Italiaonline, Italy’s leading internet company, announces the launch of MARiO, the AI-powered virtual assistant designed to revolutionise the operations of small and medium-sized enterprises. MARiO is not just software, but a true multilingual ‘digital colleague’ capable of answering calls, capturing leads and managing appointments 24 hours a day, completely autonomously. The service is available from today to Italiaonline’s more than 200,000 business customers across the peninsula.
In a market where over 30% of customers switch providers if they do not receive an immediate response*, and 22% of consumers now begin their search for local businesses using AI tools**, the window of opportunity to build a relationship of trust has never been narrower. This has a tangible impact on the financial performance of Italian SMEs. MARiO solves this.
Based on Vendasta technology and approved and implemented in line with privacy regulations and best practices for AI solutions, the service steps in to eliminate the loss of potential leads and transforms every potential customer into a concrete opportunity. Unlike traditional, fragmented systems, MARiO leverages Vendasta’s ‘AI Employee’ infrastructure to proactively manage the customer journey, combining a company’s exclusive, proprietary data with intelligent automation to eliminate the complexity of manual marketing and operational tasks. This approach forms part of Italiaonline’s broader strategy to equip SMEs with advanced artificial intelligence tools capable of growing and adapting alongside each client’s business: a platform designed to be progressively expanded with new features to support businesses throughout the entire lifecycle of their customer relationships.
MARiO replaces the rigid phone menu system with an intelligent assistant capable of handling multiple calls simultaneously, through a seamless and intelligent interaction.
Key features include:
• 24/7 lead capture: responds instantly via phone and web chat, in 57 languages, engaging every potential customer in real time.
• Front-office automation: lead pre-qualification, appointment request management and follow-up organisation directly within the CRM.
• Data availability: all interactions are recorded in a secure, searchable customer database, to manage every contact effectively.
MARiO on TV and in cities: the “MARiO turns every call into an opportunity” campaign kicks off
MARiO’s debut is accompanied by a massive multi-channel communication campaign, launched on April 12, created entirely by Italiaonline’s Communication & Media team with the help of the same generative AI. The multi-themed campaign — featuring the “Chef” and “Plumber” themes — intuitively illustrates how MARiO simplifies the lives of Italian SMEs.
The campaign, running until June 20, is distributed across the following channels:
• TV: 30-second and 15-second spots on the Warner Bros Discovery Italia network (Real Time, DMax, Giallo, Motor Trend, HGTV, Food Network and NOVE).
• DOOH (Digital Out Of Home): presence in metro stations in Milan, Brescia, Genoa and Rome, and in 12 domestic airports via Class’s UP TV network.
• Digital: Widespread presence on the Ciaopeople network (with pre-roll and display ads) and on industry publications Engage and DailyNet.
“The launch of MARiO demonstrates that AI is no longer a tool reserved for large companies with massive budgets. With this service, we demonstrate that an AI-powered workforce is a tangible and scalable resource, capable of supporting every professional sector: from plumbers to restaurant owners, from lawyers to local retailers,” says Umberto Poschi, Chief Web & Media Services Officer at Italiaonline. “Italiaonline is setting a global standard that other service providers will inevitably follow. We are helping SMEs to stop dealing with software complexities and focus on business results. We are particularly proud of both this project and its communication campaign, which reflects not only the value of MARiO but also our commitment to exploring new ways of communicating what we do, fully integrating AI into our creative processes.”
“With MARiO, we are transforming artificial intelligence into a real collaborator, accessible to every professional and small business. Italiaonline is charting a course of excellence that will become the new international benchmark. We are helping businesses overcome technological complexity to focus directly on growth and results,” says Brendan King, CEO of Vendasta.
* 2026 State of AI-Driven Sales Execution – How action is being rebuilt in the SMB economy – Vendasta Research
**Local Buying Behavior 2026: Search & AI – How AI is reshaping discovery, trust, and local decision-making – Vendasta Research