Aircall vs HubSpot

2023. HubSpot unveils strategy to integrate AI across the platform



HubSpot, the marketing and CRM platform, has unveiled its comprehensive AI strategy known as HubSpot AI. While the incorporation of AI elements has been an ongoing effort for HubSpot and other enterprise SaaS vendors, the advent of technologies like ChatGPT has prompted HubSpot to adopt a more extensive approach while retaining earlier features. The CRM database stores valuable company data, enabling users to gain insights into customer profiles, encompassing basic information, purchase history, customer service interactions, and more. HubSpot AI encompasses a four-pronged strategy, starting with content assistants that assist users in generating various content types across the platform. Additionally, AI agents, currently in different development stages, aim to automate customer service tasks and answer queries. The third component, AI Insights, provides predictive analytics, such as identifying customers likely to churn or make a purchase, a capability integrated into the platform over time.


2021. Aircall raises $120M for its cloud-based phone system



Aircall has secured a $120 million Series D funding round. The company is focused on developing a cloud-based phone system designed for call centers, support lines, and sales teams. It offers seamless integration with popular CRM, support, and communication systems such as Salesforce, HubSpot, Zendesk, Slack, Intercom, and more. Aircall enables its customers to create local numbers and establish interactive voice response directories. The service efficiently manages call queues, allowing agents to promptly respond to incoming calls. Agents can also transfer calls and put customers on hold, while administrators have access to analytics, call monitoring, and performance tracking for effective management of the team.


2020. HubSpot’s new end-to-end sales hub aims to simplify CRM for mid-market customers



HubSpot, renowned for its role in shaping the concept of inbound marketing, has unveiled the HubSpot Sales Hub Enterprise. While the company has been providing a CRM tool for five years, which has successfully addressed the usability concerns of salespeople, the new offering aims to deliver a comprehensive approach that caters to the needs of not only sales professionals but also management and system administrators. HubSpot recognizes that larger players in the industry, such as Adobe, Salesforce, and SAP, typically acquire various components of the technology stack and integrate them into their solutions, or customers themselves piece together different elements. In contrast, HubSpot believes that developing a unified, integrated solution in-house will naturally result in a more user-friendly experience.


2020. Aircall raises $65 million for its cloud-based phone system



Aircall, a software-as-a-service company focused on phone calls, has successfully raised $65 million in a Series C funding round. Aircall aims to distinguish itself from conventional call center solutions by offering seamless integrations with third-party services. As an example, users can view their call details within their CRM system to determine if a team member has already addressed a lead. Additionally, urgent support requests can be promptly handled by initiating phone calls directly from Zendesk.


2020. HubSpot unveils new content management system for marketers



HubSpot, a renowned inbound marketing firm, has introduced a dedicated content management system (CMS) specifically designed to simplify the process of adding and updating content for marketing professionals. While content management has always been a fundamental aspect of HubSpot's offerings, this new CMS has been developed from scratch with marketers in mind. It provides developers with the flexibility to use their preferred programming languages while leveraging the modular structure of the HubSpot CMS. Simultaneously, the user-friendly interface empowers marketers to make frequent changes necessary for modern websites.


2018. HubSpot added customer service tools to its marketing platform



HubSpot is venturing beyond sales and marketing by officially introducing its Service Hub, a comprehensive solution for managing customer service. This expansion includes an all-in-one inbox for organizing all customer communications, a bot-builder to automate certain customer interactions, features for developing a company knowledge base (which can be utilized by the bot-builder), survey creation tools, and a dashboard for monitoring the performance of your service team. Service Hub is seamlessly integrated with HubSpot's existing products, enabling businesses to track customer interactions across sales, marketing, and support.


2017. HubSpot unveiled Conversations



CRM, marketing, sales, and customer experience provider HubSpot has introduced a range of product updates, including notable integrations with Facebook for advertising purposes, Shopify for ecommerce functionalities, and the introduction of a new tool called "Conversations." The Conversations tool, facilitated by chatbots, consolidates customer messages into a single inbox, representing the evolution of HubSpot's live chat platform. This unified messaging system becomes crucial during significant transitions, such as the handoff from sales to support. Key features of Conversations include seamless integration with HubSpot CRM and the ability to create chatbots, leveraging the technology obtained from HubSpot's recent acquisition of the chatbot platform, Motion AI. These updates aim to enhance customer interactions and streamline communication processes within the HubSpot platform.


2017. Marketing platform HubSpot acquires AI startup Kemvi



Inbound marketing and sales platform HubSpot has made an acquisition of Kemvi, a startup that utilizes artificial intelligence and machine learning to assist sales teams. A short while ago, Kemvi introduced DeepGraph, a product that examines public data to enable salespeople in identifying the optimal time (such as after a job transition or the release of an article) to connect with potential customers. Additionally, it takes proactive measures to verify leads. HubSpot was actively seeking innovative ways to incorporate AI technology into its platform as a means to combat competitors. The acquisition of Kemvi was especially attractive to HubSpot due to its ability to address a genuine requirement among salespeople.


2016. Aircall launched mobile apps for its cloud phone system



Aircall, the service that enables you to generate virtual numbers in numerous countries worldwide and share them with your team, has recently launched its mobile apps for iOS and Android, moving out of the beta phase. With these new mobile apps, Aircall customers can conveniently receive or make VoIP calls directly on their phones, without being confined to their desks. Unlike other customer support software, Aircall does not require any specialized hardware and operates on a software-as-a-service model. Aircall facilitates contact and schedule sharing, call assignment to specific team members, and provides detailed tracking of activities. This feature proves invaluable in keeping track of client interactions and whether your colleagues have already dealt with a particular client.


2015. HubSpot launches own CRM system



HubSpot, a renowned company recognized for its marketing tools, has officially launched its CRM product, moving it out of the beta phase. The CRM tool is available for free, while HubSpot's sales "acceleration" tool, Sidekick, is priced at $50 per seat per month. HubSpot describes the CRM tool as designed to assist sales representatives in minimizing the tedious aspects of data entry and interaction management. The tool automatically captures data from the sales process and organizes it in a chronological format. This strategy of providing free software to companies and subsequently upselling their IT departments has proven successful for software companies like Dropbox and Box. Although there are still costs associated with the sales process, having products integrated into more businesses helps reduce certain barriers.