How AI is changing Customer Success w/ Alex Turkovic
Sr. Director of Customer Experience at Belfry, on how AI is changing the way CX teams operate.
Alex Turkovic spends a lot of time thinking about where customer success is headed. He’s the Sr. Director of CX at Belfry, and the host of the Digital CX Podcast, where he talks to top customer success leaders about how tech is reshaping the craft.
We spoke to Alex about how AI is changing the way CX teams operate - from spotting churn before customers complain to hiring automation specialists over traditional CSMs.
Here are some of the highlights from our conversation:
From firefighting to forecasting
Historically, CSMs have spent most of their time reacting, whether that's churn, escalations, or some other risk indicator.
AI is starting to flip that. Tools like Vitally and Gong now make it possible to analyze ticket sentiment, NPS scores, and call transcripts to flag risks much earlier.
“You shouldn’t wait for the customer to tell you they’re unhappy. AI can show you when engagement drops or sentiment shifts long before that happens.”
Alex says top CX teams are using those signals to intervene weeks before a renewal conversation happens.
Automate prep, but keep empathy human
When issues do surface, Alex’s team uses AI to summarize every account touchpoint (usually spread across emails, calls, and tickets) so CSMs walk into conversations with all the context they'd need.
AI isn't replacing the art of nurturing customer relationships (yet), but it does take away the drudgery of gathering information and gives humans the space to actually listen.
“AI can do the triage and the homework.. It can’t do empathy.”
Building the digital CX function
Alex hosts many CX leaders on his pod, and he sees a new kind of role emerging inside customer success: the automation specialist.
Instead of hiring more CSMs, teams are hiring people who can build workflows using tools like n8n and Zapier, connect CRMs to support systems, and maintain data hygiene.
“Every CX org needs someone who thinks like an engineer. The modern customer experience team has a systems layer under it.”
That “digital CX” layer connects data from sales, success, and support - giving teams a single view of the customer and a foundation for predictive insights.
The new skillset for CX
Tomorrow’s CX leaders will blend empathy with automation chops. They’ll need to be as comfortable writing an n8n workflow as they are running a QBR.
For Alex, CX is not becoming less human. If anything, AI frees up CSMs to do things that are more human: especially the subtle emotional work that meaningful customer relationships are built on.
“If AI handles the noise, humans can handle what matters”
Actionable takeaways for builders
- Predict churn before it happens. Use sentiment and engagement signals across calls, tickets, and surveys to surface risk early.
- Automate triage and prep. Let AI summarize history and context so CSMs focus on resolution and empathy.
- Hire automation specialists. Build a digital CX layer that connects data, workflows, and customer systems.
- Embrace new tooling. Platforms like Vitally, Gong, and n8n are now essential CX infrastructure.
- Upskill for hybrid roles. Future CX pros will combine customer empathy with low-code automation skills.
We had a really great time jamming with Alex! You can catch our full conversation on YouTube, alongside our previous conversations with product and engineering leaders at Intercom, Monday.com, Vercel, and more.