The integration of artificial intelligence into corporate sales strategies has transitioned from experimental to essential, according to a new extensive report by Gong, a leader in revenue intelligence. The study indicates that 70% of enterprise revenue leaders now trust AI to regularly guide their business decisions, marking a decisive change from the cautious approaches seen just two years ago.
Analyzing data from 7.1 million sales opportunities across over 3,600 companies and surveying more than 3,000 revenue leaders in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and Germany, the research depicts a sales industry undergoing rapid transformation. Companies embedding AI deeply into their go-to-market strategies are 65% more likely to improve their win rates compared to competitors treating AI as optional.
AI as a Strategic Support, Not a Replacement
Amit Bendov, Gong’s co-founder and CEO, explains that AI serves as a “second opinion” in the decision-making process, complementing rather than replacing human judgment. “Humans are making the decision, but they’re largely assisted,” Bendov stated. This data-driven support helps mitigate the traditional reliance on intuition and guesswork in sales forecasting and strategy.
Addressing Slowing Revenue Growth Through Enhanced Productivity
The study highlights a slowdown in average annual revenue growth—from a rebound in 2024 to a deceleration to 16% in 2025—and a decline in sales rep quota attainment from 52% to 46%. Importantly, the issue is not diminished performance per deal but a reduction in the number of active opportunities per sales representative, suggesting operational inefficiencies that reduce selling time.
As a result, boosting productivity has become the top growth strategy for 2026, moving up from fourth place the previous year. Teams that consistently use AI tools generate 77% more revenue per rep—a difference that translates into six-figure gains per salesperson annually.
From Automation to Intelligence: Evolving AI Applications
While AI use in 2024 primarily involved basic automation tasks such as call transcription, email drafting, and CRM updates, 2025 has seen a shift toward more advanced, intelligence-driven applications. These include forecasting, strategic initiative measurement, deal outcome prediction, and identifying at-risk accounts. The number of U.S. companies employing AI for such strategic purposes jumped 50% year over year, correlating with markedly better commercial outcomes.
Organizations in the top 5% for AI impact were two to four times more likely to utilize these intelligent applications. Bendov noted that AI improves forecasting accuracy by 10 to 15% by relying on evidence rather than subjective human sentiment, reducing the risk of missed sales targets.
Specialized AI Tools Outperform General-Purpose Platforms
The study reveals that teams leveraging AI solutions tailored specifically for sales workflows outperform those using general-purpose AI platforms like ChatGPT. Revenue-specific AI tools were associated with 13% higher revenue growth and 85% greater commercial impact, in addition to being twice as likely to be deployed for forecasting and predictive modeling.
Conversely, widespread use of consumer AI tools without organizational oversight creates “blind spots,” introducing security risks and fragmenting technology stacks, thereby limiting enterprise-wide AI effectiveness. Research from MIT supports this, indicating actual workplace usage of personal AI tools may approach 90%, despite lower official reporting.
AI Reshaping Sales Roles Rather Than Eliminating Them
Regarding AI’s impact on employment within sales, 43% of surveyed leaders expect job roles to transform without reductions in headcount, while 28% foresee job cuts and 21% predict AI will create new roles. Only 8% anticipate minimal impact.
Bendov emphasizes that AI can reclaim the 77% of sales representatives’ time currently devoted to non-customer-facing tasks such as administrative duties and internal coordination. By automating these activities, AI aims to make salespeople fully productive rather than replace positions.
The consolidation of specialized sales roles into more integrated functions is already underway, with AI enabling individual sellers to manage lead qualification, appointment setting, deal closing, and onboarding more efficiently. At Gong, for example, sales representatives now generate 80% of their own appointments thanks to AI-driven prospecting.
Geographical Adoption Gaps Highlighted
The report notes a significant adoption gap between the United States and Europe. While 87% of U.S. companies have integrated AI into their revenue operations, with 9% planning adoption within a year, only 70% of U.K. companies currently use AI, and 22% plan near-term implementation. This reflects an 18-month lag in European AI adoption, consistent with historical trends in enterprise technology diffusion.
Gong’s Competitive Edge in a Crowded Market
As Gong surpasses $300 million in annual recurring revenue, it faces competition from enterprise software giants like Salesforce and Microsoft, which are embedding AI into their platforms. However, Bendov highlights Gong’s decade-long AI development as a significant competitive advantage.
Gong’s AI architecture includes a “revenue graph” aggregating customer data across multiple channels, an intelligence layer combining large and proprietary small language models, and workflow applications tailored for sales. This complex system, requiring years of development, creates a substantial barrier for new entrants.
Rather than competitors, Bendov views Salesforce and Microsoft as partners, especially with increasing interoperability through initiatives like the Model Context Protocol (MCP), enabling customers to mix AI agents from multiple vendors.
Expanding the Sales Profession Through AI
The broader implications of the study suggest AI could expand rather than contract the sales profession. Using the analogy of digital photography, Bendov notes that while camera makers suffered, the overall volume of photos taken soared due to smartphone accessibility. Similarly, AI could simplify selling, potentially multiplying job opportunities and enabling participation from diverse abilities and locations.
Reflecting on Gong’s origins, Bendov recalls the initial skepticism toward AI in sales when the company was founded in 2015. Today, AI has become indispensable, with seven out of ten revenue leaders trusting it to help run their businesses.
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