Mike Lemire on AI, Customer Success, and the Problem with “AI Strategy” - Ep 35

In this episode of PROMPTED, Kyle James sits down with Mike Lemire, a longtime customer success leader and advisor, to unpack what is really happening with AI inside CS teams.

AI was supposed to make customer success more proactive, more strategic, and more human. Instead, many teams are chasing “AI strategies” without clarity on outcomes, customer experience, or value.

Mike shares what he is seeing across CS organizations, including:

1. Why AI strategy has become theater instead of problem-solving
2. How investor pressure quietly shapes AI adoption in CS
3. Support teams as the earliest AI testbed and the risks of optimizing for deflection
4. The danger of over-indexing on sentiment and the “customer watermelon” problem
5. A hackathon story where vibe coding replaced a six-figure SaaS purchase
6. Why better product experiences could ultimately reduce the need for CS itself

This is a grounded, honest conversation for customer success, CX, and GTM leaders who want to use AI thoughtfully rather than chase the latest tool.

🎧 Listen for practical lessons, cautionary insights, and a clearer way forward for AI in customer success.

Learn more and Connect with Mike:

1. Connect with Mike on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaellemire/
2. Learn more about Harmonic Leadership: https://harmonicleadership.com/