Salesforce signs agreement to acquire Cresta

Salesforce announced a signed definitive agreement to acquire Cresta, a nine-year-old provider of AI-powered contact-center automation software.[1][2] Salesforce characterizes Cresta as a voice-first operating system for customer experience.[1] Its announcement frames the intended combination as a way to bring real-time conversation intelligence and agentic experiences into Salesforce’s customer-service platform.[1] The announcement is an agreement to acquire, not confirmation that the transaction has closed. Salesforce says closing remains subject to customary conditions, including required regulatory approvals.[1]

Salesforce did not disclose a purchase price.[2] The Information reported that a person familiar with the deal said Salesforce agreed to pay $2.7 billion for Cresta.[2] Salesforce expects the transaction to close in the first quarter of its fiscal year 2028, and says closing depends on customary conditions, including required regulatory approvals.[1] The timing is a company expectation rather than a completed-close date. For teams assessing the announcement, the reported price and expected timing should be treated distinctly: the price comes from a source familiar with the deal, while the timing comes from Salesforce.[2][1]

Salesforce says Cresta’s voice agents can resolve complex customer calls from beginning to end, conduct natural real-time conversations, and handle interruptions.[1] Salesforce also says the platform guides human representatives in real time, analyzes every interaction, and coaches representatives while testing and improving voice agents.[1] The company says the platform holds human representatives and voice agents to the same quality standard and that its voice agents operate at enterprise scale.[1] Salesforce named Marriott, Comcast, and Alaska Airlines as brands using Cresta’s platform.[1] These are capabilities and customer examples cited by Salesforce.

Salesforce says businesses using Service Cloud will be able to connect every conversation to the customer and its outcome, with the announcement naming resolution, retention, and revenue.[1] The company also says Cresta will continue supporting the contact-center and telephony platforms its customers currently rely on after the transaction closes.[1] That post-close support statement is relevant to organizations considering how a potential acquisition could fit alongside existing systems. Salesforce describes voice as a service channel where service is hardest to get right and matters most to customers.[1]