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A day after one venture capitalist suggested Google’s NotebookLM generative AI application could replace CRMs in at least some use cases, one CRM provider, Creatio, is fighting back.
Creatio today announced an update that seeks to offer both the simplicity of that app with the power and capabilities of something more fully featured like rival Salesforce’s Agentforce platform. This 8.2 update, codenamed “Energy,” combines no-code enterprise CRM app development with a unified suite of AI capabilities, designed to help businesses achieve faster results and higher productivity through streamlined, intuitive automation tools.
By integrating agentic, generative, and prescriptive AI into a single solution, Creatio positions itself at the forefront of a new era in business software, emphasizing agility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness.
Burley Kawasaki, Creatio’s Global VP of Product Marketing and Strategy, told VentureBeat in a recent video call interview: “We believe we’re in the early stages of a new era of business automation, driven by no-code and AI. This combination enables unprecedented levels of automation.”
Simplifying CRM complexity with no-code AI
Creatio’s Energy 8.2 introduces a cohesive approach to automation that stands in contrast to traditional enterprise SaaS systems, which are often costly, slow to implement, and complex to manage
The company aims to empower organizations to leverage no-code and AI together to transform workflows without the burden of technical dependencies.
Kawasaki said that the Creatio Energy release “completes our wave of innovation, establishing a solid foundation for a new era of business automation.”
Key features of Creatio 8.2 ‘Energy’
Creatio’s Energy release introduces several key enhancements and tools designed to maximize the capabilities of AI and no-code development across various business functions:
• Unified AI Platform: Energy 8.2’s AI Command Center brings together agentic, generative, and prescriptive AI within a single platform. This feature provides companies with a structured environment to create, deploy, and refine AI skills across departments, eliminating the need for technical expertise while expanding AI access throughout the organization.
According to Kawasaki, “We’ve created a unified architecture that combines generative AI, prescriptive AI, and agent-based approaches, allowing rapid application creation powered by AI without technical barriers.”
• No-Code AI Skill Development: Users can now build and configure new AI Skills directly within the Creatio platform, utilizing natural language inputs to create automation and intelligence without writing code. This feature makes it easy for non-technical team members to design AI capabilities, increasing accessibility and accelerating implementation.
“We’re introducing a new concept called an ‘AI skill,’” Kawasaki said. “It’s like adding a skill to a human—our platform acquires these skills, which can then be applied in various contexts across sales, marketing, and service.”
• Enhanced CRM with Pre-Built AI Skills: With over 20 pre-configured AI Skills embedded into the platform, Energy 8.2 enhances core functions within CRM for sales, marketing, and customer service. This allows organizations to automate tasks, improve customer engagement, and streamline workflows, all without requiring specialized development resources. These skills include functions like meeting scheduling, opportunity summaries, and case resolution recommendations.
“We offer CRM-focused AI skills out-of-the-box, covering sales, marketing, and service,” Kawasaki adds, “These skills are composable, customizable, and ready for immediate use.”
• Simplified Pricing and Accelerated Adoption: Unlike other AI-powered platforms that often involve complex pricing and hidden fees, Creatio includes all AI features within its standard licensing, allowing businesses to deploy AI capabilities without incremental costs. This approach supports faster and more predictable adoption by giving administrators full transparency over usage and token consumption through the platform’s built-in monitoring tools.
Chief Growth Officer Andie Dovgan told VentureBeat in the joint interview alongside Kawaski that: “Unlike other vendors who view AI as a revenue opportunity, we see it as an adoption opportunity, making it accessible and easy for our users to begin using AI from day one.”
Jim Slomka, Chief Revenue Officer at BSN Sports and a Creatio client, emphasizes the tangible benefits, noting, “With Creatio modern technology, we’ve been able to realize value extremely fast, boost front-office productivity, increase average order size, and streamline our commercial processes—all without the need for IT and development resources.”
Generating the future of AI enterprise apps
The release of Creatio Energy 8.2 aligns with industry trends highlighted in a recent Forrester research report, “The Four Agreements of Modern Business Apps,” which underscores the importance of AI and low-code capabilities in future business applications.
The report suggests that businesses need to embrace adaptive, AI-driven platforms to unlock greater value streams and enhance resilience.
Kawasaki underscored this openness, stating, “Our platform remains agnostic, open to the AI models you prefer, starting with OpenAI, and expanding to others like Claude and Gemini. You can bring the models that are best for your needs.”
This vision is evident in Creatio’s new features, which place AI at the core of the platform and leverage recent advances in large language models (LLMs) from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google.
The result is a platform designed not only to meet current automation needs but to scale and evolve in line with emerging AI innovations and preferences.
A new standard in enterprise automation emerges
Creatio’s Energy release is set to redefine expectations for enterprise software, offering an approach that goes beyond basic automation tools to support a comprehensive, co-creative experience. By integrating AI directly into the app development cycle, Creatio enables businesses to accelerate innovation, improve customer experiences, and achieve rapid time-to-value.
As Dovgan told VentureBeat: “The time-to-value and ease of AI adoption with Creatio is on a completely different level than competitors—our users can experience AI benefits right from deployment.”
With Creatio’s commitment to no-code development and a unified AI architecture, businesses gain a tool that acts as both a productivity enhancer and a strategic partner.
As organizations seek to remain competitive in an increasingly digital market, Creatio Energy provides a flexible and powerful solution for navigating the evolving landscape of business automation.
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