{"id":1513,"date":"2023-10-15T21:17:13","date_gmt":"2023-10-15T21:17:13","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-06-20T10:02:00","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T18:02:00","slug":"using-ai-to-augment-your-sales-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/startups\/blog\/using-ai-to-augment-your-sales-process\/","title":{"rendered":"Using AI to augment your sales process"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Steli Efti<\/a> is the CEO and co-founder of Close<\/a>, a CRM with built-in sales automation features for startups and SMBs. Close is a trusted partner<\/a> of Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub, providing our startups with their 1st month free and an 80% discount on any Close subscription plan for 12 months. Steli is a Y Combinator alum and an advisor to startups and entrepreneurs.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is disrupting every area of business – it’s built into chatbots, sales reports, and even tools to help salespeople write better emails. By 2027, the AI market is expected to be valued at a staggering $407 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, there are a whole lot of folks using AI in their sales process without understanding how it works or how to use it thoughtfully. One of our biggest takeaways from integrating AI into our own sales process<\/a> at Close has been just how risky it can be to develop an over-reliance on these tools\u2014no matter how great they seem at first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, they\u2019re still just tools that can\u2019t replace the human elements of building real relationships with the people you\u2019re selling to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AI in sales: mistakes that make you less effective<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sales is about building relationships, and over-reliance on AI removes the human aspect of sales \u2014 which can be devastating to startups looking to gain an edge in the market. Here are a few of the biggest wrenches an over-reliance on AI tools can throw into your well-oiled sales process:<\/p>\n\n\n\n