Ep # 174: AI-Native vs. AI-Powered: Why the Distinction Defines the Future of SaaS ft. Doug Marinaro (CEO & Founder, Riptide)

In this episode of Across The Funnel, Adil Saleh sits down with Doug Marinaro, Co-Founder and CEO of Riptide, to explore why “customer advocacy” is a distinct AI use case that goes beyond chatbots and task automation. Doug breaks down Riptide’s idea of an always-present AI advocate that can pull context from systems, execute actions, and coordinate real humans and partners in real time to resolve issues without escalation. They unpack how this “third superpower” shifts customer service from deflection metrics to an “advocacy index,” why trust and speed are what get pilots into production, and how Riptide onboards in roughly 30 days by wiring into existing tools, building a “digital twin” of the customer, and continuously coaching the system like an employee. The conversation closes on focus as a growth strategy, patterns for expanding across verticals, and how teams should think about using multiple models for low-latency interactions, deeper analysis, and emerging voice workflows.