More and more businesses are turning to artificial intelligence to boost productivity and efficiency and to speed up a wide variety of work processes, but can AI in sales as well? Given that sales is arguably the business function most reliant on human interaction, it comes as a surprise that the answer is yes.
AI is having a huge impact on the sales process, for example, analyzing customer data to personalize product recommendations, pricing, and marketing messages, and boosting engagement and conversion rates. By providing insights into customer behavior, market trends, and sales performance, AI helps sales teams to make better informed decisions and optimize their sales strategies.
AI versus humans
Adam Lyons, founder of Upsells.com, believes AI sales agents could be a game-changer for entrepreneurs who don’t enjoy the sales element of running their business. He came up with the idea of building AI sales teams for businesses after realizing that people were turning to AI, not to handle mundane tasks, but for creative pursuits instead.
He says: “That got me thinking; what is something that is regarded as a soft skill, a social skill, that AI would be very good at, and that humans don’t like doing? The answer I came up with was sales.”
As he points out, AI doesn’t mind doing the work and is extremely good at mimicking human emotion. ChatGPT 4.5 beat the Alan Turing test a few months ago, which means that when dealing with the highest-level AI, a human can’t differentiate between whether they’re communicating with an AI or another human.
“That means an AI can sell just as well as a human, with some exceptions,” says Lyons. “An AI doesn’t get tired or bored, and it’s more than willing to keep a conversation going.”
Customizing AI in sales tools
However, integrating AI into sales processes has its challenges. Render3DQuick.com provides 3D rendering and architectural visualization services for residential and commercial projects. The company has been integrating AI into its sales process for some time and found one of the biggest challenges is ensuring the AI tools actually ‘understand’ the business and its clients.
Co-owner and manager Alex Smith says: “Architectural visualization isn’t a one-size-fits-all service. Every project is unique, and the way we communicate with clients must reflect that. Early on, I noticed that automated follow-ups sometimes sounded robotic or missed important context, which can be a turn-off for potential clients.”
Key to overcoming these challenges, he says, is the customization of AI tools, which involves working closely with developers to ‘teach’ the system about their industry, their typical project flow, and even their preferred communication style.
Other issues included training the team to trust and use the AI tools effectively. Smith focuses on showing them how AI can make their lives easier, not harder, for example, AI can handle repetitive follow-ups and schedule calls, freeing up the sales staff to build genuine relationships and focus on creative solutions for clients.
He says: “Ultimately AI in sales is a powerful tool, but it’s not a magic bullet. It works best when it’s used to support and enhance the personal connections that drive our business.”
Replicating the brand voice
One of the challenges of integrating AI into sales is preserving the personal touch, including the tone and style of an organization’s ‘brand voice’. Chartered accountant Sam Hoyle uses AI, including ChatGPT, as a core element of her sales strategy at Harmony Accounting, where she works with female online service providers to help them scale profitably.
She says: “I use it to draft sales page copy, map out launch content and write email sequences that move potential clients from interest to action. AI helps me articulate the value in a clear, compelling way, a lot faster. The main challenge has been ensuring the content sounds personal and aligned with my brand voice, which is warm, jargon-free, and straight-talking.”
Hoyle’s best results are achieved by using AI as a first-draft tool, then refining and layering in the emotional connection that drives sales. “It’s helped me save hours on content creation and show up more consistently in my sales efforts, without ever compromising on authenticity,” she says.
Humanizing AI in sales
Until recently, replicating natural-sounding human conversations over voice was technically impossible. AI voices could sound robotic or awkward, especially in complex, lengthy sales calls, and people are twice as likely to trust a human voice over AI. This presented the sales function with its biggest challenge in harnessing the power of AI. But with advances in LLMs (large language models) and voice synthesis, forecasts predict that agentic AI will autonomously resolve 80% of common customer service issues without any human intervention within the next four years.
Berlin-based startup Solda.AI is building fully autonomous voice agents with just a 1% detection rate, meaning almost no one realizes they’re speaking with AI. Solda.AI agents are trained to handle the complete telesales cycle autonomously, calling 10,000 leads per day, managing follow-ups, handling callbacks, and closing.
The firm’s content consultant Daria Kireicheva says: “This trust enables real conversions. Our agents now close deals across sectors, from fintech to marketplaces, without human handoff. Sales involves long, branching conversations with real emotional intelligence, for example, handling objections, following up, and calling back. Existing conversational AI just wasn’t built for that.”
Data quality and costs
Other challenges facing business leaders include integration of AI with existing systems and ensuring data quality and availability. Josh Pigford, CEO and founder of Maybe Finance, who has firsthand experience integrating AI into various aspects of business operations, including sales, says: “Aligning AI tools with legacy systems or existing workflows can be a logistical nightmare. The solution is to invest in tools that integrate seamlessly with existing platforms, such as CRMs, etc.
“In terms of data quality, AI is only as good as the data it’s fed. Ensuring clean, relevant, and sufficient data is a constant hurdle. Starting small with AI tools that solve specific pain points, for example, lead scoring or email personalization, before scaling up.”
Cost and resource allocation can also present challenges, especially for small firms looking to adopt AI in sales. “For small businesses, the upfront investment in AI tools and the ongoing need for expertise can be a significant barrier,” adds Pigford. “Leveraging open-source AI tools or platforms will help to reduce costs while still gaining valuable insights.”
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