Cue
Cue is an AI-powered customer service platform unifying WhatsApp, Email, Messenger, and Web Chat through autonomous AI Agents, live chat, and chatbots. Founded in South Africa in 2018 and now operating in the UK, it serves 300+ clients across retail, automotive, education, and insurance.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersBirkenhead, United Kingdom
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Cue does
Cue (legal entity: Cue Technologies Limited; holding parent: Cue Group Holdings Limited, Isle of Man) is an AI-powered customer service platform that unifies WhatsApp, Email, Facebook Messenger, and Web Chat into a single inbox. The company was founded in 2018 in South Africa as Apex Visibility and rebranded to Cue in 2022; it now operates dual headquarters in Cape Town (Apex Visibility Pty Ltd) and Chester, United Kingdom (Cue Technologies Limited), having entered the UK market in 2024.
The platform's core products are AI Agents (autonomous LLM-powered agents that automate over 80% of routine customer queries), Live Chat (multi-channel human agent inbox with collision prevention and team assignment), Chatbots (a visual Flows Engine with conditional logic, AI Agent Steps, HTTPS Steps, and Function Steps), and Broadcasts (WhatsApp and email outbound campaigns). The technology stack combines OpenAI and Anthropic large language models with proprietary orchestration, is hosted on AWS infrastructure with regional data residency in Ireland and Cape Town, and exposes a comprehensive REST API surface (Messages, Broadcast, Sessions, Templates, Tickets, SMS, Contacts) plus webhooks and embeddable widgets. Cue holds official Meta Business Partner status for WhatsApp Business API distribution and integrates with HubSpot, Salesforce, Slack, Google Sheets, and Vonage messaging.
The business model is a hybrid subscription plus usage-based SaaS play. Subscription tiers run from Starter (£159/month, 1,500 MACs) through Pro+ (£336/month, 5,000 MACs) to Enterprise (£478/month, 10,000 MACs), with usage-based AI Agent resolution fees (£0.89-1.49 per resolution), MAC overage charges, support plan upsells (Coach £350 to Enterprise £3,500/month), and add-ons for additional WhatsApp numbers and SSO. GTM is hybrid: self-serve product-led growth for SMBs, sales-led enterprise motion with dedicated onboarding, and channel-led distribution through Meta's WhatsApp ecosystem. Total disclosed funding is $2.5 million across a $500K pre-seed in October 2023 and a $2M seed in February 2024 from angel investors, supporting a customer base of 300+ across retail, automotive, education, insurance, financial services, and other verticals.
Cue firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Cue
- Legal name
- Cue Technologies Limited
- Website
- https://cuedesk.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Cue is an AI-powered customer service platform unifying WhatsApp, Email, Messenger, and Web Chat through autonomous AI Agents, live chat, and chatbots. Founded in South Africa in 2018 and now operating in the UK, it serves 300+ clients across retail, automotive, education, and insurance.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Cue industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Customer Service Software
- akta.pro primary industry
- Conversational Marketing & Chat Lead Capture (Chatbots, Live Chat) (BPAFAKAJ)
Keywords
Where Cue is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Birkenhead
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Cue business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel
Revenue model
- Platform Subscription: Monthly or annual subscription tiers (Starter, Pro+, Enterprise) providing platform access with included monthly active contacts (MACs), seats, AI Agents, analytics, channel access (WhatsApp, Email, Webchat, Messenger, Live Chat), chatbot flows, and security features (SSO, RBAC, GDPR/POPIA compliance). Pricing scales with MAC limits and team size.
- AI Agent Resolution Fees: Pay-per-resolution model for AI Agents. Businesses pay per successful AI Agent resolution at tiered rates: pay-as-you-go at £1.49/resolution, 100-resolution bundle at £0.99/resolution, 1,000-resolution bundle at £0.89/resolution. This creates a usage-based revenue stream on top of platform subscriptions.
- MAC Overage Charges: Excess MAC (monthly active contacts) beyond plan limits billed at £0.20 per contact, creating incremental usage-based revenue.
- Support Plans: Tiered support plan upsells: Free, Coach (£350/month), First Class (£1,000/month), and Enterprise (£3,500/month) with varying response times, availability hours, onboarding, phone support, and dedicated customer success manager access.
- Additional WhatsApp Number Add-on: Additional WhatsApp number add-on at £49/month, monetizing channel expansion within existing accounts.
