Twilio Introduces Artificial Intelligence to Expand Customer Data Services

In response to customer demand for utilizing emerging technology to grow their businesses, Twilio Inc. is introducing new AI-powered functionalities to its range of data management services.

The new tools will allow customers to create marketing strategy proposals and use internal data to build automated contact services, the company announced Wednesday ahead of its annual user conference.

These new features will be integrated into Twilio’s customer data platform, which organizes consumer data for marketing purposes, for example. A recent report by industry analyst IDC showed that San Francisco-based Twilo has the largest market share in customer data platforms compared to second-placed Adobe Inc. and Publicis Groupe SA’s Epsilon. However, the market remains volatile – Twilio’s leading position was only 10% of the market.

Twilio’s platform also adds new tools to help customers organize their data for various AI purposes, the company said. “Most companies don’t actually have their data ready in a form that can be used” by large language models, CEO Jeff Lawson said in an interview. Large language models are artificial intelligence tools that can generate text and images based on user prompts.

Twilio’s growth plan depends on the success of its CDP business. The company’s best-known service, which facilitates communication between companies and consumers, is facing tougher competition. Like many software peers, Twilio has been focused on growing revenue as revenue growth has slowed and the company has cut staff by more than 28% since September with two rounds of layoffs.

Twilio said it will use major language models from companies including OpenAI and Google for new features. Pricing hasn’t been determined, Lawson said, adding that the company’s main CDP platform, called Segment, currently charges based on how many people each customer follows.

Almost every major software company has announced new AI features that aim to capitalize on the demand for OpenAI’s chatbot ChatGPT. Twilio’s bet is that companies need help preparing and using data to take advantage of emerging technology.