.

Now, they're going a step further...

...into dynamic pricing.

"Following the successful launch of Outcome-Based Pricing, in which businesses pay only for the real results delivered by AI agents, the AI Dynamic Pricing Plan follows the same premise of ensuring companies see a return on investment on their AI investments," says their press release.

The Dynamic Pricing Plan is, once again, a first-of-its-kind (noticing a pattern here). Here's the gist, minus the corporate jargon:

• Zendesk customers can set up AI or human agents to answer queries.

• Humans and AI agents have different prices (see outcome-based pricing above).

• Zendesk customers can decide to invest more or less mullah in each of the 'solutions' (AI or human) based on their budget.

According to Tom Eggemeier, CEO of Zendesk, this is the right pricing move to match the current and near-future AI trends. "Zendesk’s pricing model aligns with the market trend of companies seeking a way to explore AI and automation with the added flexibility."