Who's validating the AI?

Don't wait for vendors to catch up — the best teams are building around them.

This is edition #1 of Field Notes, an invite-only newsletter for support leaders building with AI.

Hi! Welcome to our first ever edition of Field Notes.

I'm a few weeks into my role as Head of Community at Plain, and deep in conversations with support leaders. I want to make 2026 easier for support teams, so I'm using this newsletter to share what I learn along the way.

Let's get into it.

Vendors Sell Transformation. Teams Build Workarounds.

If you're evaluating AI tools right now, validate the answers yourself. No one else is doing it for you.

BCG recently published a piece calling agentic AI "the new frontier in customer service transformation." Their headline claim: AI can shift support from a reactive cost center to a proactive value creator.

I agree with the destination. But I'm skeptical about the map.