AI unjamming support: Freshworks' move to uncomplicate customer service
Customer service got crowded. Too many channels. Too many tools. Too many steps. AI can help, but only after teams admit the real blocker: complexity. As Mika Yamamoto, chief customer and marketing officer at Freshworks, put it, "Inertia is a massive force… Recognize that there is a problem and there is actually a way out."
At Refresh North America 2025, she laid out how Freshworks is cutting unnecessary steps and giving teams a simpler way to work - and why that translates into faster resolutions, happier agents and better customer outcomes.
What complexity costs your support org
Freshworks' recent survey points to hard losses: wasted software spend, missed growth and higher turnover. The stat that hits hardest - 60% of customer service employees are considering quitting.
It's not lack of effort. It's workflow debt. Agents jump between email, chat and internal tools, then copy and paste to reconstruct the customer story. Meanwhile, customers wonder why one company can't see one picture of their issue.
Customer zero at Freshworks: results that matter
Yamamoto runs Freshworks' own support on Freshdesk with Freddy AI Copilot and Freddy AI agents. The team achieved a 45% deflection of level-one tickets and cut agent ramp time from six months to three.
Those wins free budget to upskill people and create a data-backed path to turn support from a cost line into a growth engine. Or, as Yamamoto summarized: simplifying isn't a nice-to-have - it's how you get real results.
A practical playbook to reduce steps and speed up resolution
- Admit the problem. Complexity is a choice. Decide to remove it.
- Pick one customer record of truth. Connect email, chat and CRM so agents see the full context without switching tabs.
- Start with level-one deflection. Roll out AI for the top intents, measure containment and CSAT, then expand.
- Give agents an AI copilot. Summaries, next-best actions and reply drafts with human-in-the-loop approval.
- Ground answers in your knowledge base. Add guardrails, redaction and audit trails for safety and trust.
- Automate the boring work. Auto-tagging, routing and follow-ups reduce handling time and errors.
- Track the few metrics that matter. FCR, AHT, deflection, ramp time. Reinvest savings into coaching and career paths.
- Close the loop daily. Capture agent feedback, improve prompts and update knowledge continuously.
Tools mentioned
Freshworks' stack includes Freshdesk and Freddy AI (Copilot and agents). The approach is simple: fewer steps, one view of the customer and AI that accelerates - not replaces - your team.
Next steps for support leaders
- Choose one high-volume queue and set a 30-day goal: cut steps by 50%.
- Baseline FCR, AHT, deflection and ramp time. Share weekly wins with the team.
- Use savings to upskill agents. Simplicity compounds.
"Uncomplicating is possible. There's joy in simplicity - and there are real results in simplicity, too."
Upskill your team on practical AI for support
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