23 Daily — According to saastr.com, Vercel’s Chief Operating Officer Jeanne DeWitt Grosser shared how the company drastically reduced its customer service and sales development representative (SDR) workforce by leveraging an in-house AI support system. With this AI integration, Vercel downsized its SDR team from 10 to just 1 and handled 93% of customer support requests through AI.
AI-Powered SDR System Replaces 90% of Human Work in Six Weeks
Vercel ran its AI-driven Sales Development Representative (SDR) in 'shadow mode' for six weeks, during which the company’s top-performing human SDR reviewed and improved every AI output. Ultimately, the AI achieved performance at the 90th percentile of human reps consistently. After six weeks, the original 10-person lead qualification team was reduced to one person administering the AI system, which costs under $5,000 annually for infrastructure and tokens.
Jeanne DeWitt Grosser explained that one engineer contributed about 20% of their time to build the AI system, with ongoing human oversight to refine its work. The rest of the team members were reassigned to higher-value roles. Currently, one person manages the US market, with approximately 20% of another person supporting Europe and Asia-Pacific regions.
In-House Developed AI Agents Boost Sales and Customer Support Efficiency
At Vercel, three engineers collaborate closely, documenting the workflows of top performers and turning them into AI-driven workflows. The AI agents operate under human supervision without autonomous decision-making until the human confirms no further tweaks are needed.
This method has been applied across 30 SDR workflows including event follow-ups, product-qualified lead sequences, and time-based campaigns. As a result, SDR quotas increased by 30% that quarter.
For customer support, Vercel’s AI agent named “Vertex” powers their help website. After unsatisfactory results with an off-the-shelf product, the company developed its own AI system, reducing costs and improving service quality. Jeanne noted that Vercel re-evaluates and switches tools quarterly if better, faster, or cheaper options emerge.
Editor's take: AI Agents Present New Opportunities and Verification Paths for Startups
Vercel’s experience demonstrates the substantial potential of automating sales and customer service workflows with AI, yielding cost savings and improved operational efficiency and customer experience. For entrepreneurs, building in-house AI agents with technical expertise can rapidly deploy and continuously optimize these processes, transforming traditional sales and customer support models.
To implement similar AI agent systems, startups can start by focusing on a few key workflows, carefully analyzing and documenting top employees’ methods, then developing corresponding automation under human supervision. This approach allows for measurable performance verification and gradual scaling of adoption.