IMCeleste launches AI agent with worker payout pledge

IMCeleste launched Celeste, an AI customer service agent for email and live chat, and pledged to send the greater of 5% of annual revenue or 70% of annual profit to workers displaced by its software. The company is betting that sharing automation gains helps preserve the customer base that AI companies ultimately need.

Why it matters: - IMCeleste is tying automation revenue directly to workers its AI may replace, a rare model in a sector built to cut labor costs. - The company’s pledge could become a test case for whether AI vendors can grow without concentrating all of the gains with owners and investors. - The revenue floor means the payout can start even if Celeste is young or unprofitable.

What happened: - IMCeleste launched Celeste, an AI customer service agent for email and live chat. - The launch came with a commitment to direct the greater of 5% of annual revenue or 70% of annual profit to workers displaced by the software. - The company calls the policy the Dividend Standard. - The announcement was made in Austin, Texas, on Aug. 2, 2026.

The details: - The Dividend Standard applies from the company’s first dollar of revenue. - IMCeleste says the pledge is meant to work even before the company becomes profitable. - The company is bootstrapped and has no outside investors. - IMCeleste says its investor note describes the company as “close to uninvestable” by conventional measures. - The company is soliciting industry feedback on the Dividend Standard. - Celeste is trained on a team’s past replies, the documents it provides and the corrections it makes over time. - When a policy changes, Celeste’s answers change with it. - Celeste uses a staged rollout model: Practice, Co-pilot and Autonomous. - In Practice mode, Celeste drafts responses beside human replies, but nothing reaches customers. - Owners can set a confidence threshold, control how far Celeste can act and move topics between modes at any time. - Owners can return every topic to Practice with one button. - Celeste combines generative AI with deterministic software controls. - Limits can be written in plain language, such as asking for approval before refunds over $200 or blocking refunds on orders older than 30 days. - Software controls prevent Celeste from overriding those limits. - Unclassified risky actions are held for human review. - Celeste can also take action inside connected API or MCP systems, such as checking an order and deciding whether it qualifies for a response or action. - Every reply includes sources, confidence level and the decision Celeste made. - At launch, Celeste handles email forwarded from Gmail, Microsoft 365 or any provider that supports forwarding. - Celeste also supports live chat through a one-line website embed. - A live admin demo and free trial are available at app.imceleste.com/demo. - The full Dividend Standard is available at imceleste.com/mission.

Between the lines: - IMCeleste is arguing that automation is not just a labor issue; it is a demand issue, because displaced workers also lose spending power. - The company’s mission page also argues that universal basic income may not fully offset the shock because wage taxes help fund it. - The structure appears designed to make the pledge harder to reverse by reducing pressure from shareholders. - The model puts a financial cost on displacement that most AI service companies do not disclose.

What's next: - IMCeleste is seeking feedback from the industry on the Dividend Standard. - Celeste’s rollout will likely depend on how businesses respond to the combination of automation, control features and the payout pledge. - The company’s broader test is whether a worker-linked payout model can scale while still competing with conventional AI customer service tools.

The bottom line: - IMCeleste is launching Celeste as both a customer service product and an economic experiment in how AI profits get shared.