SaaStr Data: Customer Support Hiring Has Fallen 65% in 2 Years — First Category 'Almost Destroyed' by AI

SaaStr·high signal

Pave data tracking 386,500 new hires shows customer support hiring dropped from 8.3% of all new hires in Q4 2023 to just 2.88% in Q3 2025 — a 65% decline. SaaStr labels this the first category AI has 'almost destroyed,' with companies using Gorgias, Zendesk, Decagon, and Intercom AI to replace 20-40% of support teams. Gartner counters that 50% of companies that cut support staff will rehire by 2027 under different titles, suggesting the disruption may be partially structural rather than purely eliminative.