Zendesk acquires Forethought, eyes self-improving AI agents

Zendesk said it will acquire Forethought, a company that specializes in AI agents for customer experience automation.

The move will enable Zendesk to expand its AI agent offerings within its Resolution Platform. Zendesk's bet that customer service will be largely carried out by autonomous AI agents working across multiple channels.

Zendesk CEO Tom Eggemeier said Forethought's agentic AI tools "align with our vision for agentic service" and will give customers the tools to resolve issues and bolster loyalty.

Sami Ghoche, CEO of Forethought, said the Zendesk deal will accelerate its development and scale. "Forethought was founded on the belief that AI will transform customer experience for every business. Joining Zendesk is the fastest way to accelerate that mission," said Ghoche.

In a blog post, Ghoche said:

“With Zendesk’s global reach, platform depth, and long-standing position in service, we can bring what we’ve built to many more organizations. We can move faster on the roadmap, tackle bigger problems, and keep building toward a future where CX is more autonomous, adaptive, and capable than most teams have access to today.”

According to Zendesk, its AI agents resolve more than 80% of interactions across its customer base. The plan is to combine the Resolution Platform and its Resolution Learning Loop with Forethought to tackle more complex workflows. With Forethought, Zendesk plans to create self-learning AI agents that can execute complex workflows and continuously improve.

Here's a look at a Forethought dashboard.

Forethought AI agents by Zendesk will lead to the following:

• Specialized AI agents built for multiple use cases. These AI agents will integrate Zendesk AI Agents, Unleash, a Zendesk unit, and Forethought. Zendesk acquired Unleash in December 2025.
• Self-improving AI powered by Zendesk's Resolution Learning Loop, which will identify workflow gaps, generate procedures and test optimizations.
• AI agents that will autonomously design and execute multi-step processes.
• Autonomous AI added to voice channels.
• AI agents that can utilize into other enterprise systems with computer use as well as APIs.

Zendesk said Forethought customers will continue to be supported with new product innovation and new customers can buy Forethought on a standalone basis. Zendesk customers will get access to Forethought technology.

The transaction is expected to close at the end of March.