00:00 Introduction and Weekend AI Experiments

02:37 The Importance of Context in AI

04:51 AI's Impact on Enterprise Software

08:57 Balancing Deterministic Workflows with AI

11:15 Personalization and Customer Experience

16:38 AI in Developer Tools and Integration

21:32 Recommended Resources and Closing Thoughts

The death of the coverage model...

In this episode of the Chief Customer Officer Podcast, Jay Nathan and Jeff Breunsbach peel back the layers on the practical application of AI in Customer Success. They start with a reality check: before you can build sophisticated AI agents, you often have to do the manual "grunt work" first — like physically reviewing contracts to clean up renewal data. The conversation shifts to a critical debate on organizational structure, specifically the move away from the traditional "Coverage Model" (assigning accounts based on ARR) toward a "Predictive Model" that relies on real-time data signals rather than arbitrary check-ins. Finally, Jay and Jeff geek out on the concept of "Vibe Coding" — using AI to build internal tools and websites without writing a line of code — and discuss why leaders need to get their hands dirty with these tools to truly understand them.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction & Dropping the ".io" 01:07 The Reality of Renewals: Manual Work Before AI 04:49 Why You Should Hire Ops Before Your Next CSM 09:49 The Death of the Coverage Model 13:49 Erroneous Signals vs. Predictive Data 17:44 The Evangelism Role & Fixing QBRs 25:36 The "Stay Conversation": 3 Questions to Retain Your Team 27:42 "Vibe Coding" & Building Software with AI 33:25 How Jeff Built the New Website (Without Code) 42:34 Preview: Sierra AI & Next Week

And we're back...

In this episode of the Chief Customer Officer Podcast, Jay Nathan and Jeff Breunsbach discuss the evolving landscape of customer success, particularly focusing on the impact of AI. They explore the importance of building a robust renewal function, identifying key information for renewals, and the necessity of mapping out processes. The conversation delves into the development of granular AI agents to enhance customer interactions and the balance between workflow and AI capabilities. They also emphasize the significance of understanding customer business contexts and choosing the right tools for effective AI implementation. The episode concludes with thoughts on standardizing AI use across teams and the future directions of AI in customer success.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the Chief Customer Officer Podcast 02:58 The Role of AI in Customer Success 05:58 Building a Renewal Function with AI 08:49 Identifying Key Information for Renewals 12:08 Mapping Out the Renewal Process 15:09 Creating Operational Agents for Efficiency 18:10 The Future of AI in Customer Engagement 22:09 Optimizing Workflow with AI Agents 24:18 Personalization in Customer Interactions 26:11 The Importance of Real-Time Data 28:00 Exploring Tools for AI Integration 30:04 Categories of Agentic Tools 35:50 Empowering Business Users with Agent Development 39:04 Real-World Applications of AI in Business

Keywords: renewals, customer success, AI, SaaS, customer experience, chief customer officer, renewal process, agentic tools, customer engagement, technology in business, customer retention