- SSO Add-on: Single Sign-On (SSO) add-on priced at £10 per user, generating per-seat incremental revenue from enterprise customers requiring enhanced security.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Starter plan for small businesses with 1,500 MACs, unlimited seats, £0.89 per AI Agent resolution, £0.20 per MAC overage |
| Subscription | Monthly | Pro+ plan for small to mid-sized businesses with 5,000 MACs |
| Subscription | Monthly | Enterprise plan for large-sized businesses with 10,000 MACs |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | AI Agent pay-as-you-go resolution pricing |
| Subscription | Monthly | Chatbot (Flows) add-on |
| Subscription | Monthly | Support plan tiers |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels7 records
Cue product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Cue is an AI-powered customer service platform that unifies WhatsApp, Messenger, web chat, and email into a single inbox. Its core offerings include AI Agents that automate over 80% of routine customer queries, Live Chat for human agent interactions, a visual Chatbots/Flows builder for automated customer journeys, and Broadcasts for outbound WhatsApp marketing campaigns. The platform is sold via tiered subscriptions (Starter, Pro+, Enterprise) with usage-based AI resolution pricing and is delivered as an official Meta Business Partner for WhatsApp Business API.
Product overview
Cue is an AI-powered customer service platform that unifies multiple communication channels (WhatsApp, Email, Messenger, Web Chat) into a single platform. The core product consists of AI Agents for automating routine queries, Live Chat for real-time human interactions, Chatbots (flow-based automation builder), and Broadcasts for outbound marketing campaigns. Add-on capabilities include a Web Chat Widget for website integration and an Analytics Dashboard for performance monitoring. The platform operates on a tiered pricing model (Starter, Pro+, Enterprise) with add-ons for additional WhatsApp numbers and custom integrations.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- AI Agents AI-powered autonomous agents that automate over 80% of routine customer queries instantly across WhatsApp, Messenger, and web chat. Operates 24/7, handles first-touch interactions, and reduces support costs by freeing human agents for complex conversations. Trained on business-specific data with multilingual support and tone-of-voice customization, priced at £0.89 per resolution for bundled usage.
- Live Chat Real-time customer interaction platform enabling human agents to chat with customers across multiple channels including WhatsApp, web chat, Facebook Messenger, and Email from a unified inbox. Includes collision prevention and team assignment features for handling complex conversations.
- Chatbots Visual flow-based chatbot builder for creating automated customer journey workflows with conditional logic (If Branch), API integration steps (HTTPS Step), AI Agent Steps, Function Steps, Reply Steps, Quick Reply Buttons, and Update Contact steps. Sold as a £350/month add-on to platform subscriptions.
- Broadcasts Outbound marketing campaign platform for sending WhatsApp message broadcasts, promotional offers, appointment reminders, and personalized follow-ups to opted-in customers. Enables re-activation of cold leads and high-converting outbound campaigns with WhatsApp's 90%+ open rates.
Quantifiable outcome
- 73% reduction in customer service costs (Affinity Health)
- +15 more outcomes
Companies that use Cue
Customer profileNamed customers21 records
Segments11 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Cue technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
AI capability10 records
Feature7 records
Cue partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core and major.
- AE LiveminorAE Live partnered with fan engagement platform CUE to power second-screen interactivity for live sports events. The partnership enables AE Live to integrate CUE's conversational messaging and AI agent capabilities into live sports broadcasts, enhancing viewer engagement through interactive chat, real-time polls, and fan participation features on a second-screen experience.
- MetacoreCue is an official Meta Business Partner providing WhatsApp Business API access to businesses globally. This partnership enables Cue to serve as a BSP (Business Solution Provider), handling Meta verification, onboarding, and API provisioning for businesses wanting to use WhatsApp Business at scale.
- OpenAIcoreOpenAI provides large language model processing for Cue's AI Agent features including automated responses, conversation summaries, sentiment analysis, and smart routing. OpenAI is SOC 2 Type II certified with zero data retention policy enabled for Cue's data.
- AnthropiccoreAnthropic provides large language model processing for Cue's conversational AI features, supplementing OpenAI integration. Anthropic is SOC 2 Type II certified with Constitutional AI safety measures.
- Amazon Web Services (AWS)coreAWS provides cloud infrastructure and hosting for the Cue platform, with data centers in Ireland (EU) and Cape Town (SA) ensuring regional data residency compliance.
- HubSpotmajorHubSpot is used as Cue's CRM and marketing automation platform. Cue also provides a native HubSpot integration guide enabling customers to sync conversation history with their HubSpot CRM.
- Vonage (Ericsson)majorVonage provides cloud messaging APIs that power Cue's WhatsApp and SMS messaging capabilities. Vonage is headquartered in the United Kingdom and used as a sub-processor for outbound communications.
