In this conversation, Handwrytten founder David Wachs explores how AI and automation can enhance, rather than erode, authentic customer relationships by scaling genuine human gestures, such as handwritten notes. He explains where generative AI belongs in customer communication, how brands should rethink the obsession with ROI when it comes to appreciation, and why tangible, thoughtfully timed outreach cuts through today’s saturated digital noise.

Three key takeaways

1. Automation should deliver consistent, “full‑stop” thank‑yous at scale, while AI supports tone and grammar—not full-cloth drafting—so that messages remain genuinely human.​
2. In an era of inbox saturation and mean-regressive AI outputs, a few well‑timed handwritten notes each year stand out, adding sensory richness and signaling sincere appreciation.​
3. Gratitude should be measured less by immediate ROI and more by trust, loyalty, and culture; brands must avoid turning thank‑yous into ads and reserve humans for the “service recovery paradox” moments that convert critics into superfans.​

The David Wachs Interview

Your Handwrytten survey work cites an “appreciation gap” (only 12% feel appreciated). What did that result change in how you advise brands to use automation?

Automation should be focused on genuine, “full-stop” thank you’s at scale. After a key deal is made, automate a thank you to ensure all clients receive the appreciation they deserve, creating a consistent experience. This has been successful with for-profit concerns but even more beneficial with nonprofits, where redonation rates are dramatically affected by “feeling thanked”.

Where does generative AI actually belong in customer communication: drafting, segmentation, tone checking, follow-up timing? And where does it corrode trust?

We do not think LLMs should be used for the full-cloth drafting. The message should be yours, and you should just use technology for the delivery. However, tone checking, and improving the grammar are certainly great uses.

You’ve argued that automation can make experiences more human by freeing time and enabling better personalization. I’ve written that one of the downsides of AI is company don’t know what do with free time or how to empower people to use it. Thoughts?

Automation ensures everyone gets the handwritten note they deserve. Without it, at scale, handwritten communication is impossible. Yes, it enables better personalization, but you don’t want to over-personalize as that could seem creepy or a breach of privacy, known as the “personalization paradox”.

To your points on free time: Free time should be used for high-value tasks, not writing another messy note, drafting a generic legal letter, or coding a common algorithm. While technology has always freed up time (think of the time saved moving from horse and carriage to automobile, or the time to receive a message from telegraph instead of Pony Express) the key is it allows people to work on real challenges.

AI is, at heart, a mean regressive strategy. It will not generate unique ideas. It will generate common, average ideas. Humans should use the additional time to generate more high-value thought and leave the mean regressive thought to the AI.

Your “robots writing notes” story is inherently weird in a good way. What do customers need to believe about authenticity for “robot-assisted human touch” to land as appreciation, not deception?

This is not a new idea. In the 1960s, if you wrote a note to the CEO of TWA, for example, you’d get a “signed” note back from the CEO. But do you think the CEO wrote it? Or signed it? No. It was the secretary. What about when you get a thank you card from an organization you support? Do you think the head of philantropy wrote it? Or was there a room full of volunteers writing notes in return for pizza?

This is no different in practice. The difference is consistency & risk (volunteers can write the wrong thing or get messy) and cost and scalability (even pizza gets expensive, and it might take hundreds, thousands or tens of thousands of writers to get across your message at scale). The end result: getting your message across in a “genuine way” is the same.

In interviews, you emphasize that handwritten notes cut through digital noise. What’s the modern “noise threshold” signal? Is it frequency, channel mix, inbox saturation…what informs a team it’s time to shift from more digital to more tangible?

All brands need a robust cross-channel marketing strategy. Handwritten notes should be one part of a holistic strategy. However we have reached peak inbox noise (saturation). People spend all of their time just deleting and managing their emails – they don’t have time to read them. An old stat says the average office worker receives 121 emails a day and spends 24% of their time just managing their inbox. On the other hand, people get just 1-4 handwritten notes a month. What pile do you want your message to be in?

You’ve warned that chasing ROI too aggressively makes appreciation feel insincere. What’s the measurement approach that keeps finance happy while protecting sincerity, especially when AI is optimizing everything? (See my work on the Serendipity Economy)

People pick and choose what requires ROI. Does cleaning the restrooms in the building require an ROI calculation? But if you wouldn’t do it, your employees would leave and your customers wouldn’t come visit. Saying “thank you” shouldn’t require ROI. The phrase “not everything that can be measured matters, and not everything that matters can be measured”, attributed to Einstein, highlights that focusing solely on quantifiable metrics often overlooks critical qualitative aspects like happiness, reputation, company culture, and just doing the right thing.

You talk about turning those who complain into superfans. Where does AI help most in workflows, and where must a human remain engaged?

Sentiment analysis can be used to quickly determine which customer support phone calls, chats, and emails require human intervention and a “service recovery paradox” moment. Simple sentiment analysis can be a massive disrupter here.

You’ve advised keeping gifts from looking promotional (e.g., logo choices). How should brands treat AI-generated wording in notes, and what makes it feel like gratitude versus marketing copy?

Whether the message is written by a person or AI it shouldn’t have a call to action. As soon as you add a call to action, it is no longer a thank you, but an advertisement. Leave out the coupon code. Leave out the referral request. Say thank you and let that be enough.

If a company wants customers to feel appreciated at scale, what’s your recommended cadence and engagement map across a year, and how will that change as AI-driven communications ramp up everywhere else?

You don’t want to overdo handwritten notes. We are talking about 3-5 handwritten notes a year. 1 thank you, 1 birthday card, 1 holiday card, one special offer/invitation, and maybe one more. But that is it. As AI communication ramps up (or spam of any form continues to grow), simple, seemingly genuine notes will become more and more relevant and effective. We live in a sensory-deprived digital environment, as soon as you add the sense of touch, you’ll stand out.

About David Wachs, founder and owner of Handwrytten

David Wachs is a serial entrepreneur whose latest venture, Handwrytten, aims to revive handwritten correspondence through robot-based, pen-on-paper note writing integrated with CRMs and online platforms. He founded Handwrytten in 2014 after experiencing firsthand how impactful handwritten thank-you cards were, but also how tedious they were to produce at scale. Handwrytten is now used by major meal kit companies, e-commerce brands, nonprofits, and professionals, sending thousands of handwritten pieces per day via custom-built robots.

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