Zoho’s next leap in AI-driven business automation

Zoho has long been the quiet disruptor in the world of business software. While others focus on premium pricing models and data-hungry AI, Zoho has taken a different approach – powerful technology, built ethically, with a price tag that actually makes sense. And at Zoho Day 2025, they just raised the bar once again with the announcement of Zia AI Agents.

New leadership and a stronger AI vision

This year’s Zoho Day brought significant changes at the top. Sridhar Vembu, the company’s long-time CEO, has stepped down to take on the role of Chief Scientist. His focus is now entirely on research and development, particularly in AI and deep technology, reinforcing Zoho’s commitment to innovation.

Taking over as Group CEO is Shailesh Kumar Davey, an IIT Madras alumnus and Zoho co-founder. Previously the Vice President of Engineering at ManageEngine, Davey has played a key role in developing Zoho’s IT management division. His appointment signals a continued focus on engineering-led growth and privacy-conscious software solutions.

With Vembu driving AI research and Davey taking the reigns, Zoho is making a clear statement about its future: AI is central to its vision, but so is maintaining ethical and accessible technology.

Why AI in the workplace, why now?

To get an expert perspective on why AI is becoming essential for businesses today, we spoke to Paul Whitelock, Head of Sales at A2Z Cloud. With extensive experience helping organisations optimise their workflows, Paul shared his insights on how AI is reshaping the modern workplace.

Businesses that want to stay competitive can no longer afford to ignore AI. Intelligent agents can detect inefficiencies, recommend process improvements, and automate workflows, reducing bottlenecks and freeing up time for more meaningful work. But beyond efficiency, AI is now a crucial tool for businesses balancing increasing operational complexity with rising costs.

“The urgency for AI adoption stems from its capacity to address challenges in modern industry. AI resolves the tension between increasing operational complexity and the demand for agility. Businesses leveraging AI tools agents achieve reductions in administrative workload by automating tasks such as customer query resolution, sales follow-ups, and inventory management. This automation directly translates to cost savings, a critical factor as enterprises report ever growing pressures from rising labour and overhead costs.”

Rather than replacing employees, AI shifts roles from reactive to proactive. Instead of being weighed down by administrative tasks, teams can focus on problem-solving, strategy, and customer engagement. AI enables employees to work smarter by freeing them from repetitive processes and allowing them to reinvest their time into more impactful work.

“The myth of AI as a job destroyer takes away from its more profound role as a work re-definer. AI can save workers time, daily, with the worker then able to reinvest this time into strategic projects and into creative tasks. For example, using Zia, AI Agents will be able to handle routine HR inquiries, allowing teams to focus on talent development and cultural initiatives.

This becomes most visible in knowledge sectors. Legal firms using AI contract review tools report a reduction in drafting time, enabling lawyers to prioritise client counselling and complex litigation strategies. Similarly, engineers leverage AI-powered simulation tools to iterate designs much faster, enabling them to accelerate innovation.”

Beyond efficiency, AI plays a crucial role in reducing cognitive overload, which is one of the biggest challenges in modern work environments. Employees are constantly bombarded with information, and AI can help filter out the noise, enabling them to focus on what truly matters.

“AI can also mitigate overload and fried brains, which is a large productivity drain, by filtering the noise we are bombarded with daily in our working lives.

An example of that would be the four-day work week trials in Germany and the UK which illustrate AI’s societal impact. Companies have claimed that their successful adoption of compressed schedules to AI tools that automate workflows, proving that productivity gains do not always come at the expense of the employee. However, this requires cultural shifts: leaders must transition from task overseers to something more like an orchestra conductors. Creating processes and environments where experimentation with AI tools is encouraged and upskilling is continuous.”

However, technology alone isn’t the answer. AI adoption needs to be intentional, with businesses identifying where it adds the most value and rolling it out strategically rather than attempting a complete transformation overnight.

Strategic AI integration follows a four-pillar framework:

• Problem-Specific Alignment: Zoho’s success with AI stems from targeting discrete pain points—like automating of routine customer service inquiries—before expanding to complex workflows. Businesses should emulate this by conducting process audits to identify automation candidates (e.g., invoice processing, data entry).
• Human-Centric Design: Training programs must emphasise AI as a collaborator, not a replacement—a philosophy reflected in PwC’s AI certification courses, which have upskilled 85,000 employees in prompt engineering and ethical AI use.
• Ethical Scaffolding: Implementing AI governance committees ensures compliance with GDPR and mitigates algorithmic bias risks. Transparency tools like IBM’s AI Explainability 360 are a good addition to help maintain stakeholder trust by demystifying AI decisions.
• Iterative Scaling: Do not try to change the world in one fell swoop. Learn to crawl and then walk before you plan your first run. This will mitigate operational risks and increase user confidence.”

