By now, marketers know AI isn’t a novelty – it’s the engine driving real business growth. While the importance of external AI search visibility dominates headlines, B2B SaaS marketers are also focused on embedding AI into their teams. But let’s be honest: moving from “AI experiments” to actual “AI-powered growth” is easier said than done.
On this episode of SaaS Half Full, we sit down with Mika Yamamoto, Chief Customer and Marketing Officer at Freshworks, to talk about what it really takes for B2B SaaS marketers to keep up with AI’s breakneck pace without losing their sanity – or their job security.
Grab your cocktail (Mika’s was a hibiscus-habanero number that looked 🔥), and let’s break down the highlights.
From Experiments to Growth: Building an AI Culture
When Mika joined Freshworks, there wasn’t a strict “AI playbook” in place. Instead, there was something even better: a culture of experimentation.
Her first AI win? Using machine learning to turn messy “tribal knowledge” from support reps into a searchable knowledge base. Not only did this make customer support smoother, but marketing could also tap into that data to create content that actually answered customer questions. Win-win.
The takeaway: don’t wait for the perfect AI strategy — start experimenting with small, practical use cases that give you momentum.
Selling AI to the C-Suite (Without Getting Side-Eyed)
Every B2B SaaS marketer knows the struggle: how do you convince leadership to greenlight AI tools when they don’t directly tie to revenue?
Mika’s advice: focus on the opportunity cost of time. If your web team can spin up a campaign landing page in hours instead of weeks, that’s not just efficiency — it’s freeing humans to work on higher-level, creative projects that actually move the needle.
Translation: efficiency = growth fuel.
The Shiny Object Problem (a.k.a. AI FOMO)
Every week, there’s a new AI tool promising to change your life. Mika admits her team takes a lot of vendor calls and demos (cue SaaS sellers cheering), but she sees it as necessary research.
Her trick to avoid getting whiplash?
- Run tools in parallel to compare performance.
- Lean on your trusted peer network (Slack channels, industry buddies) for honest takes.
- Ask the hard questions: Is this actually better, or just newer?
People > Tech (Most of the Time)
Mika’s biggest surprise at Freshworks? The people actually wanted to adopt AI tools. That’s not always the case.
In many orgs, employees see AI as an existential threat (“If the bot writes the copy, what am I here for?”). Mika tackled this head-on by reframing AI as a career elevator, not a job eliminator. Use AI to offload repetitive tasks so you can work on more strategic, high-value projects. Train the AI to learn your role so that you can elevate your position.
Or in her words: “You might work yourself out of mundane tasks — but into a more interesting job.”
👉 Want the full conversation (and cocktail commentary)? Check out the full episode of SaaS Half Full with Mika Yamamoto here.