How do you turn a one-time purchase into a recurring relationship?

Forging Lasting Bonds: How AI and Human Touch Redefine Customer Relationships at Web Summit Rio 2026

Jennifer Queen, founder and CEO of Pina, moderated a panel at Web Summit Rio de Janeiro 2026, exploring the evolution of customer relationships. She was joined by Renato Carvalho of Miro, Santiago Lira of Buk, and Pedro Dias of Mevo. The discussion focused on how these companies connect with customers and foster recurring engagement amidst the rapid advancements in AI across productivity, HR, and healthcare markets.

Renato Carvalho, Head of Latam at Miro, described their platform as a space for human-AI collaboration, accelerating product and business transformation. Miro faces the challenge of engaging both individual users and corporate clients, emphasizing that user satisfaction is key to corporate adoption. He highlighted Miro’s role in the “discovery” and “define” phases, bringing diverse teams together to make informed decisions before AI scales delivery, ensuring human oversight.

Santiago Lira, Co-founder & Head of Product at Buk, explained their HR platform’s strategy of building relationships from mission-critical functions. By starting with payroll and time and attendance, Buk establishes itself as the “source of truth” for employee data. This foundational trust allows them to expand into a full suite of HR workflows, from recruiting to holiday requests, fostering deep engagement and unlocking value through AI integration.

Pedro Dias, Founder & CEO of Mevo, detailed their digital prescription platform, serving over 21 million Brazilians. Mevo offers free e-prescriptions to healthcare providers to expand its user base, monetizing through an integrated online pharmacy. A key challenge is educating consumers about purchasing medicines directly through Mevo, with conversion rates significantly increasing after the first successful online purchase.

Mevo leverages prescription data to create personalized experiences, particularly for patients with chronic conditions requiring recurring medication. Mr. Dias acknowledged healthcare as a highly regulated and complex market where innovation is slow, necessitating a high-touch approach despite technological advancements. This direct engagement builds the trust essential for recurring customer relationships in a sensitive sector.

All panelists converged on the critical importance of trust and high-touch relationships. Renato Carvalho emphasized being deeply connected to customers to understand their challenges and build long-term partnerships. Santiago Lira added that even for technology companies, human relationships are indispensable for securing enterprise clients, especially for mission-critical services, where trust is paramount for adoption and loyalty.

The discussion concluded on AI’s future role. Santiago Lira stressed that owning workflows and data is crucial for effective AI integration, ensuring AI enhances operations rather than operating in isolation. Pedro Dias noted Mevo’s 95% AI-driven first-layer customer experience, yet reiterated that trust remains the ultimate foundation. Renato Carvalho added that customers seek integrated AI solutions within a larger ecosystem, preventing context loss and ensuring competitive relevance.