If you've ever asked a demand gen leader how they're performing against their pipeline goals, you'll know the answer is rarely, if ever, given without sweating.

Even when they are crushing their goals, they're rewarded with higher targets for the next quarter.

This ever-increasing number contributes to one of the challenges that keeps most marketing leaders up at night: 

The pipeline gap.

The good news is that in the Age of AI, we have a host of tools and tech available now that are helping to not only close this gap, but optimize every step of the pipeline generation process for better coverage and conversion all across the website.

What is the pipeline gap?

The pipeline gap is the difference between a marketer's projected pipeline target and the resources needed to hit it. As companies grow, demand gen goals increase accordingly, but in the last few years it's been harder than ever to get the necessary resources, be it budget or bodies, to comfortably achieve these numbers. This creates a gap between what companies need and what's reasonably possible with human capacity.

Put in simpler terms we've all seen a billion times since 2022––do more with less.

Closing this gap is a constant concern for marketing leaders, and until recently, the AI models available to us weren't strong enough to have a significant impact on these goals.

How can marketers use AI to close the pipeline gap?

There are a few really exciting ways that AI is helping demand gen marketers streamline their daily tasks. From data analysis to content creation, practical use cases have been clear from the beginning of the generative AI frenzy. These advancements allow demand gen teams to move faster and get more value from their current resources, but the biggest win in the Age of AI is what's happening on the website.

AI SDRs tackle these pipeline gaps without increasing headcount, and they do it 24/7, 365. They do this in a few ways: 

• Identifying target accounts: AI SDRs have insight into all of your data systems, from your CRM to your enriched data platforms and can instantly identify accounts in their target lead queues.
• Qualifying leads instantly: With the criteria you set, AI SDRs are able to instantly qualify leads right there on your website without a drawn out back and forth, and they can work multiple leads simultaneously––even the ones you wouldn't want your human SDRs necessarily spending time on. This prevents accounts that you may not have identified as your ICP but actually are a good fit for your use case from slipping through the cracks.
• Automating lead nurture: If an account isn't ready to talk with a human, AI SDRs can autonomously nurture those leads with timely, contextual emails that drive them back to the website where they meet them there and engage them in real-time conversations. All of their questions get answered, and all of that content you work hard on gets surfaced at exactly the right moment.
• Engaging leads in real time: No filling out a form and waiting for hours, maybe days, for a lead to start getting answers to their questions. AI SDRs are always online, always available, and trained on your best content and strict guidelines in your control to manage conversations just like your best human SDRs would, around the clock.
• Seamlessly handing off to sales: When a lead is finally ready to chat with a person? Easy. Simply routing rules makes it so that your leads get handed off to the right rep, and the right time, either for a live conversation right on the website or a meeting booking tool that takes a few clicks to schedule time.

AI SDRs ensure that when it matters most, absolutely no lead gets left behind and it's all happening completely autonomously, without any additional human oversight.

How is AI shaping the future of inbound pipeline generation?

In the Age of AI, inbound pipeline generation no longer requires massive teams of human SDRs to man live chat 24/7. Now, you can automate huge portions of the day-to-day task lists with AI SDRs, freeing your human reps up to have more meaningful, nuanced conversations in their outbound efforts––something we all want to see more of.

The benefits of AI SDRs are going to raise the bar on already high buyer expectations: 

• Speed to lead: AI SDRs respond instantly, day or night, eliminating the need for long back-and-forth form-fueled email chains. 78% of buyers go with the first vendor that responds to them, so when your buyer is ready, why make them wait more than a second to get their question answered? 
• Personalization at scale: AI SDRs have visibility into every piece of data you have on your customers and instant recall. They can identify your target accounts immediately and create bespoke website experiences that speak directly to their unique needs.
• No lead left behind: In this day and age, every bit of pipeline counts. Closing the pipeline gap means working every lead that hits your website and never worrying if you're missing out on qualified buyers again.

Learn more about Piper the AI SDR here.