Attentive unveils AI tools to widen omnichannel push

Attentive has unveiled a new set of agentic AI marketing tools at its annual customer event, extending its push beyond SMS into a broader omnichannel platform.

The roadmap includes AI Campaigns, Predictive Analytics, Reporting Agent and Brand Voice 2.0, presented as part of a wider strategy spanning SMS, email, RCS and push notifications for retail and eCommerce brands.

Attentive is seeking to deepen its role in marketing software as brands look to reduce the number of vendors they use and manage customer communications from a single system. More than half of its customers now use multiple Attentive products, according to the company, suggesting adoption beyond its original SMS offering.

Alongside the launch, Attentive disclosed several growth figures. Brands have driven more than USD $29 billion in revenue through the platform, and the company reported 48% year-on-year growth.

In the first quarter alone, brands generated more than USD $6 billion in revenue through Attentive. The company added that retailers including Lands' End, Carter's and Crate & Barrel have expanded or renewed their relationships as they consolidate tools and seek more AI-led personalisation across channels.

Platform shift

The announcement marks another step in Attentive's transition from a messaging specialist to a broader marketing platform. Over the past 18 months, the company has used AI to support that shift, focusing on identifying shoppers, tailoring messages and managing customer engagement across channels.

AI Campaigns is described as a tool that recommends campaigns and handles end-to-end campaign creation using customer signals. Predictive Analytics is designed to provide forecasting and recommendations, while Reporting Agent focuses on conversational reporting and insight discovery. Brand Voice 2.0 expands the settings that shape how AI-generated messages reflect a brand's tone across channels.

The product set reflects a broader push among marketing technology providers to build systems that not only analyse customer data but also automate more decision-making and campaign execution. Attentive's positioning suggests it wants marketers to rely on its software for planning, orchestration and performance monitoring, not just message delivery.

"Long before AI became a mainstream priority, we made a strategic bet that mobile-first identity and personalization would define the future of marketing," said Amit Jhawar, Chief Executive Officer of Attentive.

"The innovations introduced at Thread 2026 are designed to help marketers meet that future with smarter orchestration, better decision-making, and more relevant customer experiences," he said.

Email growth

Email appears to be a major part of Attentive's expansion. According to the company, 92% of brands that migrated email activity to its platform saw improved deliverability, while email volume more than doubled during the 2025 Black Friday Cyber Monday trading period.

That surge meant email accounted for nearly half of total message volume during the peak shopping season. Attentive also said the period passed with zero downtime, a metric likely to matter to retailers that depend on timed promotions and high-volume communications during holiday trading.

The company also highlighted newer channel additions beyond email, including push messaging and Visibility AI for RCS for Business, which is intended to help brands launch richer campaigns with more targeted rollout tools.

For retailers using Tapcart as their mobile provider, push messaging can be integrated without extra development work. That points to an effort to reduce the work required for brands to add channels within the same system.

Consumer pressure

Attentive linked the launch to pressure on retailers ahead of the next Black Friday Cyber Monday period. It said shoppers are still engaging with brands but are taking longer to buy, increasing the need for more targeted communication and better timing.

The company cited its own research showing that 43% of consumers unsubscribe because of message fatigue, while 89% are actively taking steps to manage costs. Those figures suggest brands face tighter limits on how often they can contact shoppers and greater scrutiny over whether messages are relevant.

That is one reason Attentive is emphasising AI systems that can decide when to contact customers and through which channel. In practice, this puts the company in competition with a wider range of customer engagement and marketing automation providers as the boundaries between messaging, analytics and campaign management continue to blur.

A customer case study also formed part of the announcement. "With Attentive, we have the speed and reliability we need," said Sarina Vanmali, Director of Marketing at YoungLA.

"Messages go out instantly, deliverability is consistent, and we don't have to worry about campaigns stalling during high-traffic moments," she said.