What does it really take to build an AI-powered customer experience from the ground up?
Lacey Peace sits down with Katie Bianchi, Chief Customer Officer at Palo Alto Networks, to unpack how her team rebuilt support systems for the AI era — eliminating handoffs, reducing resolution time by over 40%, and transforming how their teams work.
Katie walks through their phased AI implementation strategy, from data unification and process re-architecture to training internal copilots capable of diagnosing the most complex cases. She shares why tight alignment between product, IT, and customer success is now a non-negotiable, and how empowering frontline employees to lead experimentation created real transformation.
Plus, Katie gets candid about what she would’ve done differently, why NPS might be obsolete, and how AI is becoming the operating system for work itself. Whether you’re navigating digital transformation or trying to unite siloed teams, this episode offers a clear, tactical, and deeply human roadmap to scaling customer experience in the age of AI.
Key Moments:
- 00:00 Meet AI-Expert Katie Bianchi, CCO at Palo Alto Networks
- 01:31 Why Dirty Data Is Killing Your AI Strategy
- 02:46 AI Adoption Starts with Empowered Employees
- 06:49 Joining a Cybersecurity Giant During Peak Disruption
- 08:41 Step-by-Step: How Palo Alto Networks Rolled Out AI
- 14:17 Building a Culture of Rapid Experimentation
- 21:50 What AI Agents Can Do in Tech Support Right Now
- 23:12 What We’d Do Differently: Lessons from the Frontlines of AI
- 25:47 End-to-End Automation: Connecting Pre- and Post-Sales
- 27:38 Smarter CX: Turning Data Into Actionable Insights
- 36:41 Rethinking Metrics: How to Measure AI’s Real Impact
- 39:17 From Reactive to Proactive: Real AI Customer Wins
- 41:26 AI as Your New Operating System: What’s Next
