BUSINESS: Should We Deploy a Gen AI Salesbot?

The decision to deploy a Gen AI Salesbot requires careful consideration of business goals and technological innovation. After reviewing the case, I don’t think PulsePoint should deploy Gen AI Salesbot right now. The first reason is the risk of client concerns. As evident in the case, sales is a complicated field that requires deep relationships and human understanding. Many would be hesitant to deal with Gen AI, especially since it’s so new and not many people understand what it is yet and have concerns surrounding business deals, especially on a large B2B scale. Resistance from major clients like Orion highlights the potential backlash clients can have regarding the Gen AI deployment. Another challenge is the technical one, building AI models can raise concerns about data privacy risks, especially if using a partner model, there can also be a lack of control that might not guarantee that the model will perform to expectations. In addition, as mentioned, since sales is a human-relation field, replacing humans with AI can cause fear of job loss, resulting in employee morale and satisfaction. Lastly, investing in AI right now is risky since there is no clear ROI yet since it’s so new. While the technology is promising, it’s uncertain whether it will outperform skilled sales reps in upselling and cross-selling in the short term. If they were to employ Gen AI, there are some considerations that can help PulsePoint. First, they can consider phased implementation, where they can use AI to help sales rep handle data and increase efficiency rather than outright replacing them. Another phased implementation tool can be slowly rolling it out to a group before every customer to gauge reaction and efficiency. They can also have clients opt-in to AI, showing respect for customer preferences and maintaining trust while gradually showcasing the benefits. They should also monitor competitors to guide their own strategy, monitoring what role AI has in the sales world right now.