Assembled and Thunder, the fastest growing Salesforce Consulting partner, recently hosted an Executive Roundtable exploring the future of AI in support operations. Leaders using Service Cloud at companies in technology, compliance, retail, and more shared real-world insights on how they’re balancing efficiency, empathy, and measurement in a fast-evolving landscape.
As AI becomes more deeply embedded into platforms like Salesforce Service Cloud — and complemented by tools like Assembled — support leaders are rethinking what scalable, high-quality service actually looks like.
Support teams are eager to scale AI — but not without the right foundation. A Customer Service Leader at a leading creative suite emphasized:
“If you want to keep improving, you need to have proper data and connect the right data points so that the bot or the AI assistant can really help.”
Even the best AI can’t deliver relevant service without clean, structured data — from knowledge bases to purchase histories.
Operational tools like Assembled Workforce Management help connect the dots between forecasting, scheduling, and performance data, creating a strong backbone for AI success.
One VP of Global Support at a leading compliance software shared their approach to piloting AI:
“We’re testing tools on actual ticket data by product segment… The goal is to see how good the AI is at creating content a customer or agent can use.”
Establishing clear benchmarks and success criteria early is critical to proving AI’s ROI — and securing executive buy-in for long-term investment.
Assembled Assist lets teams test and deploy AI agents across channels with built-in visibility, control, and performance tracking. That means support leaders can evaluate performance, test safely, and scale what works.
AI isn’t replacing teams — it’s helping them focus. As one leader observed:
“It’s not a matter of getting rid of the team, it’s about optimizing their jobs.”
By automating common questions and predictable workflows, companies are freeing agents to handle complex, emotional, or high-touch interactions that build long-term customer loyalty.
This shift not only improves the customer experience, it’s also expanding the role of the agent. AI adoption is opening the door for agents to take on more strategic work, from content creation and onboarding to driving improvements in support strategy.
Traditional metrics like CSAT aren’t keeping up with how customers interact with AI. One exec noted:
“The number of responses for CSAT analysis with a bot is way lower than with an agent.”
That’s because AI-powered support is often faster, more anonymous, and less likely to trigger a feedback loop. But a lack of CSAT data doesn’t mean there’s no visibility into what’s working.
Forward-looking teams are shifting to more actionable, operationally useful metrics — like automation rate, deflection rate, and conversation quality scoring — to evaluate AI performance.
As AI agents evolve, so do the ways we measure success. Teams are moving past one-size-fits-all surveys in favor of insights that reflect the full customer journey.
AI is changing how teams plan for surges. A support leader in the retail and ecommerce space noted:
“We’re hoping automation will mean fewer seasonal hires, less onboarding, and more focus from our core team.”
Support leaders are thinking more holistically about capacity — blending AI agents with human teams to meet spikes in demand without increasing headcount or compromising service quality.
Assembled Assist supports this shift with an omnichannel AI agent that handles customer interactions across chat, email, and voice.
By integrating AI agents into their staffing strategy, support teams can scale more flexibly while delivering consistent, personalized service.
Want to learn more about supercharging your support with Assembled and Service Cloud? Click here to schedule time with our team.
