AI for Customer Management
Teams are switching not because Gainsight is bad.
Because AI changed what's possible.
02
Your CSMs weren't hired to update dashboards
They were hired to build relationships. But they spend 15+ hours per week on manual data entry and analysis.
15hrs
Average weekly hours CSMs spend on admin work instead of customer relationships
1:80
CSM-to-customer ratio means most accounts get checked quarterly, not proactively
$120k
Annual cost of a dedicated Gainsight admin just to maintain the platform
The Real Problem
Gainsight requires heavy manual configuration to do what should be automatic. Someone has to build the rules, maintain the integrations, and interpret the dashboards. That's why teams hire dedicated admins.
03
What AI reasoning actually looks like
Cust reason for hours on how to drive value for each customer
❌ Traditional View (Gainsight)
Alert: Acme Corp usage dropped 15%
Health Score: 64/100 (Yellow → Red)
Action: CSM needs to investigate manually
Health Score: 64/100 (Yellow → Red)
Action: CSM needs to investigate manually
⚠️ Flagged as churn risk
✅ AI Reasoning (Cust)
Context: Usage dropped 15%, BUT:
• Key champion viewed "Enterprise Plan" page 3x
• Drop coincides with verified holiday in their region
• Similar pattern in 8 accounts that later expanded
• Key champion viewed "Enterprise Plan" page 3x
• Drop coincides with verified holiday in their region
• Similar pattern in 8 accounts that later expanded
💡 Expansion opportunity, not churn risk
➡️ Drafted upgrade email & queued for your review.
This is reasoning, not rules. A rule-based system sees "usage down = bad." AI understands context, identifies patterns across your entire customer base, and recommends the right action.
04
What you're really paying for with Gainsight
THE HIDDEN COSTS
| Gainsight | Cust | |
|---|---|---|
| Platform Cost | $40k-200k/year (depends on seats) | $18k-30k/year (unlimited seats) |
| Implementation | 6-12 months + $50k-200k professional services. Requires data warehouse setup and BI team involvement. | 2-3 weeks. One-click integrations with Salesforce, Linear, Stripe, Zendesk, Segment. No professional services needed. |
| Ongoing Management | Dedicated admin ($120k/year salary) to maintain rules, dashboards, and integrations | AI handles mapping, scoring, and playbook logic automatically |
| How It Works | You configure health score rules → You build dashboards → You interpret the data → You decide what to do | AI builds context → Looks up your guidelines in text → Identifies patterns across portfolio → Recommends specific action with reasoning |
| Scalability | 1 CSM per 50-80 accounts. Human analysis is the bottleneck. | AI analyzes every account daily. CSMs handle 150+ accounts by focusing only on high-priority actions. |
| Churn Detection | Reactive. Health score turns red → CSM investigates → Often discovers issue weeks after it started | Proactive. AI spots leading indicators before they impact health score: "Usage pattern matches 12 accounts that churned within 60 days. Here's what saved similar customers." |
| Insights | "Health score: 64/100" (You figure out why and what to do) | "At risk: Schedule call with CFO about ROI this week. They're evaluating competitors but haven't committed. 73% save rate when addressed within 7 days." |
True Cost Comparison (1500-customer portfolio)
Gainsight: $40k platform + $15k implementation + $25k fractional admin = $80k first year, $65k ongoing
Cust: $24k + zero implementation + zero admin = $24k ~70% less total cost of ownership
05
Why teams are switching from Gainsight
Not because Gainsight is bad. Because AI changed what's possible.
- Stop hiring Gainsight admins. The platform requires a full-time administrator just to maintain health scores, dashboards, and integrations. Cust automates this entirely, so your budget goes to CSMs, not software babysitting.
- Scale without adding headcount. With manual analysis, you need 1 CSM per 50-80 accounts. With AI doing the pattern recognition, your team handles 150+ accounts at higher quality because they focus on relationships, not research.
- Get ahead of churn, not behind it. Gainsight tells you a customer is at risk after their health score drops. Cust identifies the leading indicators weeks earlier: "Engagement pattern matches accounts that churned. Here's the intervention with 73% success rate."
- Go live in weeks, not quarters. No 9-month implementation. No data warehouse requirements. Pre-built integrations with your CRM, billing, product analytics, and support system. AI maps your data structure automatically.
- Every customer gets personalized analysis. Gainsight groups customers into segments with one-size-fits-many playbooks. Cust analyzes each account individually based on their industry, maturity stage, usage patterns, and history.
- Your competitive advantage compounds. While competitors using dashboards are still reacting to problems, you're preventing them. The AI gets smarter every week by learning which interventions work for your specific customer base.
06
Migration is easier than you think
The #1 objection to switching: "We can't afford the disruption"
Week 1
Connect & Import
One-click integrations with Salesforce, Stripe, Zendesk, etc. We import your Gainsight health scores and historical notes so nothing is lost.
Week 2-3
Parallel Testing
Run Cust alongside Gainsight. Compare the insights side-by-side. Zero risk to your current workflow.
Week 4
Team Onboarding
Your CSMs see their daily action list: prioritized by impact, with full context and recommendations. Most teams are fully trained in 2 sessions.
Week 5+
Continuous Learning
AI learns from outcomes in your portfolio. Which interventions worked? What patterns predicted expansion? The system gets smarter weekly.
30-Day Guarantee
Run Cust in parallel with Gainsight for 30 days. If you don't see insights that would have saved at least one at-risk account, we'll refund 100%.
07
What makes Cust different
🧠
Infinite Reasoning Capacity
Stop relying on simple 'usage drops.' Cust reasons through messy data—support tickets, email tone, and login gaps—to distinguish between a champion on vacation vs. a silent churn risk.
🔍
The Customer Graph
Cust connects the dots across your entire portfolio. It notices that 8 customers who churned had this specific integration error + a stalled support ticket, and flags your new account before history repeats.
💡
Agents, Not Alerts
Don't just get a health score. Get a drafted strategy. Cust reviews the account, writes the renewal email for you, and queues the calendar invite for the VP of Ops - you just hit send.
📊
Expansion & Revenue Hunting
Deep research detects money in motion. Cust sees your client just raised Series B and hired a new Head of Product, and reasons that now is the perfect time to pitch the Enterprise tier.
⚡
Chain of Thought
Don't trust a black box. Cust shows its work, letting you trace every strategy recommendation back to the specific emails, logs, and news events that triggered it.
🎯
Living Account Plans
Tasks get outdated. Cust builds and updates dynamic account plans in real-time, continuously re-strategizing based on yesterday’s call recording and today’s usage data.