The CIO Professional Network, the private CIO, CISO, and CTO community for The National CIO Review, launched a new experimental series, the CION Vendor Showcase, designed to give our members a front-row seat to the latest enterprise innovations without the sales pitch. The inaugural session featured Rezolve.ai and Leena.ai, two leaders redefining how enterprises use AI to streamline IT service management, automate employee support, and reduce friction across the enterprise.

The goal of this showcase was simple: education over promotion. Participants were encouraged to ask tough questions, focus on real business outcomes, and explore the challenges these AI providers are tackling across industries.

The educational event underscored that success with AI in service and operations doesn’t start with a massive digital overhaul. It starts with focused use cases, deflecting helpdesk tickets, automating employee requests, and connecting disparate systems with conversational interfaces. For technology leaders, these capabilities translate directly to reduced cost per ticket, faster issue resolution, and happier employees, all while freeing IT teams to focus on higher-value initiatives.

With strong engagement, thoughtful questions, and clear takeaways, this inaugural session set the tone for future showcases exploring how emerging solutions can deliver tangible enterprise impact.

Why It Matters: AI has moved far beyond hype. For CIOs, the challenge isn’t whether to use AI, it’s where to apply it for measurable business value. Today’s enterprise IT environments are overloaded with applications, support requests, and manual workflows. As organizations search for scalable efficiency, solutions that automate Tier 1 support, improve employee experience, and unlock knowledge across silos are emerging as high-impact opportunities.

• Empower Users with Self-Service Intelligence: Rezolve.ai’s team, represented by Matt Ruck and Manish Sharma, demonstrated how organizations can use generative AI to build intelligent virtual agents that handle common IT and HR requests. Their approach combines large language model reasoning with direct integrations into service management platforms like ServiceNow and Freshdesk. The result: reduced ticket volume and faster resolution. “Every enterprise is trying to cut cost per ticket, and AI can do that without cutting quality,” said Sharma. “We’re seeing 30 to 40 percent deflection rates and a significant improvement in employee satisfaction.”

• AI Agents That Think and Act Across Systems: Adit Jain from Leena.ai introduced the concept of AI colleagues, proactive, multi-application digital workers capable of performing full business processes. Unlike reactive chatbots or simple agents, these “colleagues” execute end-to-end workflows, collaborate across systems, and even interact via natural voice. As Adit explained, “AI colleagues don’t wait for instructions, they get up at seven in the morning and start working.”

• Reducing Enterprise Friction and Complexity: Both vendors emphasized that automation is more than just replacing tasks, rather about removing friction. Enterprises struggle with fragmented tools, disconnected data, and manual handoffs. By connecting AI to existing apps like Workday, SAP, and ServiceNow, companies can create unified digital workspaces where requests are resolved instantly and workflows flow seamlessly across departments. “Employees shouldn’t have to remember ten systems to get one thing done,” noted Sharma. “AI becomes the single front door for every internal process.”

• Building Trust Through Transparency and Governance: A major point of discussion centered on AI accountability. Attendees raised questions around auditability, compliance, and regulatory assurance. Leena.ai shared its Transparency Dashboard, which logs every AI decision, when it acted, why, and under which business rule. This allows human oversight and maintains control frameworks for internal and external auditors. “Every decision an AI colleague makes is explainable, traceable, and reversible,” said Adit. “That’s how we build confidence for enterprise adoption.”

• Prioritize ROI, Not Novelty: As the discussion closed, both vendors echoed a message resonant with the CIO audience: focus on measurable outcomes, not experimentation for its own sake. Ticket deflection, time-to-resolution, and employee satisfaction are the leading indicators of AI success. “For every dollar spent,” said Sharma, “one can recover more value in operational efficiency than with any other initiative.”

• Elevate IT from Service Provider to Strategic Enabler: Throughout the discussion, both Rezolve.ai and Leena.ai reinforced that AI in service and operations moves the CIO from just cutting costs to changing IT’s role in the business. When routine tickets, requests, and approvals are automated, IT teams can shift their focus from transactional support to innovation and enablement. “The real ROI comes when IT stops firefighting and starts leading transformation,” said Ruck. By positioning AI as the engine behind that shift, CIOs can reframe their departments from cost centers to strategic drivers of growth, agility, and employee experience.

Go Deeper -> AI for Service, Support, and Operations (Members Only) – CION Vendor Showcase