“AI is the new UI,” said Sridhar Vembu, Chief Scientist and Co-founder of Chennai-based technology company Zoho, referring to what he calls “ubiquitous intelligence”.

Clarifying that UI in this context does not mean user interface, Vembu described “ubiquitous Intelligence” as the next phase of AI, where intelligence is present everywhere, across systems, with safeguards built in. He was speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of Zoho’s annual Zoholics user conference in Chennai.

Zoho aims to make this ubiquitous intelligence available to users at an "atttractive, affordable" price point, he added.

One of Zoho's first products under this vision is Zia Chat, an AI interface designed to enable frictionless work.

“It addresses token efficiency without breaking the bank which is a problem around the world,” said Vembu, adding that Zoho will continue to infuse more intelligence into the product.

Zia Chat is designed to offer business users a seamless experience across systems, with the chat interface providing contextual depth tailored to specific industries, according to the company.

“When information and workflows are spread across multiple applications, AI has only a partial view of the business. Zia Chat brings that information and context together, so users can find information, understand context and take action across applications through one conversational experience," said Vembu.

The product also incorporates guardrails around privacy and confidential data, Zoho said.

Zia Chat will initially be available in English, with early access expected to open in a month.

The company also announced its entry into vertical SaaS, with seven industry-specific applications designed around the regulatory, operational, and workflow requirements of specialised industries.

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