SOCi, Inc. vs Treasure AI

SOCi September '26 Release Notes

SOCi has published its September 2026 release notes, detailing the latest product updates and enhancements. The blog also lists recent release notes for Summer, August, July, and June 2026, along with a G2 ranking announcement.

Growing Restaurant Chains Outperform in Local Search and AI Visibility

SOCi's analysis of the Local Visibility Index (LVI) reveals that expanding restaurant chains significantly outperform contracting ones in digital local visibility. Growing brands averaged an LVI score of 61.4 versus 46.6 for shrinking chains, with the largest gap in AI recommendations: expanding chains are cited by ChatGPT in about 20% of queries versus roughly 3% for contracting ones. They also lead in Google 3-Pack appearances (35.3% vs. 14.4%), Yelp top rankings, review response rates, and local social engagement (3.45% vs. 0.13%). The study suggests these digital fundamentals correlate with real estate expansion decisions and serve as early signals for marketers. The article highlights the importance of data accuracy, systematic review responses, localized content, and tracking AI visibility as key levers for multi-location brands.

• Growing restaurant chains average an LVI score of 61.4, while shrinking chains average 46.6.
• Expanding chains are recommended by ChatGPT in about 20% of tested queries, compared to 3% for contracting chains.
• Expanding chains appear in Google's 3-Pack for 35.3% of tracked searches, versus 14.4% for contracting chains.

SOCi Summer '26 Release Notes

SOCi has published its Summer '26 Release Notes, detailing the latest product updates and enhancements.

Building Marketing Teams with AI Coworkers in 2027

This article discusses the rise of 'virtual teammates' or AI agents in marketing teams, highlighting recent product launches from Optimizely, Treasure AI, HubSpot, and Asana. It emphasizes the need for careful planning around roles, permissions, and governance when integrating these agents. The piece also covers EY's $100 million rewards program for human skills alongside AI, Gartner's predictions on agentic AI project cancellations, and advises on task delegation, management strategies, and the importance of measurement. The author provides a framework for deciding what to delegate to AI, emphasizing that humans must retain strategic accountability. The article concludes with guidance for 2027 planning, suggesting a hybrid approach where humans manage AI agents.

• Optimizely launched Virtual Teammates at Opticon 2026, offering role-specific AI agents like chief of staff, SEO analyst, and marketing analyst.
• Treasure AI released a Marketing Super Agent that orchestrates other agents within a governed workspace.
• HubSpot shipped over 20 Breeze agents, referring to them as digital teammates.

The Next CDP Era Is Agentic

Treasure AI named a Strong Performer in the 2026 B2C CDP Wave by Forrester, highlighting the company's leadership in the agentic CDP era.

Treasure AI Adds Agentic CDP Features; CPO Uses ML for Epilepsy

Rafa Flores, who first joined Treasure Data in 2016 and returned in 2025 as chief product and growth officer, discussed the company’s rebrand to Treasure AI and its shift toward an “intelligent” customer data platform. Treasure AI has introduced an omnichannel orchestration product, Engagement AI Suite, and a parent orchestrator called Treasure AI studio that embeds an "AI agent foundry" to build and run campaigns in plain English. Flores led efforts to design secure AI workflows and multi-channel delivery. Separately, Flores developed a personal machine-learning model (not an LLM) to predict his seizure risk by analyzing his notes and signals, producing risk indicators and phone alerts to help him manage epilepsy.

• Rafa Flores joined Treasure Data in 2016 as the company’s second-ever product hire.
• Treasure Data rebranded earlier in 2026 to Treasure AI.
• Flores rejoined Treasure in 2025 as chief product and growth officer.