How Guild extended nurturing member support without compromising quality using AI.

Guild, who partners with the country’s most innovative employers to build the talent needed for today and a resilient workforce for tomorrow, faced a challenge many organizations know well: how to scale high-touch customer support without compromising quality. Guild's members—working adult learners balancing full-time jobs, caregiving responsibilities, and educational programs—require an especially nurturing, supportive experience as they take the leap to invest in their own development. With the company’s member support specialists achieving an exceptional 4.8 out of 5 CSAT score, COO Jonathan Marek was adamant that any AI solution would need to match—not merely approach—that standard. "I'm not willing to have an AI agent that can't perform at the level that our people can," he explained.

After piloting multiple solutions, Guild chose Sierra to extend their support beyond 12-hour weekday coverage and add 20+ languages instantly. The result surprised even Marek's team: Sierra matched their 4.8 CSAT score when handling member chat interactions. More impressive than the efficiency gains were moments of unexpected empathy—like when the agent proactively suggested parallel activities for a member waiting for program enrollment, or walked through complex tuition reimbursement scenarios that weren't explicitly programmed.

Guild involved their member support specialists throughout implementation, even sending team members to Sierra University to learn journey building. The approach paid off: specialists now handle more complex, human-centered interactions while Sierra manages transactional queries 24/7. "We never want the humanity to leave our business," Marek noted. Guild has met that need, ensuring members who want human interaction maintain that option, while scaling reliable, always-on support through Sierra, without compromising quality.