Meet the AI agents powering the next generation of subscriptions

Retention is becoming the primary driver of ecommerce growth.

Across Recharge, over 20,000 brands power 100M+ subscriptions and billions of interactions across the subscriber lifecycle. Subscribers spend more, stay longer, and drive higher lifetime value.

As acquisition becomes more competitive and expectations continue to rise, growth increasingly depends on how well brands engage and retain customers over time.

We’re building a more unified platform to support this shift, bringing together the systems brands rely on to drive retention and long-term growth.

At the center of this evolution is AI.

In 2025, we made two bets:

1. Customers will manage their subscriptions through AI
2. Merchants will run more of their business through AI

AI Agents for customers

We’re launching a new system of AI agents that manage the ongoing relationship with subscribers through SMS—handling moments like upcoming orders, product questions, and subscription changes in real time.

We are already powering 150,000 SMS conversations per day, with 90% of subscribers preferring SMS over traditional portals, these interactions are driving 1.3x higher lifetime value, so we’re expanding their functionality.

Support Agents provide real-time answers, product education, and guidance, enabling enabling subscribers to easily manage their subscriptions and take action directly within a conversation

Sales Agents show up at the right moment, introducing relevant upsells, cross-sells and subscription changes, with early results showing up to 15% conversion rates

Insight Agents capture structured feedback and intent through micro-surveys embedded in conversations, with engagement rates as high as 67%

Each interaction is informed by subscriber behavior and history, creating a more consistent and responsive experience over time.

AI for merchant operations

We’re also introducing a conversational AI system inside Recharge, giving teams a more direct way to understand and operate their business.

Merchants can ask questions, explore performance, and take action in one place.

This includes use cases like:

• Understanding changes in churn, subscriber behavior, or product performance
• Identifying opportunities to improve conversion, retention, or AOV
• Launching or adjusting lifecycle flows directly from insights
• Getting clear explanations for changes in performance

The system analyzes data, recommends actions, and helps execute them—connecting insights to operations in a single workflow.

Built on a stronger foundation across the platform

These systems don’t operate in isolation. They’re part of a broader shift toward more connected, automated lifecycle management, powered by data from over 20,000 merchants and 100M+ subscribers.

We’re evolving how campaigns and lifecycle experiences are built and run, bringing messaging and subscriber actions into a single system that reflects how customers actually experience a brand.

Grounded in real subscriber behavior, history, and context, campaigns can be triggered by intent and connected directly to actions like swaps, skips, and upgrades. Messaging and experience are designed together, so each interaction reflects the full subscriber context.

This creates a more automated lifecycle model, where campaigns are continuously optimized and executed based on what’s happening in real time.

Alongside this, we’re continuing to invest in the core experiences that drive retention across the lifecycle.

Affinity 2.0 transforms the customer portal into an active part of the subscriber experience making it easier for customers to take action, and stay engaged, while giving brands a flexible, branded surface to guide behavior.

Upsell and cross-sell tools focus on high-intent moments across cart, checkout, and post-purchase helping brands introduce relevant upgrades, add-ons, and subscription options without interrupting the experience, driving higher AOV and lifetime value.

Recharge Loyalty makes value tangible by surfacing earned credits, rewards, and savings throughout the journey so subscribers can see what they’ve built over time and what they leave behind if they cancel.

Together, these experiences give brands more control and make it easier to build, test, and scale what works across the subscriber lifecycle.

The next phase of subscription growth will be defined by how well brands can connect experiences, streamline operations, and act on data in real time. That’s what we’re building toward.