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The AI Era is well underway, and the hottest topic at Dreamforce this year was AI Agents, particularly AI SDRs.
Our Founder & CEO, Kraig Swensrud, sat down with theCUBE analyst Christophe Bertrand to dive into how AI is reshaping the sales process and why companies are turning to AI SDRs like Piper to automate their pipeline generation.
It wasn’t long ago that AI was introduced and everyone in software launched a “Copilot” to help augment humans, assisting in their day-to-day tasks. Whether it was scheduling meetings or analyzing data, these early AI systems played a supporting role in business operations. But as Kraig observed, we’re now seeing a shift from copilots to fully autonomous agents.
Just as self-driving cars have moved from being tested with human drivers to becoming fully autonomous on the streets of San Francisco, AI workers in the sales world are now ready to take on a more proactive role in pipeline generation with hardly any human oversight.
Looking around at these self-driving cars, Kraig posed the question to our team, “If AI can drive cars autonomously, why can’t it autonomously generate pipeline?”
Sales teams, particularly SDRs, are the frontline of pipeline generation. But as Kraig pointed out, these teams come with challenges. Human SDRs often start fresh out of college, with limited experience, and require months of training before they can operate effectively. Once trained, the best SDRs get promoted, and the cycle of hiring and training begins again. This model not only limits scalability but also requires significant investment in time and resources, two things most sales leaders are tight on these days.
And when human SDRs are unavailable—whether due to time zones, vacations, or high demand—opportunities are missed. Today’s buyers aren’t waiting around for someone to get back to their form fill for days. They’re already on your website, it’s crucial to engage them in real-time.
One of the key benefits of using an AI SDR is scalability. As Kraig pointed out, human SDR teams don’t scale easily—you have to hire more people to increase capacity. With AI, however, the solution is infinitely scalable. Whether you need an AI SDR to engage with 10 leads or 1,000, they can handle it with ease, without missing a beat.
Another advantage is cost savings. By automating the SDR role, companies can reduce the costs associated with hiring, training, and retaining human SDRs. And because AI SDRs don’t need to be replaced or promoted, businesses can maintain a consistent, high-quality pipeline generation process without disruption.
AI SDRs don’t need promotions or seek out new companies, and they won’t up and leave with all your company knowledge, either.
While AI SDRs are revolutionizing the sales landscape, Kraig emphasized that human salespeople still play a critical role, particularly in more complex, high-stakes deals. The job of an SDR is to qualify leads, but the job of closing the deal—the part that requires human touch and negotiation—remains with human account executives. AI isn’t replacing human sales teams, it’s enhancing them by allowing human reps to focus on building deeper relationships with strategic accounts.
“AI removes the friction in the buying process,” Kraig explained. When buyers visit your website, they can get instant answers from an AI SDR like Piper and seamlessly move to the next step in the sales funnel. No more waiting for follow-up emails or playing phone tag with a busy SDR.
For businesses, this means a smoother, faster sales process—and for buyers, it’s an experience that feels personalized and responsive until you’re ready to engage with a human for a more nuanced conversation.
For Chief Marketing Officers, the value of AI SDRs is clear: increased pipeline, lower costs, and better engagement with prospects. “The biggest risk for CMOs is lost pipeline,” Kraig noted. Sticking with outdated models of lead generation can mean missed opportunities, especially when AI is available to capture and nurture leads around the clock.
On average, companies that implement AI SDRs like Piper see their pipeline double, all while saving money on human resources. And as AI continues to improve, companies are finding that they can reallocate budgets once earmarked for hiring SDRs to other areas, like marketing campaigns or product development.
Piper the AI SDR autonomously handles the functions of a human SDR—engaging website visitors via live chat, answering questions, booking meetings, and following up with leads—without the limitations of human workers.
Piper is designed to automate the repetitive, time-consuming tasks that SDRs typically handle, allowing businesses to scale without the limitations of human teams. Piper is always available—24/7—and can engage with prospects instantly. She never takes time off, doesn’t need retraining, and gets better with every interaction.
Piper’s ability to seamlessly integrate with Salesforce means she can access critical customer data in real-time, identify leads, and tailor conversations based on each prospect’s history with the company. Whether engaging a new visitor or reconnecting with a returning customer, Piper knows exactly how to guide the conversation.
As AI continues to evolve, the role of AI SDRs will only grow. Kraig predicted that within the next year, many companies will completely rethink the need for human SDR teams as AI solutions become more capable and cost-effective. Piper is just the beginning, paving the way for a future where AI and human teams work together to drive unprecedented levels of growth.
In a world where instant access to information is the expectation, AI is no longer a nice-to-have—it’s a necessity for any company looking to stay competitive.
The future of pipeline generation is here, and it’s fully automated.
Learn more about Piper the AI SDR here.
Discover how we can help you convert more prospects into pipeline–right from your website.
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