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Tom Eggemeier

Chief Executive Officer, Zendesk

Search every verified Tom Eggemeier interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Tom Eggemeier, CEO of Zendesk, discussed the company’s transition to an AI-first model and the evolving software landscape in an October 2026 interview with Human[X]. He stated that the market’s earlier concerns about a “SaaS apocalypse” have stabilized, with winners and losers emerging similar to past technology transitions. Eggemeier said Zendesk has been telling customers, shareholders, and employees that the company needs to make this transition, and he argued that the market is now recognizing that not all SaaS companies will fail. Eggemeier also addressed pricing and AI adoption, saying he believes traditional seat-based pricing is “officially dead” and that Zendesk is shifting toward outcome-based models and automated resolutions. He predicted that over 80% of customer service interactions will be handled by AI agents within three years, with human agents handling the remainder, while also noting that total interactions will grow exponentially. He described Zendesk’s moat as its full platform—combining self-service, AI agents, human agents, security, and governance—along with deep vertical use cases, such as a collections deployment in Brazil. He also commented on the global technology gap, saying that adoption speed between San Francisco and major European capitals has shrunk to weeks, but expressing concern about widening disparities for regions like his native Ohio and Kentucky.

Recent appearances

  • Is SaaS dead? Zendesk CEO Tom Eggemeier on AI Agents, Outcome-Based Pricing, and more | Human[X]

    October 01, 2026 · 📺 Zendesk

    Is the SaaS apocalypse real, or is software just evolving? In this Human[X] interview, Zendesk CEO Tom Eggemeier discusses how artificial intelligence is transforming customer service, software pricing, and the tech landscape. Tom shares why he believes traditional seat-based pricing is officially dead, how Zendesk is shifting toward outcome-based models and automated resolutions, and what it takes for software companies to survive the AI transition over the next few years. Key topics covered in this video: ✅ The "SaaS Apocalypse": Are SaaS companies bound to fail, or are we entering a norma…

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  • Zendesk CEO: "It's Nice To Be Private" | Macro Talk

    August 05, 2026 · 📺 MACRO TALK

    Zendesk CEO Tom Eggemeier never set out to be a CEO. "A kid from Dayton, OH," Eggemeier always thought he wanted to be a ...

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  • What’s New: April 2026 | Zendesk

    May 29, 2026 · 📺 Zendesk

    Welcome to the April What's New Webinar! In this session, we break down our latest product releases designed to scale your ...

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  • Insights from Zendesk Relate - Interview with Tom Eggemeier, Shana Simmons and Cristina Fonseca

    May 28, 2026 · 📺 Adrian Swinscoe

    Today’s episode of the Punk CX podcast features a series of interviews that I conducted with Zendesk (https://www.zendesk.com/) executives while at Relate (https://virtualevents.zendesk.com/ser...) , their annual customer event in Denver last week. I talked to Tom Eggemeier, CEO, Zendesk, Shana Simmons, CLO, Zendesk, and Cristina Fonseca, VP Product, Zendesk. Some of the things we cover include the big themes and takeaways from the event, including some background on the big product announcements, AI trust and why trust is a core differentiator, how Zendesk are working with clients to help th…

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  • Zendesk CEO Tom Eggemeier On Building The Autonomous Service Workforce

    May 19, 2026 · 📺 Neil C. Hughes

    What happens when customer service stops being a department and starts becoming an autonomous operational system? Recorded live at, this conversation with Tom Eggemeier goes far beyond chatbots, copilots, and AI hype cycles. Instead, we explore why Zendesk believes the future of enterprise service will be built around what it calls an “autonomous service workforce,” where AI agents, human experts, workflows, analytics, governance, and orchestration layers all work together as one continuously learning system. Tom shares how Zendesk transformed its own internal operations using AI, achi…

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  • What It Takes to Modernize Global Operations | Zendesk CEO Tom Eggemeier speaks at HumanX 2026

