AI-enabled enrichment is transforming CRM by automating tasks and personalizing interactions. By analyzing customer data, AI enables CRM systems to deliver more targeted and relevant communications, driving stronger engagement.
As businesses look for more efficient ways to connect with customers, the demand for AI-powered CRM solutions is accelerating, with generative AI adoption in the market expected to reach $119.9 million by 2032.
While the demand for AI-powered CRM solutions is rising, a recent State of AI in Business survey by CRM platform Pipedrive shows that 79% of respondents see AI as a tool to help them increase productivity, efficiency, and customer experience (CX).
It also revealed that 62% of respondents do not currently use AI in their workflow, and of that subset, half (31% of all respondents) say they have no plans to use AI there going forward. The reasons boil down to 48% of respondents citing insufficient knowledge and 40% citing a lack of trust.
According to Pipedrive CEO Dominic Allon, companies need to take a more thoughtful approach to implementing AI and training teams to get the most out of these tools. Businesses must also pay close attention to customer feedback and respond to what truly matters to their customers.
“By understanding these expectations, they can select AI solutions that directly align with those priorities,” he told CRM Buyer.
Some software firms provide alternatives to full CRM upgrades by integrating add-on tools that supplement rather than rip and replace older CRM technology. One example is the AI-based conversational messaging firm Conversive.
Two types of broad messaging capabilities exist for CRM. One is messaging workflows with keywords and chatbots. The other is deep integration with CRM to deliver personalized in-context conversation, offered Conversive Founder and CEO Nitin Seth. “We integrate with the CRM so deeply we offer both of these capabilities,” he told CRM Buyer.
AI Is Winning Over CRM Users
As with most new technologies, many people are skeptical about AI in customer experience roles, Allon observed. Those concerns include data privacy, security risks, and the fear that humans will be removed from the equation.
“But in my experience, when an AI tool — or any tech tool — is designed with a specific customer concern in mind, businesses are more likely to embrace it,” he said.
Since launching its new AI tools last spring, Pipedrive has seen a 14% increase in customer adoption from June to July 2024. During that same period, Pipedrive saw a 76% increase in the usage of its AI Sales Assistant, showing strong demand for this type of technology.
“As businesses recognize the value of AI in CRM, more are making the leap to adopt the technology. The depth and range of its benefits are immeasurable when used thoughtfully,” Allon said.
AI Guardrails for Secure and Smarter CRM Data
CRM data enables relevant interactions with consumers by delivering personalized, real-time messaging that reflects consumer sentiment and actions, according to Seth. Copilots equipped with robust guardrails and compliance measures provide timely responses to consumer inquiries, complaints, and information needs.
For example, a student might check the status of an admissions application and access related details. Similarly, a job candidate could view the status of their application while sensitive internal comments remain protected as confidential.
“AI can be powerful in understanding content sensitivity, programmed to understand context and intent, and respond based on consumer sentiment,” Seth explained.
He cautioned that AI is currently limited to understanding text interactions and data. However, pattern-matching models have worked well when trained with sufficient data to provide predictive analysis.
“Only time will tell if AI can be super intelligent to achieve a high level of prediction for sales optimization,” he added.
AI Messaging To Overcome CRM Limitations
Conversive is a messaging platform, not a CRM, but it seamlessly integrates with CRM systems to revitalize traditional platforms. It enables businesses to capitalize on the growing use of messaging channels while enhancing the capabilities of evolving CRM features.
Seth, who founded the social media messaging company 15 years ago, expanded its reach by introducing the new Conversive product to meet the demands of the changing CX landscape.
Conversive offers an AI-first messaging solution that integrates with any CRM system. Current CRM workflows typically use keyword-based automation to trigger outgoing messages, he explained.
A key part of Conversive’s mission is to address CRM pain points. Traditional CRMs, for example, are designed primarily for business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) use cases.
“Salesforce was thought to be a B2B CRM, but I think they have grown massively as a company. So they have grown beyond being a CRM,” said Seth.
Going Beyond CRM Technology
Seth thinks some other traditional CRM things get in the way. Everything must be configured, including opt-out, workflow, and automation features.
In the traditional email CRM world, data de-duplication, data cleaning, and data enrichment all need to be built on top of the CRM.
“But in the new day and age, people expect it to be out-of-the-box ready. We are in the age of prompts and engineering, and you write something, and it is done,” he added.
Seth describes Conversive as a non-CRM additive to CRMs. It is a communication platform built on top.
“We provide some of these features in a point-and-click, ready-to-go format that comes prebuilt. You don’t have a phone number cleaning function. To do any messaging or calling in CRM, you need to clean your numbers. So, we offer it out-of-the-box,” he said.
Guided Conversations
Seth noted that the new approach creates an AI versus workflow environment that is very applicable to messaging. It overcomes CRM workflow’s inability to gain insight from a reply.
A customer’s reply can be anything. People use different words to convey the same thing. However, the response may be trying to convey a different reaction.
The AI-powered conversation detects what the person is trying to imply. Is the customer happy with the service or not? Is the person asking for a renewal or a refund?
He described it as a tool for guided conversations, where the integrated platform leverages AI and CRM workflows to drive interactions.
Some CRMs leave out email automation because it is a marketing feature. Conversive blends email with messaging and calling.
“CRMs are not meant for messaging workflows, but you can still do them, and it will take you time to write those workflows and manage QA. Those are things that we do that are built for messaging in an AI fashion,” he offered.
AI Advances in Call Summaries, Contextual Insights
AI-generated call summaries and actionable features are standard today. Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Salesforce offer it natively. These technologies typically rely on voice-to-text conversions and then mining the text to identify topics and do analysis, he explained.
According to Seth, software developers still lack a true multi-model call analysis solution that understands voice, video, and text and can combine all of them to deliver comprehensive insights. But that innovation is on the horizon.
“We are in the early stages of call transcription and summarization technology. However, the [current] results are promising and are being used to some extent,” he offered.
Issues with hallucination (AI-generated inaccuracies) and understanding the call context still exist. Even with LLMs, most niche AI notetakers rely on training and custom models to identify particular intents specific to the sales interaction based on the product being sold, the audience, and the typical things being discussed.
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