Adrian McDermott
Chief Technology Officer at Zendesk with decades of software engineering and product leadership experience, known for scaling Zendesk's product and engineering teams and guiding its AI-enabled customer service strategy.
Best podcasts with Adrian McDermott
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Mar 16, 2026 • 44min
380: Customer Service's AI Shift: Zendesk CTO Adrian McDermott on Deterministic AI and Context Engineering
Adrian McDermott, CTO at Zendesk who scaled its product and engineering teams, shares how customer service became strategic. He talks about practical AI for agents, balancing automation with human touch. He explains the move from creative to deterministic AI, the rise of context engineering, and building systems that capture knowledge from every interaction.
Dec 1, 2025 • 59min
How AI Agents Are Redefining Customer Experience with Adrian McDermott, CTO at Zendesk
Adrian McDermott, CTO at Zendesk, shares his insights on how AI agents are revolutionizing customer service. He argues that rather than replacing teams, automation expands their capabilities and drives innovation. Adrian explores three AI application modes and the evolution of support from phone calls to intelligent agents. He highlights the need for strong REST APIs to support automation and discusses the financial shift to outcome-based pricing. Adrian's personal approach to leadership leans on being adaptable and prioritizing grit when hiring.
