ASAPP vs Five9

Avaya, ASAPP Name New CEOs on Consecutive Days

Avaya and ASAPP, two contact center technology vendors, announced new CEOs on consecutive days in August 2026. Avaya appointed Jeff Clarke, former CEO of Insurity, as CEO, succeeding Patrick Dennis who becomes executive chair. ASAPP appointed Katie Stein, former CEO of Atain, as CEO to scale its AI platform. These moves are part of a broader wave of leadership changes across CX and CCaaS vendors including NICE, Medallia, Five9, Verint, and Qualtrics since early 2025. Analysts commented on Clarke's background at Eastman Kodak and the pattern of private equity ownership and AI-driven transformation in the sector.

• Avaya appointed Jeff Clarke as CEO on Aug 3, 2026.
• ASAPP appointed Katie Stein as CEO on Aug 4, 2026.
• Jeff Clarke previously served as CEO of Insurity.

Five9 Debuts Agentic Voice AI Agents for Contact Centers

Five9 launched a new release of its Voice AI Agents and introduced AI Agent Studio at Customer Contact Week in Las Vegas on June 23, 2026. The solution targets enterprises seeking to replace scripted bots and legacy IVR systems with agentic AI for customer self-service. Key features include multi-agent orchestration, human-like voice interaction, secure tool calling, and context-rich warm handoffs between AI and human agents. The company also cited internal research showing 65% of organizations are implementing at least one AI use case, with self-service automation at 42%. Five9 reported record full-year 2025 revenue of $1.149 billion and Q1 2026 revenue of $305.3 million. CEO Amit Mathradas and CMO Jay Lee were recently appointed. Additionally, Five9 partnered with Google Cloud to launch a joint enterprise CX AI solution in January.

• Five9 launched new Voice AI Agents and AI Agent Studio on June 23, 2026.
• The release enables multi-agent orchestration and human-AI handoffs.
• Five9 reported Q1 2026 revenue of $305.3 million, up 9% year-over-year.

Five9 Raises AI Growth Outlook to 60% After Strong Q2

Five9 reported Q2 2026 revenue of $312.4 million, up 10% year-over-year, and subscription revenue growth of 14%. AI revenue accelerated 78% to $39 million, now representing 15% of subscription revenue, prompting the company to raise its full-year AI growth outlook to at least 60%. CEO Amit Mathradas highlighted a five-year, roughly $100 million total-contract-value deal with a Fortune 100 financial services firm, closed via the Google Cloud Marketplace, and argued that Five9's voice and routing heritage differentiates it from AI point solutions. The company also made three executive hires to shift from product-selling to platform-and-outcomes selling, and emphasized a growing trend of on-premises customers migrating to cloud to support agentic voice AI.

• Five9 reported Q2 2026 revenue of $312.4 million, up 10% year-over-year.
• AI revenue reached $39 million in Q2, up 78% year-over-year, and now constitutes 15% of subscription revenue.
• Five9 raised its full-year 2026 AI growth outlook to at least 60%, up from the previous 'more than 40%' outlook.

Five9 named a Leader in the 2026 IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Agentic Contact Center-as-a-Service Platforms

Five9 named a Leader in the 2026 IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Agentic Contact Center-as-a-Service Platforms (August 26, 2026)