I told Lee that artificial intelligence might be the most overfunded "free product" in modern business. We both use AI tools every day, and like most people, we don't pay a dime. That's the problem. Trillions have been spent on data centers, chips, and training models, yet the vast majority of users aren't customers. Venture-backed firms like OpenAI and Anthropic depend on free traffic and vague enterprise plans.
A vertical agent is more than a chatbot. It's a core part of the martech stack, built with autonomy, context and memory to drive business goals. Vertical agents are powered by the LLM of choice but are trained on a company's catalogs, knowledge base, policies, and brand tone - all centralized in a unified data source. They: Embody the roles a brand requires (i.e., sales, support, etc.). Understand industry language. Adapt across multiple languages. Deliver credible responses.