Khoros joins IgniteTech: To transform customer connections in the AI answer engine era

The digital engagement landscape is undergoing a fundamental shift. AI answer engines are rapidly changing how customers discover and interact with brands, often bypassing websites entirely by providing pre-packaged answers. This evolution is creating a widening divide:

• Forward-thinking brands leveraging AI technologies are seeing up to 215% increases in referred traffic

• Unprepared communities face up to 40% drops in visibility and engagement

• Brands without AI-enhanced capabilities risk becoming increasingly marginalized

As Chris Tranquill, CEO of Khoros, notes: "Our customers have built valuable communities and brand care programs now challenged by AI answer engines. By joining the IgniteTech family, they'll gain critical competitive advantages as slower-adoptive competitors see their digital investments lose relevance and value in the AI-first world."

This acquisition brings exciting new capabilities to the Khoros platform you rely on:

For Khoros Communities:

• AI Expert Help – Advanced AI providing immediate, multi-lingual responses, reducing response times from hours to minutes while driving higher engagement

• AI Discovery Defender – Ensures your community content remains discoverable by AI systems, preventing the 49% traffic losses unprepared competitors face

• AI Brand Defender – Monitors what AI systems say about your brand, correcting misinformation while maintaining narrative control

• AI Community Orchestration – AI tools working alongside community managers to generate content, moderate interactions, analyze sentiment and identify engagement opportunities

For Khoros Service (previously Khoros Care):

• Brand Intelligence Suite – Complete solution for digital brand management

• AI Brand Care Expert – Routes high-risk interactions to humans while handling routine inquiries consistently

• AI Social Pulse Monitor – Detects conversation patterns invisible to conventional tools, identifying emerging issues before they impact business

• AI Creator Intelligence System – Identifies ideal creator partnerships based on authentic alignment rather than superficial metrics

IgniteTech's AI approach distinctly enhances both Khoros Communities and Khoros Service with a unified philosophy that keeps humans at the center. Rather than replacing humans with AI or leaving them struggling without assistance, the implementation creates a partnership where human expertise and AI capabilities amplify each other's strengths.

As Eric Vaughan, CEO of IgniteTech, explains: "As an AI-first innovation company, we recognize the fundamental shift in how customers interact with brands. AI answer engines are rapidly widening the gap between market leaders and those failing to understand the changes required to keep up."

Given the urgency of this market shift, we're fast-tracking deployment:

• AI Expert Help functionality will be available by mid Q3 2025

• AI Discovery Defender and AI Brand Defender integration will follow in Q3 and Q4 2025

• The Brand Intelligence Suite for Khoros Service will begin rolling out in parallel

The gap between AI-enabled brands and traditional approaches is widening daily, making early adoption crucial for maintaining a competitive position.

Visit https://ignitetech.ai/khoros to see a preview of upcoming capabilities

We're excited about this new chapter and the competitive advantages it brings to your business. By combining Khoros's industry-leading platform with IgniteTech's AI innovations, we're ensuring you'll be positioned on the winning side of this fundamental market shift.