Zuora, a provider of subscription billing and revenue management software that serves more than 1,000 customers globally, has launched a new AI capability that allows users to approve and execute operational tasks directly within its platform.

The release, called “Supervised Mode”, enables users to perform subscription changes, write-offs and revenue management actions – marking a significant step beyond using AI simply as an assistant or analytics tool.

While this may seem like a relatively minor product upgrade, it has deeper implications for the subscription economy. For years, subscription technology providers have focused on automating recurring payments and helping businesses reduce churn. But as AI touches every aspect of the business economy, from marketing to finance, at the same time as customers demand more convenience and flexibility, subscription businesses need a tech stack that supports much more complex business models in which customers may be charged through a mix of subscriptions, memberships, usage-based pricing and service bundles.

Zuora’s new AI capability indicates that platform providers see a future in which they are no longer simply helping businesses collect recurring revenue but acting as the infrastructure layer that manages increasingly dynamic forms of monetisation. Zuora says its AI can now carry out real quote-to-cash and revenue operations, with human oversight, signalling a move towards greater automation within subscription businesses.  

The change is being driven in part by the growth of AI-powered products and services that don’t necessarily fit neatly into a fixed monthly subscription model. As flexible monetisation becomes a competitive necessity, industry players including Chargebee are starting to focus on helping businesses manage different pricing models, including usage-based, credit-based and hybrid pricing.

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