Zoho unveils foundational LLM ‘Zia’, alongside enterprise AI agents and speech recognition tech
Zoho has launched a powerful set of AI tools, including its own foundational model called Zia LLM, new AI agents, and advanced speech recognition technology. With these tools, Zoho aims to help businesses automate tasks while protecting their data. The move strengthens Zoho’s position in the growing enterprise AI space.
Zia LLM: Zoho’s Own AI Model
Zia LLM is Zoho’s first large language model, built entirely in-house. It comes in three sizes: 1.3B, 2.6B, and 7B parameters. Unlike many AI models designed for general tasks, Zia LLM focuses on business needs.
It helps with:
- Summarizing documents and conversations
- Extracting data from emails or forms
- Answering business questions
- Writing or reviewing code
- Making smart suggestions in Zoho apps
Zoho trained and deployed Zia LLM on its own data centers in India, the US, and Europe. This setup ensures privacy and gives businesses more control over their data. Companies that handle sensitive information—like banks, hospitals, or law firms—can use this AI without sending data to outside clouds.
New AI Agents and No-Code Studio
Zoho also introduced 25+ AI agents ready for immediate use. These agents can manage sales, support, finance, HR, and other business tasks.
Examples include:
- A Sales Development Agent that qualifies leads
- A Support Agent that suggests answers
- A Candidate Screening Agent that shortlists job applicants
These agents run on real business data and work across Zoho apps. Businesses can use them right away or build their own agents with the Zia Agent Studio. This tool requires no coding. Users just give prompts or set actions through a simple interface. It supports more than 700 functions across Zoho’s software.
Model Context Protocol (MCP): Secure Access for Other Platforms
Zoho created a new framework called Model Context Protocol (MCP). It allows external AI systems to safely access Zoho tools. At the same time, it keeps existing permission rules in place. This means other AI agents can trigger Zoho actions without exposing sensitive data or breaking company policies.
Zoho’s Speech Technology: Accurate, Light, and Private
Zoho also built its own speech recognition models. These tools convert speech to text in English and Hindi, with more languages coming soon. Unlike cloud-based tools, Zoho’s speech engines run with less computing power. That makes them fast, private, and ideal for real-time use.
According to Zoho, their models are 75% more accurate than other free models. They work well even in noisy conditions or on devices with limited memory.
Privacy First: Why It Matters
Zoho built all these tools without using big cloud providers like AWS or Azure. This decision gives customers full control over their data. Everything stays on Zoho servers. This approach helps with data privacy laws like:
- India’s DPDP Act
- Europe’s GDPR
- US healthcare or finance regulations
For businesses, this means using AI without losing ownership of sensitive data.
What’s Next: Reasoning Models and Agent Collaboration
Zoho isn’t stopping here. The company plans to launch a Reasoning Language Model (RLM) by the end of 2025. This model will focus on tasks that require logic, numbers, or decision-making.
Zoho also plans to let AI agents work together across apps. For example, a support agent could ask a finance agent to issue a refund. This feature, called Agent-to-Agent (A2A), will allow AI systems to complete multi-step tasks automatically.
Final Thoughts: Making AI Useful and Safe for Business
With Zia LLM and its new tools, Zoho gives businesses a clear choice—AI that works well, costs less, and keeps your data safe. These tools aren’t just for large tech firms. Even mid-size companies and startups can use them right away.
By focusing on privacy, ease of use, and real-world business needs, Zoho offers a new kind of enterprise AI—one that helps people do more, without giving up control.
