Global AI-first cloud communications platform Infobip launched PitchMate, a new AI-powered conversational agent that brings football fans closer to the action of the world’s biggest football tournament. Purpose-built for the global football audience, PitchMate joins the TGR Haas F1 Team RaceMate — Infobip’s AI fan engagement solution for the TGR Haas F1 Team — in demonstrating how conversational AI is transforming fan engagement across sports worldwide.
RaceMate, launched last April for this year’s motorsport season, is an AI agent on WhatsApp and Apple Messages for Business that puts TGR Haas F1 Team fans at the center of the action. It delivers real-time race data, personalized content, team radio highlights, trivia, and native multilingual support, turning passive viewers into active participants through natural, human-like conversations across every race weekend. Since its launch, RaceMate has reached users in more than 60 countries, achieving more than 40,000 messages exchanged within the platform. It has also seen a 26.8% return-user rate, with top fans returning more than 25 times and exchanging almost 300 messages with the AI agent.
Launched last June 11th, PitchMate is a personalized AI companion that brings the football tournament directly to fans on their preferred messaging channels like WhatsApp. Fans can choose their favorite team and receive a fully tailored experience: personalized schedules, fixtures, and match statistics through Match Central; quizzes and an AI gamification solution like Vocalize – where fans use their voice to match the soundwave and AI scores it in real-time – driving engagement through Fan Arena; and different options to set up game reminders, specific time zones and still challenge a friend via gamification through Back Office. With cross-session memory and optional matchday reminders, PitchMate builds a continuous engagement journey that keeps fans connected from the opening match to the final whistle.
“Fan expectations have shifted. They want personalized, real-time experiences on their terms — and if a team or league doesn’t deliver it, another entertainment option will. AI-powered conversational engagement is no longer a differentiator for sports properties; it’s becoming table stakes”, said independent industry analyst Jon Arnold, Principal at J Arnold & Associates.
“With RaceMate, we’ve shown how AI can transform a fan’s journey from watching a race to living it. Fans don’t just follow the action they are part of it. Now, with PitchMate we give fans a personalized AI companion that knows their team, keeps them updated in real time, and invites them to interact, and engage. This is the future of fan experiences — and it’s powered by Infobip”, said Krešo Žmak, Chief Innovation Officer at Infobip.
Both PitchMate and RaceMate are powered by the Infobip AgentOS platform, combining generative AI, conversational data intelligence, and omnichannel messaging capabilities, within a single orchestration layer. The same technology is available to any brand looking to deploy intelligent AI agents for customer engagement.
