MUD/WTR's AI-forward approach to customer experience

two years ago, Sara C. and the MUD\WTR team took a bet on Siena AI when we were just getting started. last week at AI lab, she shared something that stuck with me: Siena got so good at their brand voice that she trained her human team to sound like the AI so everyone stays consistent. that's wild. and it's the opposite of how most companies think about AI in customer experience. we spent the roundtable digging into how MUD/WTR actually became AI-forward. what it looks like day-to-day when your CEO backs experimentation, when you're testing new automations every week, when you're handling sensitive health questions and allergen inquiries with AI. Sara talked about their process: set new automations to internal notes first, watch how they perform, then push them live when they're ready. they prioritize what to automate based on what frees up their team to focus on the complex stuff. they expanded from US to UK. they're prepping for holiday 2025 completely differently than last year. their team's work changed - less repetitive tickets, more strategic thinking. the thing that makes them different isn't that they use AI. it's that they treat AI as part of their team. they trained Siena to be casually on-brand, emoji-heavy, authentically MUD/WTR. they use content moderation strategically. they move fast but they don't compromise on quality. Sara's advice for CX leaders facing internal resistance: you need buy-in from the top, and you need a team that embraces testing over perfection. two years in, they are living proof of what's possible when you actually commit to being AI-forward instead of just talking about it. massive kudos! let's go!