#899 How AI Agents Are Redefining Customer Experience with Adrian McDermott, CTO at Zendesk
When will customer service be run entirely by bots?
Today, we're talking to Adrian McDermott, CTO at Zendesk, about how AI agents are transforming customer experience. We discuss why automation drives escalation instead of elimination, how Zendesk is moving from seat-based to outcome-based pricing with their resolution platform, and why the future of leadership requires being more like a slot machine than a vending machine.
Thank you to Digital Ocean for sponsoring this episode. For simple cloud and powerful AI that’s built to scale, check out Digital Ocean here.
All of this right here, right now, on the Modern CTO Podcast!
To get learn more about Zendesk, check out their website here.
About Adrian McDermott
Since 2010, Adrian has led Zendesk’s product management and engineering teams, constantly creating new paths for product innovation and development. As the company’s chief technology officer, he is currently responsible for defining its long-term strategic product direction that will shape the future of customer service. He also helps guide the company’s global customers on how to enhance their customer experience to create better relationships.
Previously, Adrian served as chief technical officer at Attributor, where he managed web-crawling and content-identification systems for text, video, and images. He was the first engineer hired by Plumtree Software, and remained with the company through its IPO and subsequent acquisition by BEA.
Adrian is a Yorkshireman living in San Francisco.
About Zendesk
Zendesk powers exceptional service for every person on the planet. As a leader in AI-powered service, we offer the Zendesk Resolution Platform, designed to redefine customer experience with advanced tools that integrate AI Agents, a comprehensive knowledge graph, actions and integrations, governance and control, measurement and insights, and human expertise. Our purpose-built platform enhances service by combining automation and human insight for seamless interactions. Easy to use, easy to scale, and easy to get value from, Zendesk helps companies strengthen relationships, improve efficiency, and grow.