SmartPATH launch brings AI-driven omnichannel communications to ANZ
Smart Communications has launched SmartPATH in Australia and New Zealand, providing enterprises with an omnichannel orchestration and digital delivery solution aimed at regulated industries.
SmartPATH is designed to connect customer conversations across various channels, using automation, artificial intelligence-driven decisioning, and built-in failover to help organisations reduce manual effort and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. The company states this development is in response to rising consumer expectations for seamless digital-first interactions, especially among firms operating in insurance, healthcare, and financial services.
According to Smart Communications, SmartPATH facilitates engagement across a range of channels, such as email, SMS, RCS, and print. Automated workflows and AI assist in keeping customer communications moving forward, while failover mechanisms ensure message delivery without disruption. The company aims to help enterprises reduce friction for customers, improve completion rates, and strengthen trust through reliable communication practices.
Leigh Segall, Chief Executive Officer of Smart Communications, described the impact of the new solution.
"With the addition of SmartPATH, the Conversation Cloud now stands as the most complete Customer Engagement Platform purpose-built for regulated enterprises – and one that sets a new standard for the industry. Consumers expect insurers, healthcare providers, and financial institutions to deliver the same seamless, personalised experiences as leading consumer brands, but meeting those expectations is significantly more complex in regulated industries. SmartPATH changes that, combining AI and automation with intelligent orchestration to help organisations deliver trusted, real-time interactions that build loyalty, drive customer action, and improve business outcomes."
Initial uptake among enterprises demonstrates market interest, according to Smart Communications. Mountain West Farm Bureau Insurance is among the firms preparing to adopt the new platform. Tim Hays, Chief Information Officer of Mountain West Farm Bureau Insurance, explained the motivations behind their interest:
"Our policyholders are at the heart of everything we do, and we work hard to earn their trust every day. Timely accurate communication delivered on our customers' preferred channels is critical to maintaining that trust and delivering an elevated experience. As long-time SmartCOMM users, we've already seen the value of delivering personalised, compliant communications at scale. With the addition of SmartPATH, the ability to ensure secure, reliable delivery, whether by email, SMS, print, or all three simultaneously, will help us delight our policyholders and differentiate ourselves with a best-in-class digital experience."
Building on Pendula's technology
SmartPATH builds upon orchestration capabilities initially developed by Australian company Pendula, which was acquired by Smart Communications in August 2025. The solution targets common enterprise communication challenges by increasing completion rates through configurable AI agents that analyse customer behaviour and sentiment, enabling interactions to be adjusted in real time. Other features include intelligent routing and channel failover for reliable message delivery, automated workflows for managing reminders and incomplete applications, and audit-ready transparency.
Integration and scale
SmartPATH forms a core part of the company's Conversation Cloud platform and integrates with SmartCOMM, SmartIQ, SmartHUB, along with systems such as Salesforce and AWS. The product includes a drag-and-drop interface and prebuilt connectors so business users can manage and update workflows without extensive IT involvement. It is designed to handle high scale, supporting billions of transactions with real-time analytics for tracking and process optimisation.
Mila D'Antonio, Principal Analyst, Customer Engagement Intelligence at Omdia, commented on the broader significance of the launch:
"Smart Communications' launch of SmartPATH is a strategic move that signals the next phase of AI-powered omnichannel engagement in regulated industries. It checks several boxes - market gap alignment, platform depth through its orchestration engine, and AI acceleration. This isn't just about adding features -- it's about enabling enterprises to move from 'multi-channel' to truly agentic, outcome-driven engagement at scale."
Focus on compliance and adaptability
The company highlights compliance as a key benefit of SmartPATH, citing its audit capabilities as superior to in-house or legacy solutions. With AI-driven decisioning embedded into the communication process, the platform is structured to provide organisations with the ability to engage customers in a contextually relevant, secure, and scalable manner.
Simon Tindal, Chief Technology Officer of Smart Communications, emphasised the growing role of AI in regulated customer interactions:
"AI has the power to unlock real-time, context-rich customer conversations. Yet compliance pressures and legacy complexity have held regulated organisations back. With SmartPATH, enterprises can fully harness AI to deliver interactions that are seamless, scalable, compliant, and secure."
SmartPATH also allows for quick updates to customer journeys through its interface, ensuring organisations remain adaptable to changing regulations and evolving consumer expectations. The platform aims to support enterprises as they seek to modernise and further digitise customer engagement in a compliant manner.
