Zoho, the Chennai-headquartered global technology company, has launched Zia Chat, an AI interface designed to help users find information, understand business context and take action across workplace applications through a single conversational interface.
The company has also entered the vertical SaaS segment with seven industry-specific offerings targeting retail, automotive, BFSI, healthcare, education, real estate and restaurants.
AI interface across business applications
Built natively into Zoho’s ecosystem, Zia Chat can connect information across applications, summarise conversations and records, analyse business data and create reports, charts, spreadsheets and presentations.
Users can also use the interface to draft proposals and emails, create tasks, schedule recurring reports and trigger other workflows without switching between applications.
“Every day, employees waste their time navigating menus, hunting for dropdowns and fighting with fragmented software interfaces. There is an interface crisis, and people spend too much time searching for the right context and data. We strip away the UIs of different applications and give employees a single, unified AI interface across the business,” said Zoho Chief Scientist and Co-founder Sridhar Vembu.
Zia Chat operates within existing user permissions and approval workflows. It can also connect with external systems through Model Context Protocol (MCP) integrations. Zoho said data accessed through Zia Chat is not used to train its AI models.
The platform is also model-agnostic, allowing organisations to choose the large language models powering their AI experience.
Zoho expands into vertical SaaS
Zoho’s vertical SaaS strategy combines industry-specific applications with its broader suite of business software.
For retail, the company has introduced Zoho RetailIQ, a CRM designed for physical retail businesses, while Zoho AutoDMS targets automotive dealer operations.
In BFSI, Zoho LOS provides a digital loan-origination platform covering applications, verification, decision-making and disbursement.
The healthcare portfolio includes MedScribe, an AI-native, ABDM-compliant clinical documentation solution. Zoho Campus, initially launching in India, brings academic and administrative workflows onto a single platform for educational institutions.
Zoho for Real Estate connects property sales workflows from lead capture and follow-ups to site visits and deal closure. Zoho POS for Restaurants covers ordering, table service, kitchen operations, inventory and other restaurant workflows.
India growth
Zoho said its revenue in India grew 47% year-on-year in 2025, with ITeS, manufacturing, BFSI, professional services and retail among the key growth sectors. The automotive sector has also emerged as a significant area of customer traction.
The company said it plans to expand its vertical SaaS portfolio into more industries, combining industry-specific workflows and regulatory requirements with its wider business software ecosystem.