The global SaaS startup market for AI agents is expected to skyrocket from $5.29 billion in 2023 to $216.8 billion by 2035. It’s definitely booming. And it’s definitely not becoming any easier to find an AI agent that’s right for your sales team.
A lot of AI solutions are plain automation tools in disguise. They might save a few minutes here and there, but they’re not smart and can’t act autonomously.
In this guide, we cut through the noise and offer the AI sales agents that are truly powered by AI.
An AI sales agent is AI-powered tech that helps salespeople by handling parts of the sales process.
Some AI sales agents specialize in a specific area, like handling cold outreach. Others work across the entire sales cycle. Depending on the tool, they may be able to:
So where does the “AI” come in?
Unlike traditional automation tools that follow pre-defined workflows, AI sales agents make decisions on the fly. They use the power of artificial intelligence to generate their own outreach messages, adapt based on customer behavior, and learn from past customer interactions to improve future ones.
AI agents can support sales teams in a variety of roles:
These act as real members of your sales team while actually being part of the tech. They usually come with a convenient chat-style interface where you can tell the assistant what to do.
Virtual sales assistants can perform a variety of tasks, like setting up meetings, sending follow-up emails, or even coaching your sales team members.
Tools like Ava by Artisan go a step further by acting as full-cycle sales agents that not only assist but actually execute parts of the sales process on your behalf.
Chatbots are AI-powered tools that interact with leads and customers through text or voice. They’re often the first point of contact on your site, answering questions or connecting visitors with the right person.
AI chatbots have replaced traditional rule-based ones that could only respond to selected topics or questions. The new generation can process natural language and respond intelligently, without needing a script.
Tools like Intercom and Drift are popular options that handle everything from lead generation to routing conversations to the right team member.
This type of AI agents lives inside your CRM and helps make sense of the data your team collects. It can spot patterns in customer behavior, predict which leads are most likely to convert, and suggest the best times or channels to reach out.
Most CRM systems have already incorporated AI into their functionality to some extent. Salesforce’s Einstein and HubSpot’s AI assistant, Breeze, are among the most advanced ones.
More than a quarter of workers worry that AI could take their jobs — so it’s not surprising if your team is a bit skeptical at first. That’s why when you bring the idea to the table, it’s important to highlight the benefits and show how AI agents help rather than replace them.
Sales reps spend only 28% of their week actually selling. Most of the time, they’re busy with things like qualifying leads, updating the CRM, logging sales call notes, and booking meetings.
AI agents take these tasks off salespeople’s plates so they can spend more time on sales conversations and less time on admin work.
Without AI, personalizing outreach either takes hours or gets reduced to swapping in a first name at the top of a message. Neither works when you’re trying to scale and actually close deals.
AI can analyze dozens of data points on each lead, like past interactions, firmographics, and behavior, and use that to craft highly personalized messages at scale. It’s the kind of depth that just isn’t possible manually.
And because AI doesn’t sleep, customers get instant responses no matter the time of day. That 24/7 availability can speed up the sales cycle and improve customer experience.
As we’ve just said, AI sales agents can process massive amounts of data, far beyond what any human team could handle. They can pick up on patterns, flag what’s working (and what’s not), and even suggest next steps based on how similar deals have played out.
And because AI learns on the go, it continuously adjusts its approach in real time — without waiting for strategy meetings or manual input.
At first, it might look like only management wins with the cost savings AI brings. But really, it opens up more budget to give raises and promotions to your current team.
You don’t have to keep hiring just to grow sales, which means more money to invest in the people you already have. Not a bad way to keep everyone motivated, huh?
Sales reps who use AI tools effectively are nearly four times more likely to hit their quota. While AI definitely makes sales more efficient, much of its impact comes from helping teams forecast more accurately and set realistic KPIs.
And once your sales reps have attainable goals, morale will grow — and so will their performance.
These are the five AI sales agents you’ll want to add to your workflows.
Artisan is an AI-first sales automation platform powered by its virtual sales assistant, Ava.
Ava chats with you through an easy-to-use interface, takes tasks, and builds outreach campaigns based on your input.
Basically, she’s an SDR that will handle the entire outbound sales process for you. You just share details about your ideal customer profile (ICP) and your business, and Ava will find the right leads and craft personalized messages to reach out to them.
And that’s just the start — Ava can also plug those messages into automated email and LinkedIn workflows, run A/B tests to fine-tune your campaigns, and keep improving her strategies as she learns what works best.
Artisan offers flexible plans based on team size and usage. They usually tailor the plan to your needs after a demo.
Regie is an AI-powered sales engagement platform that includes AI agents, available either as a standalone option or bundled into the full platform.
Its AI agents act like virtual sales reps, engaging leads before they’re ready for real conversations. They’re great at personalizing emails and LinkedIn messages, although the setup process might feel a little more complicated than it needs to be.
While Regie’s AI agents are built to operate within RegieOne, they also integrate smoothly with popular sales engagement platforms like Outreach and Salesloft.
Pricing is based on the number of prospecting sales reps, starting at $35,000/year.
Clay is a comprehensive platform for GTM teams with a built-in AI research agent called Claygent.
Claygent searches the web for info about companies and people, then answers your specific questions on demand. You can pretty much ask anything — like who the customers mentioned in a company’s case studies are, who their investors are, or if they allow remote work. Basically, whatever you need to know.
Just a heads-up: Clay is more of a playground for experienced sales and business intelligence pros. It’s powerful, but there’s a learning curve — using it can take some trial and error (and that burns through credits). You’ll also need a bit of technical know-how, like basic logic or coding skills, which might not be super intuitive for everyone.
AI agents are available in all plans, starting with a free plan:
Lavender is an AI email coach. It analyzes your drafts and suggests a score as well as ideas for improvement.
At its core, Lavender is a Chrome extension that shows up wherever you write — whether that’s your email inbox or CRM.
Relevance AI lets you build custom AI agents through a no-code interface. If there’s a workflow task your team needs help with, whether it’s lead scoring, outreach, or follow-up, you can create a dedicated agent to handle it.
Just describe the agent’s role, define its skills, and set the conditions for when those skills should be activated. Once set up, you can continue interacting with your agent to train it and improve its performance.
Will AI agents replace salespeople? No. But they’ll absolutely change how they work.
No more manual lead research, scoring, and outreach. They can rely on AI to do all that.
While having AI sales agents handle data analytics and repetitive, time-consuming tasks, human reps can focus on selling and driving the pipeline.
All in all, when salespeople and AI agents work together, sales organizations will:
It’s time you adopt AI into your workflows so people can do what they’re best at — strategic and creative tasks. With AI sales agents like Ava, it’s made possible.
Ready to see how AI sales agents can transform your workflow? Meet Ava from Artisan — your AI sales teammate who researches leads, personalizes outreach, and helps your team focus on closing deals.
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Irina is a Founder at ONSAAS, Growth Lead at Aura, and a SaaS marketing consultant. She helps companies to grow their revenue with SEO and inbound marketing. In her spare time, Irina entertains her cat Persie and collects airline miles.
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