    April 24, 2026 · 📺 Zendesk

    Global organizations are redesigning service operations under pressure from AI, rising customer expectations and fragmented systems. Boomi and Zendesk leaders break down what it takes to integrate data, automate workflows and upgrade legacy processes. A strategic discussion for companies modernising how they serve customers at scale. More information: https://zdsk.co/4cHP5W6 Zendesk makes customer and employee service better. We build software to meet customer and employee needs, set your team up for success, and keep your business in sync. 🙌 Trial Zendesk for free: https://zdsk.co/Zendesk2…

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  • Tom Eggemeier, Zendesk | Cube Conversation

    January 28, 2026 · 📺 SiliconANGLE theCUBE

    In this Cube Conversation from the Palo Alto studio, theCUBE’s John Furrier sits down with Tom Eggemeier, chief executive officer of Zendesk, to unpack why 2026 is shaping up as the “year of adoption” for AI in customer service. Eggemeier explains how leading enterprises are moving beyond pilots to measurable outcomes – higher automated resolutions, improved accuracy and better personalization – while treating service not as a cost center, but as a lever for loyalty and revenue. Instead of chasing shiny demos, Eggemeier argues for the unglamorous work that makes AI stick: rewiring workflows,…

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  • Tom Eggemeier, Zendesk | AWS re:Invent 2025

    December 02, 2025 · 📺 SiliconANGLE theCUBE

    In this broadcast from AWS re:Invent 2025, Tom Eggemeier, chief executive officer of Zendesk, joins theCUBE’s John Furrier and Paul Nashawaty to discuss the company’s deepened strategic alliance with AWS. Eggemeier details a "three-legged stool" partnership that includes running infrastructure on AWS, integrating Amazon Connect for voice, and leveraging Amazon Bedrock and Nova models to power multimodal experiences. The conversation highlights the industry shift from abstracting infrastructure to abstracting work through AI agents, emphasizing how Zendesk utilizes its massive dataset of 18 bil…

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  • AI at the Core: Zendesk’s Bold Vision for the Future of Contact Centers

    September 15, 2025 · 📺 CX Today

    Tom Eggemeier and Jonathan Barouch unpack the AI-first contact center revolution—and why the real disruption is only just ...

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  • Zendesk CEO Reveals AI Secrets for Customer Service | CXOTalk #886

    July 24, 2025 · 📺 CXOTalk

    Zendesk CEO Tom Eggemeyer joins Michael Krigsman to discuss the impact of *AI CX* on customer expectations. They explore real-world lessons from the *Zendesk AI* journey, including what has worked and what hasn't. Learn how *customer service* is being reshaped by *ChatGPT* and **artificial intelligence and machine learning**. *Key Topics Covered:* • The shift from traditional chatbots to reasoning AI agents • Why Zendesk only gets paid when AI successfully resolves issues • How AI is more accurate (and sometimes more empathetic) than humans • The surprising ways AI is changing customer servic…

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  • AI will help consumers interact with companies more often, says Zendesk CEO

    April 27, 2025 · 📺 CNBC International Live

    Tom Eggemeier, CEO of customer service platform Zendesk, sees 80% of interactions between customers and companies likely ...

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  • Starting a resolution revolution - Interview with Tom Eggemeier, Adrian McDermott and Matthias Gö...

    April 15, 2025 · 📺 Adrian Swinscoe

    Today’s podcast is a two-parter and features interviews with Tom Eggemeier, Adrian McDermott and Matthias Göhler, which took place at Zendesk (https://www.zendesk.com/) ’s recent Relate (https://www.zendeskrelate.com/) event, which took place in Las Vegas on March 25th-27th. Tom Eggemeier is the Chief Executive Officer of Zendesk, Adrian McDermott is the Chief Technology Officer at Zendesk, and Matthias Göhler is EMEA Chief Technology Officer at Zendesk. We talk about all of the latest developments at Zendesk, some of the big product announcements, starting another revolution and how knowledg…

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The summary and quote tags on this profile are produced with AI assistance from verified, first-person interview transcripts, then checked by our team to confirm the speaker's identity and the accuracy of every quote. See how we verify →