Khoros Gets an AI Makeover Under IgniteTech—Here’s What That Means for Enterprise Communities
Two months after acquiring Khoros, enterprise software firm IgniteTech isn’t wasting time. The Austin-based company announced a sweeping set of strategic investments and AI-first product plans aimed at reimagining the Khoros platform for the future of digital engagement. And if the message wasn’t already clear, CEO Eric Vaughan laid it out bluntly: “We’re not just investing in the product, we’re rebuilding it.”
For anyone familiar with Khoros’s legacy—an industry mainstay in online community software—the implications are big. IgniteTech is applying its proven playbook of post-acquisition transformation, one it has used across dozens of enterprise software companies, and putting AI at the core.
Goodbye Maintenance Mode, Hello Modernization
The centerpiece of IgniteTech’s reboot is Aurora, a modern, scalable platform architecture built for AI-native functionality. While legacy “Classic Community” systems will still be supported, all new innovation will live on Aurora—meaning it’s the future, and IgniteTech wants customers moving in that direction. Just not all at once.
The strategy is to upgrade only when the platform genuinely exceeds current needs, avoiding forced migrations. In a market full of abrupt sunsets and roadmaps written in pencil, that’s a refreshing stance.
AI-Powered Communities, Not Just Moderated Forums
The vision for Khoros 2.0 centers on reshaping how enterprise communities operate. It’s no longer just about peer-to-peer support and moderation dashboards. IgniteTech wants to build AI ecosystems that:
- Insert brand presence into AI-generated answers, ensuring corporate voice doesn’t get lost in third-party tools.
- Elevate trusted content from superusers to reduce noise and surface quality answers.
- Convert lurkers into contributors, driving community health through intelligent engagement nudges.
It’s a smart play: as generative AI reshapes how users seek help, traditional search-driven forums are starting to feel slow and stale. Khoros is positioning itself to meet that shift head-on, promising tools that help brands remain relevant—even in AI-generated search results.
Strategic Hires—and Strategic Listening
It’s not just the tech that’s getting an upgrade. IgniteTech is bringing in serious community firepower. Jake McKee, one of the most respected names in global community strategy (with a résumé that includes LEGO, Apple, and EA), is now advising Khoros leadership. Meanwhile, longtime Khoros leader Michael Puhala continues as Chief Community Evangelist, acting as a direct bridge between users and the product roadmap.
The team’s early play? Listen hard. At London Community Week 2025, IgniteTech sponsored the Community-Led World Conference, where McKee, Puhala, and Chief AI Officer Thibault Bridel-Bertomeu met with customers to gather insight on what’s working—and what isn’t. The goal: build with the community, not just for it.
Khoros has long been a player in the enterprise community space, but in recent years, innovation slowed, and competitors—like Salesforce Experience Cloud, Higher Logic, and even Discord for business—started pulling ahead. With IgniteTech at the helm, Khoros now has the resources and AI-first strategy to re-enter the race—and potentially lead it.
And let’s not forget the broader enterprise trend: community is no longer a niche. Companies are realizing that owned communities reduce support costs, foster brand loyalty, and serve as goldmines for user-generated content. But managing them at scale—without burning out moderators or producing generic experiences—requires automation. That’s exactly where AI fits in.
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