A decade in the making

Zoho has been investing in AI for over a decade. In 2015, it introduced Zia, its AI-powered assistant. By 2018, Ask Zia had launched, providing users with a conversational AI interface that summarises data, analyses trends, and facilitates decision-making directly within Zoho applications.

Now, Zoho is taking automation a step further with the introduction of Zia AI Agents.

What is Zia?

Key capabilities of Zia:

Conversational AI

Responds to natural language queries with insights and recommendations.

Predictive Analytics

Anticipates customer behaviour, sales trends, and operational needs.

Process Automation

Handles repetitive tasks and streamlines workflows to improve efficiency.

Sentiment Analysis

Analyses customer sentiment in emails, chats, and support tickets to refine engagement strategies.

Zia is designed to learn and adapt, becoming a more valuable business tool over time.

What Are Zia AI Agents?

At Zoho Day 2025, one of the standout announcements was Zia AI Agents – task-specific assistants designed to automate business functions across Zoho’s suite of applications.

Unlike general-purpose AI chatbots, Zia AI Agents are tailored for specific roles and functions, making them highly effective for:

Customer Support Automation

Handling routine queries without requiring human intervention.

Sales Follow-Ups

Engaging prospects, qualifying leads, and scheduling follow-ups automatically.

HR Management

Assisting with interview scheduling, employee inquiries, and onboarding processes.

Inventory and Operations

Tracking stock levels, processing orders, and identifying shortages before they become a problem.

These AI-powered assistants take care of routine work, allowing employees to focus on more strategic initiatives and higher-value tasks.

Availability of Zia AI Agents

Zoho has confirmed that these capabilities will begin rolling out to a limited set of customers, with availability expanding in the coming months. Businesses eager to leverage Zia AI Agents should stay informed on Zoho’s updates as wider access becomes available.

Why this matters for businesses using Zoho

Businesses lose valuable time to administrative tasks, from data entry to customer follow-ups. Zia AI Agents offer a way to remove these inefficiencies, improving response times, reducing costs, and enabling employees to work on projects that drive growth.

For Zoho users, this means:

Fewer manual tasks

AI Agents manage repetitive workflows, freeing up employee time.

Faster customer interactions

Instant responses to inquiries and sales follow-ups enhance engagement.

Cost-effective automation

Operational efficiency without expensive enterprise AI costs.

Privacy-focused AI

Zoho continues to build AI solutions without aggressive data mining or hidden fees.

Zia AI Studio & the future of AI in Zoho

Zoho is also making AI more adaptable with the launch of Zia AI Studio and the Zia Agent Marketplace:

• Zia Agent Marketplace offers prebuilt AI solutions for different industries, from AI-powered sales assistants to finance bots that automate reconciliations.
• Zia AI Studio allows businesses to train and customise AI agents to align with their specific workflows.

These tools provide businesses with the flexibility to deploy AI at their own pace, tailoring solutions to fit their needs without requiring expensive custom development.

What’s next for businesses using Zoho?

AI is changing how businesses operate, and companies that adapt early will have a competitive edge. Instead of simply automating old processes, forward-thinking businesses are redesigning workflows to take full advantage of AI’s capabilities.

Key opportunities for Zoho users:

AI across departments

Connecting sales, customer service, and finance through intelligent automation.

Scaling without additional overhead

AI agents make it possible to grow without hiring at the same rate.

Future-proofing business operations

Companies that embrace AI now will be more agile and competitive in the years ahead.

How A2Z Cloud can help

The rapid integration of AI into business processes is transforming industries. Companies that embrace this technology now will position themselves ahead of the curve. If you’re ready to explore how AI, particularly tools like Zia AI Agents, can revolutionise your operations, A2Z Cloud is here to guide you through the journey.

We’re already working with businesses to unlock the full potential of AI within the Zoho ecosystem. Whether it’s streamlining CRM processes, automating customer support, or optimising HR functions, we help organisations turn AI into a strategic advantage.

As Zoho’s leading UK Premium Partner, we have the expertise to guide businesses through AI adoption, ensuring they maximise its benefits while maintaining a human-first approach. If you’re ready to integrate AI into your operations, our team is here to help—get in touch today.