Intercom CPO on shifting from AI-dead to AI-first | Paul Adams | E252

In this episode, Carlos Gonzalez de Villaumbrosia interviews Paul Adams, Chief Product Officer at Intercom, a leading customer communication platform that has experienced both remarkable success and near-catastrophe.

Founded in 2011, Intercom revolutionized customer service as a SaaS pioneer, reaching a peak valuation of $1.3 billion. However, by 2022, the company faced potential collapse as AI rapidly disrupted its core business. In a dramatic turnaround, Intercom's original founder returned as CEO, transforming the company into an AI-first powerhouse now serving over 50,000 paying customers globally.

Paul's 12-year tenure at Intercom has been pivotal in shaping the company's evolution. As CPO, he leads Product Management, Design, Data Science, and Research. His impressive background includes working on groundbreaking products at Google, such as YouTube and Gmail, during the iPhone's launch era.

In this episode, we explore Intercom's transformation from a simple customer support tool to an AI-powered communication platform, the evolution of AI in customer service, and the challenges of building AI-first products as a non-native AI company.

What you'll learn:

- How Intercom navigated the transition from a traditional SaaS model to an AI-first approach.
- The impact of AI on product development and organizational structure.
- Intercom's journey in developing AI-powered customer service agents.
- Strategies for implementing outcome-based pricing models in the AI era.
- Challenges and opportunities in building AI-first products for established companies.

Key Takeaways:

- AI Transformation: Paul discusses Intercom's bold move to allocate 70% of R&D to AI development.
- Organizational Restructuring: He explains how Intercom is reimagining traditional product roles to adapt to AI-driven development.
- Customer-Centric AI: Paul emphasizes the importance of building AI products in close partnership with customers.
- Pricing Innovation: He introduces Intercom's exploration of outcome-based pricing models aligned with customer success.
- Product Judgment: Paul argues for the increasing importance of product intuition and risk-taking in the AI era.

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