Some partnerships just make sense. This is one of them. Earlier last month, Zendesk announced its partnership with the Golden State Warriors, the Golden State Valkyries, and Chase Center as their Official AI-Powered Customer Service Provider.
I have been a basketball fan for most of my life, so this is especially exciting to me personally. Like so many people in the Bay Area and beyond, I have had the chance to go to Chase Center, and every time I have been there, the experience has been outstanding. The building, the atmosphere, the energy of the fans all add up to something special.
And now, with Zendesk, we have a chance to help make that experience even better.
That is what makes this partnership so meaningful to me. It is about helping one of the most impressive sports and entertainment venues in the world deliver an even stronger fan experience, from the moment someone starts planning their visit to the moment they head home after the final buzzer.
Chase Center hosts some of the most ambitious organizations in sports and entertainment. The stakes are high because the people who walk through those doors expect an experience. And great experiences do not happen by accident, they’re designed, supported, and continuously improved by teams that care about every detail. That is where Zendesk comes in.
Through this partnership, Chase Center will use Zendesk to help deliver more seamless, AI-powered customer service across the fan journey. The goal is deeper than automation. Every service moment should be more connected, smarter, and genuinely useful, so fans get what they need and get back to the experience they came for.
That distinction matters.
In too many cases, service is still treated as a cost center. A place where companies try to reduce friction only by reducing human involvement. The future of service is not a choice between AI and people. It is orchestrating both—the AI handling volume and complexity, and people bringing judgment and empathy—to create better outcomes. And in a place like Chase Center, that matters in very practical ways.
If a fan has a question about their seat, a premium experience, an event policy, a service request, or anything else that gets in the way of enjoying their night, the best service is the kind that resolves the issue quickly and cleanly. The less time people spend waiting, searching, or repeating themselves, the more time they spend doing what they came to do: enjoy the game, the show, or the moment.
That is what AI should do. It should remove friction. It should simplify the experience. It should help people get back to the part they care about most.
This partnership is personal because it reflects what Zendesk is: a San Francisco company, now global. We have been here for 17 years. The Warriors and Valkyries represent the Bay Area's commitment to innovation. So does this partnership. The Warriors helped define a new era of Bay Area sports. The Valkyries represent the next chapter. And Chase Center has become one of the city’s defining destinations for sports, entertainment, and community.
Together, these organizations are showing what innovation looks like when it is applied directly to people’s lives. Not as a concept. Not as a slogan. As a better way to serve.
And while this partnership is local in nature, the story is global.
The Warriors and the Valkyries bring together players and fans from all over the world. That reflects something core to Zendesk as well: we are a global company with a global mission to deliver great service to every person on the planet. Whether someone is in San Francisco, São Paulo, or London the expectation is the same: service should be fast, intelligent, and human.
Zendesk is entering a new era defined by AI innovation and redefining what is possible in customer service. This partnership signals we are not just participating in the future of the category; we are shaping it. We are building, proving, and deploying AI powdered customer service technology in one of the most demanding, visible, and experience-driven environments anywhere.
That is exactly where we want to be. Innovation serving people better. That is the story. And in San Francisco, that feels exactly right.
