Cheeky Pint Des Traynor on reinventing Intercom twice and the “four horsemen” of good AI companies
311 snips
Sep 24, 2025 
Des Traynor, co-founder of Intercom and a thought leader in product strategy, shares insights on transforming Intercom from a messaging tool to an AI-driven customer service platform. He discusses the launch of Fin, their AI agent, and why selling AI is a modern challenge. Des emphasizes the importance of user feedback versus data alone and reveals the four essential traits of successful AI companies. He also dives into co-founder dynamics and the courage required for pivots, making the conversation rich with practical advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.
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How Intercom Reinvented Twice
- Intercom began as a general tool to let internet businesses talk to customers and evolved by following how customers actually used it.
- The company refocused to customer service in 2022 and then launched an AI push immediately after ChatGPT appeared.
FIN Became A High-Volume AI Agent
- FIN is an AI customer agent that scaled from 25% to about 65% resolution and now handles over a million conversations weekly.
- Intercom monetizes FIN per answered resolution and it's become a core growth engine inside a mature SaaS business.
Bots Reduce Social Friction
- Users often prefer bots because they remove social friction and allow private, immediate interactions.
- That induced demand means conversational AI can expand usage beyond mere cost savings into genuine product improvement.