- SalesforcemajorCue provides a native Salesforce integration guide enabling customers to sync conversation history with their Salesforce CRM, supporting enterprise sales and service workflows.
- SlackmajorCue provides a native Slack integration guide enabling teams to receive customer conversation notifications and collaborate on customer service within Slack channels.
Scale indicators21 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Cue competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Front: Front is a team inbox and customer communication platform supporting WhatsApp, email, and chat channels. Comparable as a team-based omnichannel inbox and customer service solution.
- Intercom: Intercom is a leading customer service and messaging platform with AI agents (Fin), live chat, and help center capabilities. Comparable as a broader incumbent offering overlapping conversational AI and customer service functionality.
- Zendesk: Zendesk is an established customer service and support platform with AI agents, live chat, and omnichannel capabilities. A broader incumbent with overlapping chatbot and live chat offerings across enterprise and SMB segments.
- Freshworks (Freshdesk): Freshworks' Freshdesk provides omnichannel customer support including chat, bots, and messaging. Comparable as a broader, well-funded incumbent in conversational customer service.
- Twilio: Twilio provides messaging APIs including WhatsApp Business API, plus conversational AI tools (Twilio Flex, Segment). Comparable as a broader incumbent enabling WhatsApp-based customer engagement at scale.
- MessageBird: MessageBird (now Bird) is a cloud communications platform offering WhatsApp Business API, SMS, and omnichannel customer engagement. Comparable as a broader communications incumbent targeting the same use cases.
Direct peers
- Wati: Wati is a WhatsApp Business API platform focused on customer engagement, broadcasts, chatbots, and shared inbox for SMBs and enterprises. Closely comparable as a WhatsApp-first customer service and marketing platform competing for the same Meta BSP channel.
- Trengo: Trengo provides an omnichannel customer service platform with strong WhatsApp Business API support, chatbots, flows, and team collaboration. Directly comparable in product surface and target SMB/mid-market customer base.
- Respond.io: Respond.io is a customer conversation management platform that unifies WhatsApp, Messenger, email, and other channels with AI agents and broadcasts. Direct peer in WhatsApp-led, multi-channel customer engagement.
Emerging players
- Tidio: Tidio is an SMB-focused live chat and AI chatbot platform with WhatsApp integration. Comparable as an emerging AI-driven customer service player targeting smaller businesses, similar to Cue's Starter tier.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Cue social profiles
Digital presenceCue compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Cue financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Cue leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Cue funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors4 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Cue M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Cue
What does Cue do?
Cue is an AI-powered customer service platform that unifies WhatsApp, Messenger, web chat, and email into a single inbox. Its core offerings include AI Agents that automate over 80% of routine customer queries, Live Chat for human agent interactions, a visual Chatbots/Flows builder for automated customer journeys, and Broadcasts for outbound WhatsApp marketing campaigns. The platform is sold via tiered subscriptions (Starter, Pro+, Enterprise) with usage-based AI resolution pricing and is delivered as an official Meta Business Partner for WhatsApp Business API.
Is Cue a public or private company?
Cue is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Cue founded?
Cue was founded in 2018. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Cue based?
Cue is headquartered in Birkenhead, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Cue make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Platform Subscription is the primary driver. The others are AI Agent Resolution Fees, MAC Overage Charges, support Plans, additional WhatsApp Number Add-on and SSO Add-on.
Who are Cue's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Front, Intercom, Zendesk, Freshworks (Freshdesk), Twilio and MessageBird. Direct peers are Wati, Trengo and Respond.io. Tidio is listed as an emerging player.
Does Cue have an API?
Yes. Cue provides a REST API with Bearer token authentication for developers to send messages, manage broadcasts, sessions, templates, tickets, SMS, contacts, and webhooks. Currently supports WhatsApp channel with plans for web chat, Facebook Messenger and other channels. Features include: Messages API for sending outbound messages, Broadcast API for campaign management, Sessions API for session data, Templates API for WhatsApp message templates, Tickets API for ticket management, SMS API for transactional SMS, Contacts API (in beta) for contact management, Template Management API for programmatic WhatsApp template creation, and Webhooks for receiving real-time events (message events, ticket events). Documentation available at developers.cuedesk.com. Developer documentation is at developers.cuedesk.com/category/apis.
What industry is Cue in?
Cue's product category is Customer Service Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAFAKAJ, Conversational Marketing & Chat Lead Capture (Chatbots, Live Chat).