Articles by Jack M. Germain

Security teams have long prioritized high-severity vulnerabilities while often postponing fixes for lower-severity issues. That approach may soon become more dangerous Today's vulnerability management practices were built for a pre-AI world. According to TuxCare CEO Igor Seletskiy, AI models are beginning to identify chains involving multiple low- ...

Google made one of its biggest moves yet in agentic commerce in May when it introduced Universal Cart, a persistent shopping cart that spans Search, Gemini, YouTube, and Gmail. The deep integration allows shoppers to discover, compare, and buy across merchants through Google’s ecosystem For consumers, the pitch is convenience. For retailers and b...

Following its rebranding from SugarCRM in early April, SugarAI is continuing its transformation from a traditional CRM vendor to a provider of AI-driven revenue intelligence SugarCRM helped popularize open-source CRM as a flexible alternative to traditional enterprise platforms before eventually discontinuing its open-source community edition. Toda...

The customer data platform (CDP) industry is entering a new phase as standalone CDPs give way to broader enterprise marketing suites New platform enhancements from SAS, an analytics and AI software firm, reflect the growing integration of customer data management with enterprise marketing platforms....

Misconceptions about artificial intelligence (AI) are preventing small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) from realizing AI's full revenue potential. Business owners are rushing to adopt AI, but they are treating it primarily as a time-saving tool AI adoption among SMBs continues to grow. This year, 66% of small businesses experienced revenue incre...

The Linux Foundation (LF) has announced two open-source initiatives designed to strengthen trust in enterprise AI. One extends the Domain Name System (DNS) to provide verified identities for AI agents, while the other provides an open framework for assessing AI systems against emerging global standards The first initiative, Agent Name Service (ANS)...

Across retail, payments, and big tech, AI-enabled checkout, automated product comparison, and autonomous purchasing tools are becoming critical for e-commerce. The industry has moved beyond talking about AI to managing the transition to agentic commerce The audit and assurance, consulting, and tax services firm PwC sees agentic commerce influencing...

Online safety is no longer just about avoiding bad links and using strong passwords. As generative artificial intelligence (AI) becomes part of everyday life, people must also learn to recognize persuasive AI-generated content, deepfakes, and other increasingly convincing forms of digital deception Traditional digital safety focused on multi-factor...

Retail marketers are rethinking what constitutes the digital shelf. Rather than beginning on retailer product pages or search results, the customer journey often starts earlier through social media, streaming platforms, digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising, and other discovery channels Elizabeth Brooks, SVP of client experience at Brkthru, said r...

The customer experience (CX) outsourcing industry was built on a simple equation: more agents, more tickets handled, and lower operating costs. But that equation is collapsing. The new currency is efficiency: fewer agents, smarter automation, and seamless integration. Yet here’s the rub: while AI promises to improve CX operations, many organizations are struggling to implement it effectively...

Live shopping platform Whatnot integrates directly with Shopify to help sellers expand into new channels and manage inventory and operations more efficiently Live commerce is becoming one of the fastest-growing channels in e-commerce. Last year, Whatnot surpassed $8 billion in live sales. The platform is adding more than half a million new users ev...

Many organizations delay commercial AI initiatives because their CRM data is incomplete, inconsistent, or poorly maintained. According to consultants at Blue Ridge Partners, waiting for perfect data often means waiting indefinitely The firm's research suggests that commercial teams can often generate value from AI without first fixing every data qu...

A startup called Uare.ai is betting that the next phase of artificial intelligence will center on individuals owning AI models trained on their own expertise, rather than relying solely on AI services controlled by major technology companies Rob LoCascio, founder of Uare.ai and former CEO of LivePerson, launched the company in 2023 to help users bu...

AI agents are moving beyond assisting with purchases to making them, raising new questions about trust, marketing, procurement, and customer experience in both B2C and B2B commerce As AI takes a more active role in purchasing decisions, company leaders must answer important questions about how they should rethink generative engine optimization (GEO...

Ghosting, mixed signals, and cold responses are not only deal-breakers in social settings. They also negatively impact the customer experience (CX) A recent e-commerce shopping report from business process outsourcing (BPO) company SupportNinja found that many brands unknowingly display CX red flags that push customers away long before they complai...

Earlier this year, eBay updated its user agreement to explicitly ban third-party "buy for me" agents and AI chatbots from interacting with its platform without permission. The move highlights a broader question facing online marketplaces as AI shopping agents become more capable: Who controls the transaction when software acts on the buyer's behalf?...

Pipeliner CRM relaunched in April as Coevera, reflecting the company's effort to reposition itself beyond traditional customer relationship management software The company says its redesigned platform combines CRM functions with training, professional development, and AI-assisted sales support. The goal is to place greater emphasis on salesperson d...

As resale marketplaces grow, a platform's ability to process and verify visuals at the point of upload is becoming increasingly important for maintaining buyer trust and listing quality According to the AI-driven visual e-commerce platform Photoroom, the U.S. second-hand market is approaching $73 billion this year. Two-thirds of consumers bought or...

Could visual avatars flip the traditional customer experience (CX) script by providing a more human-like exchange? Research from AI-powered CX firm Cyara shows a psychological shift in consumer attitudes toward AI, making customers more comfortable interacting with AI than with chatbots. According to the report, more than one-third (36%) of consume...

Early findings from Project Glasswing suggest AI could significantly change how tech companies and cybersecurity teams respond to vulnerabilities in open-source software. The initiative aims to counter AI-powered cyber threats by giving open-source maintainers access to advanced defensive tools AI research and safety company Anthropic introduced th...