Who:
- Ryan Seams (Assembly AI), Monica Perez (Lovable), and Tom Ronen (Harvey): leaders from three fastest-growing AI-native companies
What Happened:
- CSM roles declined 700% since 2022 while forward deployed engineering grew 1000%.
- Assembly AI found technical buyers recoil at "customer success" titles but engage with "forward deployed engineers."
- Harvey uses old-school EBRs and change management despite being an $11B AI company.
Why It Matters:
- AI adoption requires engineering-level post-sale support, not traditional CSM handholding.
- "AI-powered" positioning now signals immaturity; winners treat AI as table stakes.
- Adoption metrics like seat utilization no longer predict retention in AI workflows.
ARM Impact:
- Tab Hopper (Stage 1 (Tab Hopper)): Legacy CSM tools become liabilities as buyers reject non-technical support.
- AI Sprinkler (Stage 3 (AI Sprinkler)): Companies hiding their AI usage signal true maturity.
- ARM (Stage 4 (Autonomous Revenue Master)): Forward deployed engineers replace CSMs as adoption requires workflow redesign.
What to Watch:
- Look for mass rebranding of CSM teams to engineering titles in Q4 2024.
- Monitor if Harvey's traditional CS motion succeeds in other conservative industries.
- Track whether NPS dies as a metric across SaaS following this public rejection.