Summary
Tom Egenmeier argued the per-seat SaaS model will die as Zendesk shifts AI agents toward consumption and outcome-based pricing, starting with automated resolutions launched in August 2024. He said Zendesk is using acquisitions, OpenAI and open-source models, and vertical workflows to automate over 80% of agent interactions within three years while preserving human escalation.
Key Topics
5 key topics from Tom Eggemeier, Mike Murchison and Hugh Langley at HumanX Amsterdam 2026. Thicker branches were mentioned more often in the talk.
Is This the "End of SaaS" Moment We’ve Been Building For?
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Key Takeaways
- Redesign pricing around measurable outcomes, not user seats.
- Define each outcome jointly with customers before billing.
- Offer human escalation while introducing voice AI agents softly.
- Blend acquisitions, frontier models, and open-source models strategically.
- Build defensibility through governance, platform depth, and vertical use cases.
“We were the first people in August 2024 to go to outcome based pricing, for our AI agents”
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