# Zum launches Zoe, an AI assistant for late school buses > Source: > Published: 2026-11-11 00:00:23+00:00 # Zum launches Zoe, an AI assistant for late school buses **Founder Ritu Narayan is embedding Zoe in Zum CMX so district operators can trace late routes, coverage gaps and pay anomalies in plain language.** By [RuntimeWire Staff](https://runtimewire.com/author/runtimewire-staff) · Published Primary source: [PR Newswire Business Technology](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/zum-introduces-zoe-a-conversational-ai-assistant-built-for-student-mobility-302935660.html) ## Why it matters Zoe makes Zum's data advantage the selling point: an assistant inside CMX can connect lateness, driver coverage and payroll in one query, giving districts a reason to run more operations through Zum and potentially strengthening Zum's position at renewal after TPG valued the company at $1.7 billion. [Zum](https://www.ridezum.com/?ref=runtimewire) founder and CEO Ritu Narayan introduced [Zoe](https://www.ridezum.com/blog/introducing-zoe-conversational-ai-student-mobility?ref=runtimewire) on November 10th, a conversational AI assistant built into Zum CMX that, Zum says, answers questions using a district's routes, runs, telematics, ridership, payroll and driver-assignment data.… When you purchase through links in our articles, [we may earn a small commission](https://runtimewire.com/affiliate-monetization-standards). This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.