Intercom’s 2024 in review

Editor, Intercom

December 18, 2024

If 2023 was the year AI burst on to the scene, 2024 was the year it truly came of age in customer service.

We moved beyond the initial “wow” factor to see what AI could actually deliver – and the results have been transformative. From Fin AI Agent’s groundbreaking 51% resolution rate out of the box to stories of our customers handling 690% increases in volume without adding headcount, the promise of AI became very real indeed.

“2024 has shown us that AI is transforming the very nature of customer service work”

Perhaps most importantly, 2024 has shown us that AI isn’t just changing how we handle customer inquiries – it’s transforming the very nature of customer service work itself. Support professionals are evolving into strategic partners who combine their human expertise with AI capabilities to deliver meaningful value to both customers and businesses.

Throughout the year, we’ve had the privilege of sharing insights, learnings, and real-world success stories from the frontlines of this transformation. In this roundup, we’ve selected the most impactful and insightful pieces from 2024. These stories don’t just tell us where customer service has been – they show us where it’s heading.

Thanks for tuning in so far – we can’t wait for everything to come in 2025.

Off Script

Throughout the year, we shared this series of candid conversations with Intercom leaders as they explored every angle of the extraordinary AI-driven transformation we’re currently experiencing.

The series kicked off with our Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer Des Traynor reflecting on the moment we knew this generative AI revolution was going to be very, very big. He offers some advice on how technology enthusiasts – and humans as a whole – can make the most of this opportunity by reframing the way we think and actively reinventing ourselves in this post-AI world.

The next three episodes delved into:

What AI-first customer service looks like with our Chief Product Officer Paul Adams.
Understanding machine learning and its impact on how CS systems are being built with our VP of AI Fergal Reid.
How AI is transforming the way we design, build, and interact with software with our Head of Product Design Emmet Connolly.

In episode five, our President, Archana Agrawal, discussed how AI is revolutionizing the economics of customer service by challenging the traditional trade-offs between quality, speed, and cost.

The season concluded with our CEO and Co-founder, Eoghan McCabe, reimagining the future of customer service in an AI-first world and offering some predictions about the biggest changes we’ll see.

Pioneer – Intercom’s first-ever customer service summit

While AI’s future potential gets a lot of attention, there’s already so much to discuss and learn about the exciting present we’re experiencing right now. That’s why we hosted Pioneer – a full-day event which brought 500 of our customers to a former power station in London.

The event was a true celebration of the pioneers leading the way at a time of great change. These were some standout moments from the day.

Announcing Fin 2

Our Chief Product Officer, Paul Adams, announced Fin 2, the most advanced AI agent in the industry. Fin 2 far surpasses any AI agent you’ve seen before – achieving an unprecedented 51% average resolution rate straight out of the box and a 99.9% accuracy rate.

In his keynote address, Paul lifted the lid on exactly what it’s taken to get to this point – from the journey we’ve been on with generative AI, to everything we learnt from building Fin’s V1, and feedback we received from our customers. He also demonstrated how Fin 2’s powerful new capabilities work, so if you’re if you’re interested in the technical details, we highly recommend giving this a watch.

Customer spotlight: Celebrating real-world results with AI

Three of our amazing customers joined us to share what they’ve learned and the real results they’ve got from adopting AI-first customer service, sparking lots of conversations among the audience.

We were delighted to discover just how much Fin is transforming their support operations, team dynamics, and customer experience.

Catch up on their conversations here:

Angelo Livanos on how Lightspeed Commerce achieves up to 65% resolution rate with Fin AI Agent.
Natalie Hurst on how Nuuly resolves 38% of queries instantly with Fin and maintains 95% CSAT.
Constantina Samara on how Synthesia managed a 690% spike in customer contact without increasing headcount using AI and automation.

Knowledge guides

This year, we published some in-depth guides on important topics to provide customer service leaders with all the insight they need to make informed decisions about implementing and making the most of AI. Here are our top three.

