AI customer support can improve service without replacing people, and Carlos Almeida believes that starting with automation is the wrong approach.

At Optave, the company he co-founded, the focus is on AI copilots that help enterprise customer support agents work more effectively, with automation only when the conditions are right. That means mapping every step of a support journey, building AI quality controls so responses meet standards, and giving companies the ability to guide what the AI is doing as part of a broader enterprise automation strategy.

Carlos has worked in customer support long enough to see the gap between marketing promises and what AI can actually deliver: from overhyped automation to quick prototypes that create more problems than they solve.

In this episode, he talks with Daniel about the traps companies face when building their own customer experience AI, why control and trust are as important as accuracy, and how automation might expand demand for customer support instead of replacing it.

🔑 What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• ✅ Why AI copilots can be a better first step than full automation
• ✅ How to build AI quality controls that keep responses on track
• ✅ Why companies overestimate what AI can do in support
• ✅ The hidden costs of quick AI prototypes
• ✅ How automation could expand demand for customer support rather than replace it

🔗 Resources & Links

• 🤝 Connect with Carlos: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlos-alm/
• 🤖 Learn more about Optave: https://optave.com/
• 📩 Subscribe to the newsletter: https://manary.haus/podcast/#haus
• 👉 Have a guest in mind? Reach out to Daniel at [email protected]

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