Sales leaders are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence to reshape seller workflows. A recent Gartner survey, presented at the Gartner CSO & Sales Leader Conference in Las Vegas, found that organizations that equip sellers with AI‑enabled next‑best‑action recommendations are 2.6 times more likely to achieve commercial growth. The data also highlights the importance of upskilling sellers on AI and redesigning roles to maximize the technology’s impact.
What Was Announced
- Survey scope – Gartner surveyed 227 chief sales officers (CSOs) from August through September 2025. The study measured the correlation between AI‑enabled seller support and commercial growth.
- Key findings – Organizations that provide AI‑driven next‑best‑action guidance are 2.6 × more likely to achieve commercial growth. Those that prioritize AI upskilling are 2.4 × more likely to see strong revenue growth.
- Workflow redesign – Greg Hessong, Senior Director Analyst in Gartner’s Sales practice, emphasized that top‑performing sales teams are “redesigning seller workflows so AI can support execution, recommendations and orchestration,” rather than merely layering AI onto existing processes.
- Future outlook – Gartner predicts that by 2027, 95 % of sellers’ research workflows will begin with AI, up from less than 20 % in 2024.
- Buyer perspective – A parallel survey of 645 B2B buyers (August‑September 2025) showed buyers still value human interaction: they were 28 pp more likely to say a rep helped them advance in the purchase process, 32 pp more likely to feel confident in the decision, 39 pp more likely to feel understood, and 21 pp more likely to receive quantified benefit statements from a rep versus GenAI.
Where It Fits
The findings sit at the intersection of AI adoption and sales‑force enablement. Gartner’s data suggests that AI is most effective for tasks such as account research, personalized messaging, signal monitoring, and generating next‑best‑action recommendations. Human sellers retain a comparative advantage in empathy, judgment, contextual understanding, and value framing.
For technology buyers, the implication is clear: AI tools should be integrated as augmentative layers that free sellers to focus on high‑touch activities. Vendors offering AI‑driven recommendation engines, predictive analytics, or workflow orchestration need to position their solutions as enablers of redesigned seller roles rather than replacements for the salesperson.
Operational Relevance
- Role redesign – Sales leaders are advised to create AI‑augmented roles that shift routine research and outreach to intelligent systems, while allocating seller time to relationship‑building and complex value articulation.
- Skill development – Upskilling programs that teach sellers how to interpret AI recommendations and intervene when human judgment is required become a strategic priority.
- Performance metrics – Organizations may need to adjust KPIs to reflect AI‑enabled activities (e.g., speed of insight generation, adoption rates of next‑best‑action prompts) alongside traditional sales outcomes.
- Buyer experience – The buyer survey underscores that high‑functioning buying groups with low dysfunction are 13 × more likely to report high‑quality deals. Reducing dysfunction may involve aligning AI tools with the moments where human interaction adds the most perceived value.
What To Watch
- Adoption rates – Monitoring how quickly sellers shift from manual research to AI‑initiated workflows will indicate whether the 95 % target for 2027 is realistic.
- Tool integration – The effectiveness of AI recommendations depends on seamless integration with CRM, CPQ, and other sales‑enablement platforms.
- Vendor positioning – Vendors that bundle AI recommendation engines with training and role‑design consulting may gain traction with enterprises seeking holistic transformation.
- Buyer sentiment – Ongoing buyer surveys will reveal whether the perceived advantage of human sellers persists as AI capabilities mature.
Key Takeaways
- Organizations that provide AI‑enabled next‑best‑action guidance are 2.6 × more likely to achieve commercial growth (Gartner survey of 227 CSOs).
- Upskilling sellers on AI correlates with a 2.4 × higher likelihood of strong revenue growth.
- B2B buyers still rate human sellers significantly higher than GenAI on advancing purchases, confidence, understanding needs, and quantifying benefits.
TechInsyte's Take
Gartner’s data signals that AI is moving from a novelty to a core productivity layer for sales organizations. The decisive factor is not the technology itself but how enterprises redesign seller workflows and roles around it. Decision‑makers should evaluate AI solutions through the lens of workflow integration, training requirements, and impact on buyer‑facing moments where human judgment remains critical. While the promise of AI‑driven research and recommendation is compelling, the real competitive edge will come from aligning those capabilities with a re‑engineered sales operating model that amplifies, rather than replaces, the human element.
Source: Businesswire
