As the world fully jumps on board with generative AI tools like ChatGPT, the next chapter of artificial intelligence is already arriving: AI agents. These tools can help companies accomplish multi-step tasks without human input. Though fears about these autonomous agents taking jobs aren’t unfounded, hopefully, companies will utilize them to free up human employees to focus on more meaningful, higher-impact work.
As Sam Altman predicts, “[I]n 2025, we may see the first AI agents ‘join the workforce’ and materially change the output of companies. We continue to believe that iteratively putting great tools in the hands of people leads to great, broadly-distributed outcomes.”
At Jotform, we’re excited to embrace this new wave of AI. We’re currently developing our own AI agent, designed with the same mission as always: to make users’ lives easier. One area where AI agents can have a profound impact is sales and marketing. AI agents can’t truly replace salespeople, but they can optimize efficiency, boost sales, and create better customer experiences. Here’s a closer look at how AI agents can enhance the sales process.
24/7 Customer Engagement
A standout benefit of AI agents is their ability to independently and effectively communicate with customers—at any hour, day or night. Imagine this: a parent wakes up in the middle of the night realizing they forgot to buy an essential component for their kid’s science project. They need to order it immediately—time is of the essence so they can’t mess up. Then, they can return to bed with peace of mind.
This is where an AI agent shines. While business owners and employees are fast asleep, the AI can handle customer questions, personalize responses, and suggest the perfect product—all in real-time. Tools like SalesCloser AI can conduct Zoom calls and even screen-share while interacting with customers, enhancing connection and understanding.
One of the things I love about using AI for customer interactions: people feel less self-conscious. Customers often feel more comfortable asking “silly” questions or repeating themselves compared to speaking with a human, allowing them to focus on getting the information they need—with confidence.
By tailoring interactions and being available around the clock, AI agents can enhance customer engagement and drive higher conversion rates.
Proactive Lead Generation
A question I’ve been hearing a lot lately: what’s the difference between AI agents and the generative AI that we’ve (just) gotten used to? Consider the crucial sales step of generating leads. Generative AI tools like ChatGPT can execute tedious parts of the process. With the right prompts, you can ask it to create content—email drafts, blog posts, website copy, and more—that can attract potential leads.
AI agents, on the other hand, aren’t waiting for your instructions. They can proactively engage with leads, answer questions, and guide them through the early stages of (hopefully) becoming a customer. For example, an AI agent can chat with a visitor to your website and schedule a demo with a human salesperson for later that week. While they’re helping a potential customer, they can ask questions to evaluate them and determine if they’re a strong candidate for a given product or service.
That’s another advantage of AI agents: whereas generative AI is usually task-oriented, an AI agent can accomplish various types of tasks at once—like chatting, qualifying leads, and scheduling.
Elevating Sales Forecasting With Real-Time Data
As any entrepreneur knows, sales forecasting is crucial. It helps leaders get a clear idea of the organization’s future revenue so they can make more informed decisions, allocate resources more effectively, and plan strategically. Here, AI agents can be a valuable asset. For example, a website chatbot that engages with prospective customers while gathering data about their needs, preferences, and timelines. As these conversations take place, the AI agent updates sales records, qualifies leads, and refines forecasts—all while your team focuses on other priorities.
AI agents can also autonomously follow up with leads and keep them moving through the pipeline, ensuring no lead slips through the cracks. They can automatically nudge prospects, qualify and score leads based on ongoing interactions, and even send follow-up reminders to sales reps.
While generative AI tools can also be helpful—executing tasks like analyzing historical data and creating content—AI agents take forecasting to the next level by engaging with prospective customers. This real-time interaction allows businesses to make more accurate revenue projections, streamline their sales pipelines, and adapt quickly based on customer behavior and needs.
Automating Administrative Tasks And Freeing Sales Teams for Meaningful Work
If you’ve read my work, then you know that I strongly advocate for automating as many tedious, manual tasks as possible. Freeing yourself from low-impact busywork is the secret to recapturing precious time in your workday—so you can stop doing more and instead, do more work that matters.
AI agents can act like virtual assistants to proactively handle manual work that tends to bog down sales teams. Take data entry: an AI agent can automatically update your CRM records based on its customer interactions. Or scheduling tasks: an AI agent can coordinate various parties’ calendars and set up calls and meetings. Or follow-up emails: an AI agent can send personalized follow-up emails to prospects without requiring any human input. Finally, AI agents can help wrap deals faster by handling some of the administrative closing processes.
All of this empowers sales teams to focus more on work that only they can do: like developing tailored solutions and building genuine relationships with customers and potential customers.
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