Exclusive: Kraken taps Sierra to improve utilities' customer service

Driving the news: Under the deal, Sierra's agent technology will plug into Kraken's system, which already has the needed context around customer accounts, meters, rates and other data.

• Kraken will keep the direct relationship with the utility companies.
• Financial terms were not disclosed.

What they're saying: "Sierra handles the conversation; Kraken provides the intelligence and the ability to act on real customer needs," Kraken's chief AI and corporate development officer Assaf Biderman said in an e-mail interview.

• The result is an agent that can both answer questions and resolve issues, Biderman said.
• For Sierra, it's a chance to show another industry where its agents can help resolve customer issues autonomously.
• "Sierra works with companies in some of the largest and most regulated industries in the world," Sierra co-founder Bret Taylor said in a statement to Axios.
• The partnership will serve more than 70 million customer accounts worldwide, per Taylor.