How Pendulum helps customers get health support with conversational AI.

Pendulum Therapeutics was founded with a deep, personal purpose: to transform health through microbiome-targeted solutions. After her daughter's premature birth and extended stay in the NICU, Pendulum CEO Colleen Cutcliffe saw firsthand the impact of antibiotic overuse on the gut microbiome. This sparked her mission to restore microbiome health for individuals living with conditions like type 2 diabetes.

Driven by a commitment to transparency, science and resilience, Cutcliffe and the Pendulum team developed Pendulum Glucose Control, a groundbreaking probiotic supplement designed to help with nutritional management in people with type 2 diabetes. Today, Pendulum's products not only address specific metabolic needs but also serve a growing community of people passionate about taking control of their health.

As Pendulum entered a period of rapid growth, the team realized that maintaining a high standard of care would require a scalable, repeatable customer experience (CX) solution.

Kasey Rubenstein, Pendulum’s Knowledge Base and Self-Service Lead, needed a way to ensure that customers felt fully supported in their health journeys, even as demand grew. “Our goal is to deliver customer happiness in a way that’s both scalable and personal,” Kasey shares. “With Sierra, we’ve been able to deploy a reliable, responsive AI agent that enables customer self-service to be supportive, even as our customers purchase complex products.”

Uncovering the gaps in customer self-service

Pendulum’s direct-to-consumer model means customer inquiries span everything from product questions and recommendations, to account and subscription management, to order modifications. Before Sierra, the Pendulum team had implemented a workflow chatbot to enable customer self-service.

At first glance they were impressed with the relatively high case containment rates, with some use cases seeing 50% or higher case resolution. However, a closer look revealed that most of these cases were simply “deflected,” meaning customers had abandoned the conversation before their issues were actually resolved. This half measure translated into frustrated customers with unmet needs.

Achieving higher satisfaction and case resolution with Sierra

With Sierra, Pendulum deployed their AI agent to successfully resolve a variety of customer inquiries. Kasey’s expertise in chat solutions and her QA oversight played a crucial role in the agent’s success. “We needed to rebuild trust in this channel, and that meant creating an experience that felt authentic and high-quality from day one,” Kasey explains. “We worked closely with Sierra’s team to test, refine and optimize every interaction.”

Since implementing Sierra, Pendulum’s AI agent has not only improved successful case resolution—now over 75%—but also bolstered customer satisfaction. With CSAT scores trending above 4.3 out of 5, Pendulum is thrilled with the positive trajectory and continues to refine timing and messaging within the chat to further increase these scores. “Our customers deserve real solutions, not just robotic responses,” Kasey shares. “Sierra has given us a way to resolve cases effectively, showing customers that we’re here to help at every step.”

Helping customers feel supported in their health journey

Pendulum’s products require careful guidance, as customers often have questions about the unique health benefits. In turn, great customer support is not just about responding to inquiries; it’s about helping customers feel supported in their health journey. With their AI agent handling key use cases, Pendulum can provide a faster, flexible, and more delightful experience.

Even small enhancements to the self-service experience—like flexible authentication using email, zip code or order number—make support seem more accessible and convenient. Sierra allows Pendulum to address customers with more basic needs instantly, but also provides an easy path to escalate to human support for customers who need it most.

Setting a new standard in health-driven customer experience

Pendulum’s partnership with Sierra is only beginning. Pendulum plans to extend the AI agent beyond chat, incorporating email support and, eventually, voice interactions. This expansion will allow Pendulum to offer a cohesive, high-quality experience across all customer touch points, reflecting the brand’s commitment to accessibility and customer-centricity.

"The impact has been tremendous,” says Kasey. “Now, when customers reach out, they get the answers they need, they easily get their problems solved, and they leave feeling supported. Sierra’s AI has allowed us to do more than just answer questions; it’s allowed us to build customer confidence.”