Sales has always been a deeply human skill. At its core, it’s about building relationships, understanding customer needs, and persuading with a mix of empathy and charisma.
In the past, successful sales often meant long one-on-one conversations and a deal sealed with a handshake. But today, technology transforms sales strategies with the power of data.
Although human interaction is still critical to closing deals, sales teams have a powerful ally in artificial intelligence. AI sales tools complement salespeople’s unique soft skills, helping them understand and satisfy their target consumers. From automating data entry and CRM updates to analyzing sales call transcriptions, AI tools help sales teams work smarter and free up time to focus on high-value tasks.
Here’s a guide to some popular AI sales tools available today, along with tips on choosing the right one for your team’s needs.
Whether you’re looking to boost sales reps' productivity or use AI for lead scoring, these AI tools can help you through your sales process.
Otter Sales Agent is an AI-powered meeting assistant that automatically takes sales call notes, extracts Sales Insights, writes follow-up emails, and pushes call notes to Salesforce and HubSpot.
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Salesforce is a leading CRM platform that provides sales automation, reporting, and sales forecasting, along with deep integrations across various business tools. It’s a go-to tool for sales reps to manage customer relationships and sales performance.
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Hubspot is an all-in-one customer platform that offers lead generation, automated emails, and sales analytics. Similar to Salesforce, HubSpot has a CRM tool that manages customers and nurtures lead prospects. It also has great marketing features.
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ZoomInfo’s Chorus tool is a conversation analytics platform that records, transcribes, and analyzes sales calls. The platform uses natural language processing and voice analytic models to identify prospect sentiment and uncover roadblocks in the sales pipeline. Its AI tools can also forecast sales, automate campaigns, and coach sales reps based on conversation analytics, driving more informed decisions and better sales scripts.
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Outreach is an AI-powered platform designed to measure and improve sales rep workflows. AI tools analyze what works and what doesn’t, helping teams fine-tune more efficient processes for prospecting, follow-up, and outreach.
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Sales reps struggling with cold emails can turn to Regie.ai. Its AI assistant automates prospect research and uses data to craft cold emails and follow-up messages that resonate. The generative AI takes persona-based pain points to customize email prompts, improving success rates and the sales pipeline as a whole.
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Apollo is a sales intelligence and engagement platform that helps sales teams identify and target high-potential prospects. Its AI insights help optimize outreach strategies and sales processes, bringing the focus to leads that are more likely to convert.
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This AI-driven sales automation platform streamlines outreach and follow-ups. Overloop helps sales teams automate email campaigns, track engagement, and personalize messages at scale — all of which save 90% of sales reps’ time, according to the platform.
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ChatGPT is a generative AI assistant that helps sales teams with tasks like drafting cold emails, creating sales scripts, and writing follow-up messages. It’s a good choice for sales departments that lack robust budgets because it can quickly and cheaply generate content that streamlines lead nurturing and follow-up.
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Lavender is an AI-powered email coach that helps sales teams write more effective emails, boost reply rates, and nurture prospects. It uses reliable generative AI tools like ChatGPT to draft text for you without taking away the creative freedom you need to personalize every email and assert your brand.
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Building the best AI toolset for your sales team requires careful consideration. Here are three best practices to consider:
A new AI sales tool needs to fit snugly into the rest of your platforms. Make sure it seamlessly integrates with your existing tech stack, including your CRM, email platform, and other sales tools. If it doesn’t integrate well, you risk creating data silos and inefficient workflows. Make a list of your core systems and make sure the AI platform syncs with them all.
AI sales tools have different features and intended uses. Identify the specific tasks your team needs to automate or improve — like drafting cold emails, sales forecasting, or prospect outreach — and look for tools that specialize in those areas.
AI tools are only valuable if your sales team can use them effectively. Look for platforms that offer intuitive, easy-to-navigate interfaces and provide training resources — especially if you don’t have a dedicated tech support team to troubleshoot. Using complex tools that require extensive onboarding only hinders adoption.
AI tools are here to change the sales game. And the sooner you integrate them into your team’s workflow, the sooner you gain a competitive edge.
Integration starts with collaboration, so begin with Otter. Streamline your meetings, enhance team communication, and capture valuable sales insights. Schedule a demo today.