New platform capabilities extend AI-powered commerce across the full customer journey — from pre-purchase discovery to post-sale retention

ATLANTA, May 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Gladly, the customer experience AI platform trusted by leading retail and consumer brands, today announced new agentic commerce capabilities at Gladly Connect Live, its annual customer conference. The announcements extend the Gladly platform into the full customer journey — before the purchase, through discovery and decision, and after the sale.

AI traffic to U.S. retail sites rose 393% in the first three months of 2026 as consumers increasingly use ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini to research and make purchase decisions. At the same time, Forrester data shows global CX scores have declined every year since 2021. Gladly’s announcements address both sides of that gap.

“A sales AI that only sees the pre-purchase moment knows the session. That’s it,” said Charlie Besecker, CEO of Gladly. “Real usefulness requires knowing the customer — not just the moment. At the end of any conversation, consumers don’t remember whether they were talking to a sales AI or a support AI. They remember whether the brand knew them.”

Gladly announced capabilities across three areas:

Agentic Commerce: AI woven through the full customer journey — from proactive pre-purchase engagement to post-sale retention — anchored to the person, not the session. Includes capabilities for brand-owned surfaces and AI platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini.

AI Performance Loop: Enhancements to help brands continuously improve their AI — including autobuilding AI agents from internal documentation, at-scale testing, automated monitoring, and an Insights Agent for plain-language conversation analytics.

Human and AI Collaboration: A new model where AI runs the conversation and brings team members in at specific moments — an approval, an exception, a judgment call — then carries the conversation forward.

For more information, visit gladly.ai.

About Gladly

For business leaders who want to get AI right, Gladly is the only customer experience AI that delivers the cost savings you need AND the customer devotion that drives lasting business value. Trusted by the world’s most customer-centric brands — including Crate & Barrel, Breeze Airways, and Ulta Beauty — Gladly is purpose-built to engage customers, not deflect them. Learn more at gladly.ai.

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SOURCE Gladly