How ClearFeed is leveraging AI to solve challenges businesses face with tools like Slack

In today's digital workplace, enterprises globally rely heavily on collaboration tools like Slack for internal and customer communications. However, a significant challenge emerges as these platforms become inundated with messages, leading to critical information being overlooked and important tasks getting lost in the shuffle. 

The sheer volume of communications can overwhelm teams, making it difficult to prioritise and follow up on essential tasks. This problem is exacerbated by the diverse array of chat tools used across personal and professional spheres, from WhatsApp to professional platforms like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Google Chat.

The result is a cluttered and inefficient communication environment where prioritising and managing tasks becomes a Herculean effort, impacting productivity and the ability to respond to customer and internal requests promptly.

This is where ClearFeed steps in. The San Francisco-based startup has developed an innovative solution to address the challenges businesses face with collaboration tools like Slack. 

It uses artificial intelligence (AI) to transform cluttered service desks on Slack into organised, single queues of requests, streamlining operations and improving efficiency.

Who are the founders?

ClearFeed was founded in September 2021 by Ankit Jain, Joydeep Sen Sarma, and Lalit Indoria. 

Ankit Jain, a graduate of IIT Kanpur and the Indian School of Business, embarked on his entrepreneurial journey with Sprint AI, an AI startup that was part of YCW20 and the Target Accelerator. However, the startup later shut down operations due to the impact of COVID-19 on its target segment. Apart from this, he has worked at Amazon as a Product Manager, served as VP of Business Development and Client Relations for North India, and was Vice President at Vernacular.AI. 

In 2022, he left Vernacular.AI and joined ClearFeed.

Lalit Indoria, the co-founder and CEO of ClearFeed, graduated with a B.E. in electronics and communication. After his graduation, he joined Freshersworld.com as a Software Engineer. Later, he worked at HolidayIQ.com, Qubole, and Udaan.com. 

In September 2021, he left his position as a software engineer at Udaan and co-founded ClearFeed in October 2021.

Joydeep Sen Sarma is an IIT Delhi graduate and the current CEO of ClearFeed. ClearFeed isn't Joydeep's first venture. Prior to this, he co-founded Qubole in August 2011. In addition, he has worked at Oracle Corp, Data Domain, Network Appliance, Yahoo, Facebook, and Bidgely. He is also currently an advisor for NextBillion.ai.

What does ClearFeed do?

ClearFeed's platform is designed to enhance collaboration using chat tools, which have become the primary mode of communication for both personal and professional interactions. 

By converting chat conversations into support tickets, ClearFeed allows service teams to promptly address customer and employee requests while adhering to service level agreements (SLAs). This approach helps manage the overload of information and ensures that important matters are prioritised and addressed timely.

Offerings and features

ClearFeed offers several key features that make it unique, including triage channels, service metrics, automated responses, and integrations with other tools like Zendesk, FreshDesk, Salesforce, Jira, GitHub, and HubSpot. 

These features enable businesses to deliver accountable customer and employee support directly within Slack, helping managers to understand the overall load, service metrics, and plan capacity effectively. 

Additionally, ClearFeed has integrated OpenAI's GPT-4 to index product documentation, knowledge bases, and wikis, automatically generating responses to user queries and significantly reducing the time agents spend on resolving issues.

What sets it apart?

What sets ClearFeed apart is its AI-powered helpdesk, which can automatically resolve queries through its OpenAI's GPT-powered answering system. Interestingly, over 30% of customer queries were automatically resolved during initial trials through ClearFeed's GPT-Powered Answering system.

This capability not only enhances the efficiency of customer support teams but also provides a seamless experience for users by leveraging the company's own documentation and knowledge bases to answer frequently asked questions.

A practical example of ClearFeed's application can be seen in how modern SaaS companies use the platform to manage customer support. Instead of relying on traditional support ticket forums, these companies create Slack channels for direct communication with customers. ClearFeed's system then organises these interactions into manageable tickets, ensuring that customer queries are addressed promptly and efficiently. 

The direct line of communication, enhanced by ClearFeed's AI capabilities, allows for quicker resolutions and a more personalised support experience.

ClearFeed growth & competition 

ClearFeed claims to have witnessed 10X growth in revenue since early 2023, which demonstrates the platform's effectiveness and the high demand for such solutions in the market.

The startup has rapidly expanded its customer base, now serving over 10,000 users worldwide. Notably, Its platform has been adopted by more than 100 global organisations, including notable industry leaders such as Atlan Data, Last9, Sprinto, YotaScale, CoreWeave, and Plum Insurance. 

The company competes with Halp and Unito, which offer similar services to improve communication and workflow within digital workspaces. Despite the competition, ClearFeed's unique AI-powered features and integration capabilities have set it apart, allowing it to carve out a significant niche in the market.

Funding & Future Plans

ClearFeed has raised $2.7 million in its seed funding round, led by Peak XV Partners' Surge, with participation from 8VC and other angel investors. 

Looking ahead, The startup aims to expand, develop products, and broaden its customer acquisition efforts through digital marketing and remote sales strategies. 

Additionally, ClearFeed plans to extend its platform offerings to include Microsoft Teams and integrate with additional enterprise tools like Salesforce to further enhance its value proposition to businesses seeking efficient collaboration solutions. 

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