AI is transforming service, but only if it works fast, scales responsibly, and enhances real connection. At Zendesk’s Join Relate conference in Las Vegas in March 2025, I spoke with Shashi Upadhyay, President of Products, Engineering, and AI. He leads product, engineering, AI, design, and trust, driving innovation that makes service more intuitive and human.
Zendesk handles over 5 billion customer resolutions a year, providing the data needed to build fast, accurate, and scalable AI. Shashi emphasized that AI should simplify, not complicate, the customer experience while still improving satisfaction and reliability.
He compared AI to a smart intern. It needs training, oversight, and engineering guardrails to deliver consistent and trusted outcomes. Zendesk’s approach is to move quickly with AI development while remaining grounded in proven practices that ensure safety.
🎧 Listen now to hear how Zendesk blends scale, empathy, and AI to shape the future of customer service.
Key Highlights:
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Zendesk draws on 5 billion annual customer resolutions to train AI that is fast, accurate, and globally compliant.
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AI functions like a “smart intern.” It requires iteration, clear rules, and strong guardrails to stay effective and safe.
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Simplicity drives adoption. Zendesk’s AI is built to feel conversational, tone-aware, and frictionless across channels.
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The vision is clear: elevate human service by reducing friction and enabling agents with intelligent AI co-pilots.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
Blake Morgan was called “The Queen of CX” by Meta. She is a customer experience futurist and author of three books on customer experience. Don’t miss her new book, “The Eight Laws of Customer-Focused Leadership.” To learn more visit www.8CXLaws.com.
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