Saskatoon (Canada), Dec. 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vendasta today announced the launch of Custom AI Employees, a groundbreaking capability that brings enterprise-grade automation to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). These AI agents are built on Vendasta’s unified platform and trained on the unique workflows, rules, and customer data of each business. Starting today, SMBs—or the partners who help run their business, such as agencies, franchisors, resellers, and MSPs—can create and deploy Custom AI Employees.
At a time when small businesses face shrinking teams and rising customer expectations, Vendasta is making an AI workforce not only possible, but practical. According to Goldman Sachs, generative AI could boost global GDP by roughly seven percent over the next decade. Yet OpenAI’s State of Enterprise AI report shows that the biggest gains come from deep integration and reusable workflows—conditions that have historically favored larger organizations. Vendasta is changing that by delivering workflow-ready AI designed specifically for SMBs.
According to research from Goldman Sachs, advances in generative AI could raise global GDP by roughly seven percent over the next decade, signaling a multi-trillion-dollar shift in how work gets done. While enterprises are already realizing productivity gains by embedding AI directly into everyday workflows, OpenAI’s State of Enterprise AI 2025 report shows that this level of impact has largely remained out of reach for smaller teams. Vendasta is closing that gap by delivering practical, workflow-ready AI designed specifically for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).
"The arrival of practical AI for small businesses is a once-in-a-generation opportunity, and Vendasta is uniquely positioned to win it," said Brendan King, CEO of Vendasta. "Our strength lies in providing a true AI Workforce Platform built on three unfair advantages: proprietary SMB data that lets our AI employees work 'out of the box', a unified platform where AI can instantly execute tasks across all front-office workflows, and a vast partner channel that can deliver this essential automation to every local business at scale. Our AI employees arrive pre-trained to capture leads, provide support, and market to existing customers, ensuring that no lead or customer is left behind."
How Custom AI Employees Fit into Real Business Workflows
Designed for growing local businesses of all kinds, Custom AI Employees can be brought into operations without custom development or complex AI configuration. Businesses define the role, train the AI Employee using the knowledge and processes they already use today, and put it to work where needed.
Vendasta’s platform gives SMBs a significant advantage by placing Custom AI Employees directly into the areas where work actually happens. A single AI employee can support website visitors, guide internal teams, and drive automated actions, all while referencing the same shared knowledge, data, and customer information. As they scale, additional AI Employees can be created in minutes, allowing businesses to expand their operations without rebuilding workflows or rewriting prompts.
"SMBs are rich with vision, hustle, and heart," King added. "But they’ve been crippled by a chronic staff shortage. Our Custom AI Employees fix that forever, serving as the workforce they need, delivered right inside the trusted platform they already use to manage everything. This is the dawn of the AI-powered local economy."
Early Partners See Real-World Impact With Custom AI Employees
Early results from partners show how transformational Custom AI Employees can be for local businesses.
At Blue River Digital, a Custom AI Employee named Banks has become a core part of the team’s sales process. As VP of Growth and Development, Nick Prentice explained:
“Our Custom AI Employee, Banks, has changed how we sell. What used to take hours now takes minutes. I can finish six proposals at the end of my day and know they’re accurate and consistent every time.”
By turning hours of manual proposal work into minutes, Banks helps the team move faster, stay consistent, and scale without adding headcount.
At The Xcite Group, their Custom AI Employee Klaygent was trained on years of internal advertising data, pricing models, and campaign strategies. According to co-founder Michael Klabon:
“Our Custom AI Employee, Klaygent, turned years of internal knowledge into something the whole team can use. Klaygent helps us respond quickly with smarter recommendations, and that has made a noticeable difference in our sales process.”
Klaygent gives every team member access to expert-level insight instantly, helping the company respond faster, close deals more effectively, and deliver a more consistent customer experience.
These stories highlight how Custom AI Employees help small businesses standardize key workflows, improve customer touchpoints, and unlock new levels of productivity without expanding their workforce.
What’s Next for Vendasta
In the coming months, Vendasta plans to expand the AI workforce with additional out-of-the-box AI Employees for common roles—such as managing business reputation, supporting sales operations, and delivering deeper analytical insights—while continuing to give businesses the flexibility to build fully custom AI Employees for their unique needs. These efforts will be supported by expanded integrations with third-party apps and deeper orchestration capabilities, enabling AI Employees to connect across systems and automate entire workflows end to end.
Businesses and partners can start creating their first Custom AI Employee today at https://www.vendasta.com/ai-workforce/. For media interviews, product demonstrations, or additional information, contact media@vendasta.com.
About Vendasta
Vendasta provides AI employees that help businesses attract, engage, and retain customers. Its unified platform streamlines marketing, sales, and operations, replacing fragmented tools with a single system built for efficiency and growth. Trusted by millions of SMBs and supported by a global partner network, Vendasta delivers the technology businesses need to scale with confidence.
Headquartered in Saskatoon, Canada, with offices in Boca Raton and Chennai, Vendasta employs over 600 team members and serves a global network of agencies, franchises, media companies, and service providers.
Learn more at www.vendasta.com
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Nykea Behiel Vendasta (306) 955-5512 nbehiel@vendasat.com
