From use case to buy-in: How Frontpoint built the case for AI support
Derek Carder and his team at Frontpoint started with a 10% self-resolution rate and knew they needed a partner who could help them improve their digital experience while managing too many phone calls and too few trained agents.
When DIY meets AI
At Mavenoid’s Product Support Summit, Derek Carder, Chief Operating Officer of Frontpoint Security, shared how his company went from a single, urgent use case to full-scale AI adoption, transforming how they deliver support for thousands of DIY customers.
Frontpoint pioneered the do-it-yourself home security model long before it was mainstream. Customers install their systems themselves, usually in under 30 minutes. It is a bold approach, and it makes the quality of support mission critical.
“We’re the first DIY home security provider, so the product support experience has to work flawlessly. Our customers are protecting their families, their pets, their homes.”
When something went wrong, customers needed help fast, and they called… a lot.
“We built a business where customers were trained to always call us. And staffing for phone calls costs a lot of money.”
That was the challenge Derek inherited: a call-heavy operation built for a previous era.
The problem with old-school self-service
Before Mavenoid, Frontpoint used Zendesk to handle digital support. It did the job, but not well enough for hands-on troubleshooting.
“We were trying to make Zendesk solve problems it wasn’t built to solve, walking customers through complicated product scenarios without proper flows, without images, without guidance.”
Knowledge articles weren’t solving problems. The self-service resolution rate sat below 10 percent. And for a company known for innovation, that wasn’t good enough.
For Frontpoint, the goal became clear. Build a digital-first support model that actually helps customers fix problems, not just log them.
A single use case that changed everything
During the 3G network sunset, Frontpoint needed to upgrade thousands of customer radios to 4G quickly.
“We told vendors, ‘We don’t have resources, we don’t have good documentation, and we need this done yesterday.’ Mavenoid said yes when everyone else said no.”
Together, they built a guided self-service flow that walked customers through the upgrade visually, step by step, without calling support.
The results were immediate:
2,000+ radios upgraded seamlessly
No spike in call volume
40 percent resolution rate for self-service initiated through IVR
A high-stakes test case turned into proof of value.
“We told vendors, ‘We don’t have resources, we don’t have documentation, we have this problem, and no time to spend on it.’ Three said no. Mavenoid said, ‘We’re up for the challenge.’”
Derek Carder
COO, Frontpoint Securit
From production proof to full scale buy-in
With one successful rollout complete, Derek’s team set out to expand.
“We started with a 7.5 percent self-serve rate on Zendesk. We set a goal to double it. Today, over half of our customers resolve their issues digitally.”
The early proof of concept gave Derek something more powerful than a demo… evidence. Numbers beat narratives. The 3G-to-4G upgrade showed that customers were willing and able to self-solve when given the right tools, and that the business could lower call volume without sacrificing service.
That success became the cornerstone of his internal business case. Derek’s approach to buy-in was structured and data-first:
1) Quantify everything.
Resolution rates, IVR deflection, call containment, repeat visits, CSAT. Each KPI was tracked from day one.
2) Frame outcomes in business language.
Instead of pitching “AI,” Derek talked about reduced call handle time, agent focus, and improved customer satisfaction.
3) Run controlled pilots.
Rather than asking leadership for budget on faith, each pilot had a defined start and success metric.
4) Show the human benefit.
He emphasized that automation would elevate, not eliminate, frontline roles.
Internally, some team members questioned whether customers wanted to self-serve. Others worried automation might make human roles obsolete. Derek handled both through transparency and results.
“We had to debunk the myth that customers need to talk to a live agent. They just need documentation that works and confidence that they did it right.”
He brought skeptical teams into the process early, letting them review pilot data, test the assistant, and help improve flows. That inclusion turned resistance into ownership.
As the program scaled, the results spoke for themselves – better containment, greater resolution, happier customers, and agents taking on more advanced work.
“Our agents used to walk customers through how to twist a screwdriver. Now they’re solving complex camera setups and advanced automations. That’s real progress.”
The proof wasn’t just in the metrics; it was in the shift in mindset. AI became less about technology and more about a smarter way to deliver value for customers, agents, and the business.
Practical AI over flashy promises
Like many companies, Frontpoint had seen AI hype before. Vendors promised “magic” solutions, endless demos, and little follow-through.
“People had worked with vendors that overcommitted and underdelivered. The AI was treated like a magic wand.”
Mavenoid’s approach was different: practical, grounded, and measurable.
“Seeing AI in a practical application removed the skepticism altogether. It wasn’t a black box. It was something our team could use and improve every day.”
That data-driven, outcome-first mindset turned skeptics into advocates across the organization.
Evolving the digital experience
Frontpoint’s digital transformation didn’t stop at chat and digital self-service. The company has now extended its AI-powered support to voice, creating a more natural and seamless experience for customers.
“We’ve now gotten to a point where we have customers interacting with Voice Assist and generative AI via voice, and they’re solving their problems there.”
Voice is helping Frontpoint bring support even closer to how customers naturally communicate, especially when they’re in the middle of setting up or troubleshooting their home systems.
“We’re looking at new ways that we can reduce some of the customer friction with authentication. That’s still to come, but it’s again elements that are core to who we are — making sure customers are die-hard fans of Frontpoint, that they’re using the system, getting value out of it, and adding value.”
For Frontpoint, AI and automation aren’t about replacing human touch. They’re about removing friction and increasing customer confidence, wherever and however customers choose to engage.
Lessons: How to build the case for AI
Frontpoint’s journey shows that meaningful AI adoption doesn’t start with ambition. It starts with clarity.
“Be specific about what you’re trying to achieve. It's easy to say cost reduction, it's easy to say I want to improve self serve, it's easy to say just these high level metrics…but what specifically do you want to solve?
Derek closed with five lessons for leaders looking to bring AI into their support ecosystem:
Start small. One use case. One measurable outcome.
Prove value fast. Use data to make the business case.
Focus on resolution, not deflection. Customers don’t want to chat, they want to solve.
Empower your team. Let agents own and improve the system.
Define your problem clearly. Be specific, or you’ll never prove success.
They didn’t try to transform everything at once. They solved a real problem, measured the outcome, and earned the right to scale.
In an industry where trust is everything, Frontpoint built a smarter, faster, and more dependable support experience, one real use case at a time.
