Cursor automates 80% of support with AI help desk as $29 billion startup reshapes workflows

Cursor developed an internal AI Help Desk that handles 80% of its employees' support tickets says the $29 billion startup's CEO | Fortune

AI coding-assistant start-up Cursor isn't just using artificial intelligence to help developers write code, it's deploying AI across its own internal operations, CEO, Michael Truell, told the audience at Fortune's Brainstorm AI in San Francisco. Truell said the company had already automated roughly 80% of its customer support tickets with the help of the technology. He said the company had also implemented an internal AI-powered communication system that allows employees to query information across the organization. "We've actually done a lot of work internally on customizing that setup," he said. Cursor also uses AI for internal communications, he said. "We have a system where folks can ask any question about the company and get it answered by an AI," Truell said, as well as an project with "a few forward deployed engineers internally embedded throughout, building custom tooling right now for operations, for sales and experimenting," he said. Across the enterprise software landscape, some larger organizations are increasingly coming up against adoption challenges when attempting to integrate AI into workflows. Data silos -- where information is trapped in disconnected systems -- prevent AI tools from accessing the full context they need to be useful, and technical sprawl -- the accumulation of disparate tools and platforms over years of growth -- can create integration issues. Many organizations are finding they need more dedicated technical expertise to help tailor AI models to specific business needs. Engineers are seeing productivity gains Cursor, which is valued at $29.3 billion, said last month it had crossed $1 billion in annualized revenue and now has more than 300 employees. The company has seen rapid growth since it was founded by a team of four MIT graduates in 2022. The company's AI coding tool, which first launched in 2023, has been popular with software who use it to help both generate and edit code. There has been some conflicting research about how helpful AI tools actually are for software engineering. A July 2025 study by the nonprofit research group METR found that experienced developers working on large, mature codebases actually took 19% longer to complete tasks when using AI tools such as Cursor and Claude, despite believing they had worked 20% faster. The researchers attributed the slowdown to time spent prompting AI, waiting for responses, and time reviewing generated code. A recent study conducted by University of Chicago found that teams using Cursor's AI coding assistant in large companies merged 39% more pull requests (PRs) compared to non-users. The research also showed that senior developers created more detailed plans before writing code and demonstrated greater skill working with AI agents. "A lot of folks think that junior developers get the most out of AI," Truell said. But "when these academics went in and looked at the data, it looked like senior engineers actually were more effective in using the tools and were accepting code at higher rates and were getting more value from that." Truell noted that this surprised him as well: "We want to dig into to understand exactly why that's the case."

Cursor's CEO Reveals 80% Of Support Now Fully Automated As Internal Help Desk Replaces Human Work

Enter your email to get Benzinga's ultimate morning update: The PreMarket Activity Newsletter The $29 billion AI coding startup Cursor says it has automated most of its internal support operations, offering a glimpse into how artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping corporate workflows. AI Help Desk Automates 80% Of Internal Support Tickets Speaking at Fortune's Brainstorm AI conference in San Francisco, CEO Michael Truell said Cursor has built an internal AI help desk that resolves the majority of employee and customer support requests without human intervention, reported Fortune. "We've already automated roughly 80% of our support tickets," Truell said, adding that the system has been customized to work with Cursor's internal knowledge and operational tools. Internal AI Systems Let Employees Query Company-Wide Information Truell said Cursor has also deployed an AI-powered internal communications system that lets staff ask questions and receive immediate answers sourced from across the organization. "We have a system where folks can ask any question about the company and get it answered by an AI," he said. He added that the company has embedded "forward-deployed engineers" to build custom AI tools for operations and sales as the company experiments with expanded automation. Research On AI's impact On Productivity A study by the nonprofit METR found experienced developers sometimes took longer to complete tasks due to time spent prompting and reviewing AI-generated code. By contrast, a University of Chicago study found that teams using Cursor tools merged more code changes than non-users. "A lot of folks think that junior developers get the most out of AI," Truell said. "It looked like senior engineers actually were more effective." See Also: Tim Cook Shares Heartwarming 'A Critter Carol' Holiday Ad Shot On iPhone 17 Pro, Calling It 'A Little Bit of Magic ... A Whole Lot of Heart' AI Workplace Disruption And Productivity Gains Anthropic's internal research found that Claude Code boosted employee productivity while reducing collaboration, weakening skill development, and increasing anxiety about long-term job security. Workers said AI helped them complete more work and launch new projects, but many reported collaborating less with colleagues and worrying their technical skills were deteriorating. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said AI was likely to automate 30% to 40% of work tasks in the near future, arguing the technology would reshape how jobs function rather than simply eliminate them. He stressed the need for stronger regulation and safety as AI capabilities continue to advance. Meanwhile, Kevin O'Leary pushed back against fears of mass job losses, saying AI was improving work by removing repetitive tasks. He said many of his companies had adopted AI to cut costs and boost productivity, comparing the transition to earlier technology shifts such as television and radio. Read Next: As Record 40-Day Shutdown Nears End, History Shows Stocks Rally 12 Months Later With S&P 500 Averaging 12.3% Gain Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Photo courtesy: Shutterstock Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs