# Gladly

> Gladly is a San Francisco-based software company that builds an AI-powered customer service platform organized around people instead of support tickets. Founded in 2014 by Joseph Ansanelli, Michael Wolfe and Dirk Kessler, it gives consumer brands a single lifelong record of each customer across voice, email, chat, SMS and social, then layers AI automation (its Sidekick products) on top to answer questions, recommend products and take real actions like processing returns. Its pitch is that support should build customer lifetime value, not just deflect cost. Gladly is used by consumer brands including Crate & Barrel, Nordstrom, Ulta Beauty, Warby Parker, Allbirds and Breeze Airways.

- **Founded:** 2014
- **Headquarters:** San Francisco, California, USA
- **Founders:** Joseph Ansanelli (Co-Founder & CEO), Michael Wolfe (Co-Founder), Dirk Kessler (Co-Founder)
- **Team size:** Approximately 200-300 employees
- **Products:** Gladly (Hero platform), Gladly Sidekick, Sidekick Voice (Voice AI), Sidekick Sales, Sidekick Email
- **Notable:** Raised roughly $208M in total funding across six-plus rounds since 2014., Adopted by many of the most recognized consumer brands, including Nordstrom, Ulta Beauty, Crate & Barrel and Warby Parker., Pioneered a customer-centric (not ticket-centric) data model for customer service software.

## Products & services

- **Gladly (Hero platform)** — A people-centered customer service platform that uses the customer - not the ticket - as the core record, unifying voice, email, chat, SMS, WhatsApp and social into one continuous lifelong conversation.
- **Gladly Sidekick** — An AI and automation layer for radically personal self-service that engages customers in natural, on-brand dialogue and takes real actions like processing returns, exchanges and order changes.
- **Sidekick Voice (Voice AI)** — Conversational voice AI that handles phone conversations naturally, answers questions instantly and completes tasks such as refunds and booking changes without hold times.
- **Sidekick Sales** — Real-time product recommendations inside service conversations to reduce cart abandonment and turn support into a revenue channel.
- **Sidekick Email** — Automates high-volume email inquiries like order status and returns with accurate, on-brand, empathetic responses.
- **Gladly Guides** — A plain-English, no-code way for business users to train the AI on brand voice, policies and customer experience without engineering.
- **Answers** — Knowledge management that powers consistent, brand-aligned responses across the platform.

## Achievements

- Raised roughly $208M in total funding across six-plus rounds since 2014.
- Adopted by many of the most recognized consumer brands, including Nordstrom, Ulta Beauty, Crate & Barrel and Warby Parker.
- Pioneered a customer-centric (not ticket-centric) data model for customer service software.
- Acquired Thankful to bring generative AI and no-code automation into the platform.
- Launched a unified AI customer service platform in 2024 spanning voice, email, chat and self-service.

## Latest updates

- **2025-05** — Gladly featured in Forbes BrandVoice under the banner 'Gladly Reinvents Customer Service. Again,' outlining its AI-first, LTV-focused direction.
- **2024-09** — Secured $40M led by AXA Venture Partners and launched an AI-powered unified customer service platform positioned to turn support into a revenue driver.
- **2024** — Expanded Sidekick with Sidekick Voice, Sidekick Sales and Sidekick Email.
- **2022-12** — Raised $55M in growth funding.

## Links

- Website: https://www.gladly.ai
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gladly-inc

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/gladly
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-06