The death of the ticket
The ticket is a relic of the Firefighter Era— a lagging indicator of a problem that has already happened. In the Agentic Era, the goal is zero-ticket support. If a ticket is created, it means we failed to be proactive and prevent the friction in the first place.
Future agentic support won’t wait for a user to say “it’s broken”. It will—and already is—monitoring product signals (telemetry), billing anomalies, and usage patterns in real time. For example, if telemetry detects that a user has failed a login attempt three times, the AI shouldn't wait for a “Locked account” ticket to arrive. Instead, it should reach out proactively with an instant, secure reset option.
We must stop measuring how many tickets we handle and start measuring how many we avoided—tracking the instructions and hints we provided that kept the customer in their flow.
While the automated resolution rate (ARR) remains a vital metric for issues resolved without human touch, our north star should shift to a new metric: proactive resolution rate (PRR). This is how support becomes an invisible layer of the product. Some examples:
1. E‑commerce and logistics
Imagine a customer is attempting to purchase an item that cannot be delivered to their specific region. Instead of letting them reach the checkout only to face a “Shipping error,” the AI intervenes the moment they open the product page. A helpful mascot or notification explains: “This specific item doesn't ship to your zone, but Merchant Y offers the exact same product with local delivery.” The AI then provides a direct link to the alternative, resolving a potential complaint before the customer even feels frustrated.
2. SaaS and fintech
A customer’s recurring payment fails. Traditionally, this triggers a cold “Payment failed” email and, eventually, a support ticket when their service is cut off. In the Agentic Era, the AI analyzes the failure signal immediately. If the card is simply expired, the AI sends an in‑app nudge: “Your card expires this month; update it here to keep your service active.” If the AI detects a pattern of declining usage alongside the payment failure, it can proactively offer a temporary discount or a pause option to prevent churn before the customer even thinks about canceling.
3. EOR and compliance
In the employer of record (EOR) industry, a manager is drafting an employment contract for a new hire in Germany. The AI monitors the draft in real time. It detects that the manager has typed a notice period that was recently rendered illegal by a new local labor law. The AI mascot pops up: “Heads up! A new regulation in Germany changed notice period requirements last week. Use this updated template to stay compliant.” By intervening during the creation process, the AI prevents a future legal dispute and the inevitable high‑stakes support ticket that would have followed.
From 2026 onwards, support will feel invisible in more and more services. It will no longer be a side service you access when things go wrong; it will be a foundational layer of the product experience that ensures things always go right.