In the evolving landscape of customer experience, leaders across industries are navigating how to integrate generative AI into their operations without compromising the human touch. For Craig Crisler, CEO of SupportNinja, this isn’t just a technical challenge. It’s a strategic imperative. His company, which partners with fast-scaling tech companies to manage customer support, has taken a deeply consultative approach to aligning Gen AI with client CX goals. The message is clear: AI must serve the brand, not dilute it, as my interview with him shows.
Crisler brings a unique lens to AI adoption. Having worked on language models even before founding SupportNinja, his view of Gen AI is grounded not in hype, but in how it genuinely enhances business outcomes. At SupportNinja, the emphasis is not on flashy deployments for internal gain. The real focus is on how AI can optimize client operations. This client-first mindset drives everything, starting with a strategic diagnostic phase that examines client systems, processes, and data readiness well before any tooling is introduced.
“It’s about taking five or six steps back before implementing anything,” Crisler explains. “We start with understanding the customer journey, the data structure, the integration landscape, and then move…