The New Economics of Customer Service

Growth is a crucial component of any business, and the truth is that sustainable growth is impossible without customer service. Using AI, businesses can now unlock the trifecta of better, faster, and cheaper customer service for the first time.

This comprehensive guide tells you everything you need to know about the new economics of CS, including:

How to quantify the ROI of AI-first customer service.
The opportunity cost of not adopting AI.
The value-creating opportunities being unlocked for support teams.
The impact AI is having on support teams, right now.

The AI agent buyer’s guide: How to make the right choice for your support needs

With an influx of new entrants promising powerful AI agents, choosing the right solution has become increasingly complex. So, how can you accurately assess what’s out there to make the right choice for your team?

To make an empowered decision, support leaders need a systematic way to cut through the noise. This piece provides detailed guidance on exactly how to evaluate AI agents and test different options thoroughly to gauge their real-world performance.

The ultimate guide to knowledge management in the age of AI

An extensive, well-structured knowledge management system is the power source of the AI machine. Whether you’re using an AI agent to interact with customers, or an AI copilot as a personal assistant for your support team, these tools need an extensive pool of knowledge to draw from so your customers get accurate, up-to-date information.

This guide includes everything you need to know about effective, AI-optimized customer service knowledge management to help your team take advantage of all the benefits AI has to offer.

The Ticket podcast

We were lucky to host many interesting guests on our podcast this year. The conversations covered everything – from nailing the art of customer experience in the age of AI, to unlocking support’s strategic potential and setting up CS teams to thrive as AI agents come onboard. Here are a few of our favorites.

Shep Hyken on getting ahead of the competition by providing exceptional CX

According to Shep Hyken’s latest Achieving Customer Amazement report, companies that want to really stand out need to blow customers away by providing them with amazing experiences they’ll remember. Anyone who simply “satisfies” their customers risks losing them to competitors who go above and beyond – a fact confirmed by nearly a quarter of respondents.

In this episode of the podcast, Shep tells our VP of Customer Support Declan Ivory about his research’s highlights and emerging trends shaping the future of customer experience.

Blake Morgan on leadership’s role in creating a customer-centric culture

Blake Morgan, a customer experience futurist and author of The Eight Laws of Customer-Focused Leadership, sits down with our Senior Director of Automated and Proactive Support Ruth O’Brien to discuss the importance of customer experience and the influential role leaders play. Blake and Ruth also dig into the impact of AI on customer interactions and the need to balance automation with human touch.

Robert Richman on how strong company culture leads to high customer satisfaction

Robert Richman, author of The Culture Blueprint, chats with Bobby Stapleton, our Senior Director of Human Support, about the importance of aligning company culture with customer service. They discuss how a strong culture can help navigate change and maintain high levels of customer satisfaction, before spending some time exploring the role of AI in customer service.

You can listen to every episode of The Ticket wherever you listen to podcasts.

Customer service on the Intercom Blog

From reframing how we think about AI, to forging new career paths, and practical advice for getting your team onboard with new technology, we covered it all on the Intercom blog. Here are a few standout articles.

There’s no going back – the new era of AI-first Customer Service has arrived

In this thought-provoking piece, Paul Adams shares our vision for the future of customer service, and how AI will utterly transform every aspect of the space.

The first 90 days with AI: A 4-step guide to get you started

Having a clear, well-conceived plan is crucial to get AI up and running successfully. This piece outlines four key steps to take during your first three months with AI to ensure you cover all your bases and get the best results as quickly as possible.

Farewell to the customer service Frankenstack

Over the past few years, customer service tech stacks have become a sprawling mess. With recent advances in AI, it’s time to say goodbye to the Frankenstack and move towards a more efficient, seamless system. Here, Anthony Lopez, Director of Support Operations at Intercom, shares some advice on how to make the transition.

Intercom on Product – lifting the lid on how we build at Intercom

Our product and engineering teams have always been active contributors to our blog. This year was no different. We had several contributions that lift the lid on how we think about designing and building great products. Here are a few that we particularly enjoyed.