Zendesk is trading human staff with autonomous agents in its latest deal with Forethought. And the era of human-led customer support as we know it might be officially over.
Zendesk just closed its deal to buy Forethought. And it marks a crucial transformation in how businesses talk to their customers.
Primarily, Zendesk has been selling software that helps humans do their jobs. But the flurry of AI tech has changed the sail’s direction. They are now selling software designed to replace those humans.
But do they mean entirely- that’s a question worth asking.
Forethought specializes in autonomous agents. These agents handle complex problems from start to finish, unlike the clunky chatbots of the past. They don’t just triage or route a ticket, but solve it. And that means the entry-level support tier is effectively becoming obsolete.
Is there even a reason to pay a person to sit in that chair if an AI can handle a refund or a password reset in seconds?
Yet the most interesting part of this deal is the business model- Zendesk is pivoting away from per-seat pricing.
More employees meant more money for Zendesk. But that was the old world. To adapt to the new world order, they are moving toward outcome-based billing. You pay when the AI actually fixes the problem.
This move aligns Zendesk’s profit with the disappearance of your staff. It seems like a brilliant financial strategy in theory, but it’s a cold reality for the global workforce.
There’s a massive risk in this partnership.
There’s no human safety net to catch the fallout when an autonomous agent makes a mistake. But brands are trading a personal touch for a better bottom line in this moment.
And Zendesk is betting that customers care more about speed and not human connection. We are very close to finding out if they are right.
