Zoho CRM Q1 2026 update adds Workqueue, Zia formula generation and more LLMs
Zoho CRM's Q1 2026 update added a Workqueue view for reps, several Zia AI features including formula and CPQ rule suggestions, and support for Gemini, Claude and other models.
By Cora Whitley, GTM AI Analyst, Chief of Staff
Image: Zoho CRM press materials, from the announcement
Zoho published its Zoho CRM Q1 2026 update on March 9, 2026. The headline addition is Workqueue, a single view of the tasks, activities, calls, appointments and assigned records that need a rep's attention. Zia AI additions include a formula expression generator that builds formulas from plain-language descriptions, Zia-suggested CPQ pricing rules based on historical quotes, redesigned Smart Prompts with record and template assistants, custom buttons on Zia insight widgets and zero-shot field prompting for document recognition. Zoho CRM also added support for more LLMs. Documents storage is moving to Zoho WorkDrive, with a gradual migration for existing customers.
The details
- Newly supported LLMs are Gemini, Claude and Cohere, plus DeepSeek and SiliconFlow in the China data center only.
- CPQ pricing rules can now include criteria such as a specific product quantity or a discount before the rule triggers.
- Zia's document recognition uses a vision language model for zero-shot extraction, with advanced field prompting to separate similar fields.
- Voice of Customer can now track comments from people who are not in the leads or contacts databases.
- Notes can be viewed, edited, added and summarized from list view.
- WorkDrive migration requires customers to choose a WorkDrive account and a time slot; the Documents tab is unavailable during the move.
Context
This is the second Zoho CRM update in our coverage in 2026, after address suggestions, map view and proximity planning for India (January 13, 2026). Zoho later launched Zia Chat as an AI interface across its applications (September 23, 2026). The Q1 update extends Zia inside Zoho CRM and opens the CRM to third-party models, with two of the newly supported models limited to Zoho's China data center.
Not disclosed
- Which Zoho CRM editions include Workqueue and the Zia features
- Whether customers pay separately for third-party LLM usage
- Completion date for the WorkDrive migration
- Vendor
- Zoho CRM
- Category
- CRM & Marketing Automation
- Announcement type
- Feature update
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