SaaStr 821: Swapping Stories - Building AI-First Companies: Insights from Zapier’s CEO and Co-Founder Wade Foster

In this episode of the SaaStr AI Podcast, Amelia LeRutte and Guillaume Cabane interview Wade Foster, co-founder and CEO of Zapier, about the current state of AI and its integration into workflows. Wade discusses Zapier's evolution into an AI orchestration platform, differentiating between deterministic and agentic workflows, and provides a real-world example of a renewals agent used internally at Zapier. The conversation explores the importance of human oversight in AI-driven processes, the sales team's reaction to AI implementation, and the concept of "vibe coding." Wade also touches on the new MCP protocol, AI use cases among Zapier customers, and the company's approach to AI fluency in new hires, ending with rapid-fire questions about favorite AI tools and upcoming events.