Spotlight: Ryan Seams @ Assembly AI

How has the role of customer support / success changed since you started your career?

My career in customer support started in 2014 at Mixpanel, just as highly technical and complex B2B SaaS products across domains like data analytics, experimentation, marketing attribution, etc. were exploding. This created the need for a new breed of support/success: deeply technical individuals who could guide developers, engineers, and product managers not just through implementation, but also through ongoing, sophisticated usage. The increasing importance of domain and technical expertise to drive real product value and renewals has made top tier customer support and success essential for companies who sell to technical audiences.

What do most people get wrong about customer support / success?

Forgetting that each customer is a company with its own unique culture and workflows. Stop forcing your processes (QBRs, account plans, check-ins, etc.) on them. Instead, be curious. Learn your customers' preferred communication and collaboration styles. Meet them where they are (for example - Slack for technical teams). Your job is to drive outcomes within their company, not just yours.

How do you see post-sales teams evolving when it comes to AI?

I envision a future where AI is the first line of defense for all customer support/success inquiries across text chats and voice calls. AI will handle the repetitive L1 and eventually L2 tasks (think: resetting passwords, updating credit card numbers, pulling usage data for a renewal), instantly routing complex issues to humans. This "closed-loop" system learns from every human interaction, constantly improving whenever an issue gets escalated to a human. This frees up teams to be proactive and tackle strategic challenges that drive real customer value, not just repetitive tasks.

What's the most rewarding part of your role in customer support / success?

Seeing the intertwined growth of customers and colleagues. Helping customers realize their initial vision with our product, while simultaneously watching team members develop their skills and move into roles they love (sales, success, engineering) – that's powerful. It's the ultimate validation of a strong customer experience when your customers succeed and grow with you and your team members move on to roles they are passionate about.