Key Takeaways
- Shift your mindset from cost-saving to revenue generation. AI sales agents are powerful tools that can drive significant revenue growth. Discover how to use AI in sales for a 5.2x ROI, as demonstrated by Ideal Image’s strategic deployment of AI in their sales process.
- Deliver hyper-personalized experiences at scale. Using AI for sales allows you to A/B test offers and messaging with a speed and depth that human teams cannot match, tailoring each conversation to individual customer attributes and history.
- Capture every sales opportunity, 24/7. Deploy an AI agent for sales to engage customers during off-hours, ensuring no lead is lost and providing a seamless handoff to your human sales team.
- Empower customers with self-service. AI agents allow customers to explore information and get answers on their own terms, creating a flexible and positive experience that boosts satisfaction and reduces friction.
- View AI as a human collaborator, not a replacement. The most effective application of AI in sales is to augment human teams, allowing them to focus on high-value interactions while AI sales agents handle lead capture, qualification, and initial support.
Just recently, at CCW Nashville 2025, I had the privilege of joining Alex White, CTO of Ideal Image, and Gary Courtney, Consulting Principal at ApexCX, on stage. Our session, “AI Agents Aren’t Just for the Contact Center: Develop an AI-powered, Self-service Customer Journey with Ideal Image and Quiq”, wasn’t just about sharing insights; it was about reframing the entire conversation around AI in sales. We wanted to make it clear: AI agents aren’t just for post-sales service and support. They are powerful, critical drivers of revenue across every stage of the customer lifecycle.
How Ideal Image Drives Revenue with Quiq’s AI Agent
Frankly, there’s no better story to illustrate the power of AI in sales than Ideal Image’s journey with their AI sales agent, “Izzy.” As a valued Quiq customer, we’ve been working hand-in-hand with Ideal Image for over a year, evolving Izzy into the powerhouse it is today.
By tackling challenges like inconsistent lead follow-up, Izzy didn’t just move the needle, it boosted Ideal Image to an incredible 3x increase in bookings and a 5.2x ROI within just six months. That kind of impact is the direct result of strategically deploying agentic AI where it truly matters in their customer journey.
How to Use AI in Sales: Four Ways to Drive Revenue with Your AI Agents
Here are the four areas where I believe AI agents shine brightest:
1. Crafting Hyper-Personalized Experiences and A/B Testing at Lightning Speed
What truly excites me about digital assistants is their ability to deliver hyper-personalization at scale. Imagine A/B testing different offers and messaging not just quickly, but with a thoroughness that’s simply not possible with human agents. This allows us to tailor every interaction based on incredibly specific customer attributes – their location, their history, the product they’re eyeing.
It’s like having a bespoke conversation with every single customer. I’m so proud to see how Ideal Image is now leveraging Izzy’s insights to directly inform and optimize their new booking flows. That’s personalization directly translating into conversions.
2. Seizing Every Sales Opportunity, Even When You’re Offline
AI-assisted sales can happen 24/7. For sales teams, who often don’t operate around the clock, deploying an AI agent for off-hours can be a game-changer. It means your customers are never left hanging. Instead, you’re capturing valuable sales opportunities that your human team can seamlessly follow up on the moment they’re back online.
And here’s a pro-tip we’ve seen work wonders: seamlessly transition those initial web conversations to channels like SMS or Apple Messages for Business. This keeps the dialogue going, right where the customer left off and in their channel of choice. Izzy’s incredible success in handling inbound web and text conversations for lead capture and qualification perfectly embodies this “never miss a beat” philosophy.
3. Training That’s Efficient, Smart, and Constantly Evolving
Yes, AI agents need training – much like a new human recruit. And yes, they need continuous updates as your products and services inevitably change. But the beauty? This process is dramatically more efficient and effective, especially when built on a robust platform like Quiq.
Ideal Image’s journey with Izzy has consistently underscored the power of ongoing training and feedback loops. This isn’t a “set it and forget it” solution; it’s about continuous refinement to ensure the agent is always performing at its peak and adapting to new customer needs and use cases. Your AI should always be learning, always improving.
4. Empowering Customers to Interact on Their Own Terms
Perhaps one of the most profound shifts agentic AI brings is how it liberates the customer experience. No longer are customers forced down static, pre-defined pathways. Instead, they can ask questions, explore, and discover information in a way that feels natural, flexible, and completely on their terms. This freedom significantly elevates their experience and is a hallmark of how to use AI in sales today.
Think about how Izzy supports customers: answering FAQs, sharing the necessary pricing information, triaging leads during consideration, and even stepping in to reduce abandonment by responding in real-time to bridge to a human sale during conversion. It truly puts the customer in the driver’s seat.
My Core Belief: The Power of AI as a Human Partner
A conviction that deeply resonated throughout our session, and one I wholeheartedly share, is this:
AI agents are not here to replace our incredible human teams.
Quite the contrary, they are powerful collaborators, working alongside humans to craft scalable, impactful customer experiences that redefine what’s possible. As I emphasized when wrapping up our discussion, imagine if your AI agent could truly be your top-performing salesperson, marketer, and retention specialist—all rolled into one.
Just as Gary Courtney so eloquently put it, it’s about aligning AI directly with your sales engine and laser-focusing on tangible business outcomes for achieving real ROI. And as Alex White wisely reminded us, the true magic happens when you combine the right technology with thoughtful change management, leading to genuine transformation.
I am genuinely thrilled about the horizon of agentic AI and its immense potential to completely reshape how businesses connect with their customers and ignite remarkable growth. I’m always excited to hear how other leaders are thinking about these transformations.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Aren’t AI agents just for customer support?
Not at all. While they are excellent for support, AI agents are powerful tools for driving revenue across the entire customer lifecycle. They can be used for lead capture, qualification, and sales, turning them into revenue superstars, not just cost-savers.
How can an AI agent actually increase revenue?
AI agents increase revenue in several ways. AI sales agents can capture and qualify leads 24/7, ensuring you never miss a sales opportunity. They also facilitate hyper-personalized experiences by A/B testing offers and messaging at scale, which directly improves conversion rates. For example, the company Ideal Image saw a 3x increase in bookings and a 5.2x ROI by using AI for sales.
What does “hyper-personalization at scale” mean?
It means tailoring every single customer interaction based on specific attributes like their location, browsing history, or the exact product they’re viewing. An AI agent can manage thousands of these unique, bespoke conversations simultaneously, something that isn’t possible for human teams to do.
Will an AI agent replace my human sales and support teams?
No, the goal with AI-assisted sales is collaboration, not replacement. AI agents are designed to complement human teams. They handle initial inquiries, lead qualification, and common questions, which frees up your human experts to focus on more complex, high-value interactions that require a human touch.
Do AI agents require a lot of training?
AI agents do need initial training and ongoing updates, similar to a new employee. However, the process is much more efficient. With the right platform, you can continuously refine the agent’s performance based on real interactions, ensuring it’s always adapting to your business and customer needs.
How do AI agents empower customers?
They provide customers with freedom and flexibility. Instead of being forced down a rigid, predefined path (like a traditional chatbot or website form), customers can ask questions, explore topics, and get information in a natural, conversational way. This puts them in control of their own journey and leads to a better overall experience.
