How Marketing and Sales Teams Are Gaining an Edge

AI ISNT JUST FOR OPS
How Marketing and Sales Teams Are Gaining an Edge

Brought to you by Agents of Change — your weekly hit of practical AI strategy for business leaders.

For a long time, AI was seen as an operational play. Automate back-office tasks. Cut costs. Streamline processes. It lived in the basement of the business — not in the boardroom.

But that story’s changing — fast.

In 2025, some of the most transformative AI gains are happening at the front of the business — marketing and sales. And it’s not about replacing people. It’s about enabling them. Not about overhauling your strategy. It’s about accelerating it.

Here’s how fast-moving teams are using AI to drive sharper campaigns, faster pipelines, and better customer experiences — without needing in-house data scientists or six-month rollouts..

PART 1
From Generic to Hyper-Relevant (Without More Work)🎯

AI is finally delivering on the promise of personalisation — without needing 10 new hires or six months of segmentation.

Use Cases:

• Outbound email personalisation: Tools like Regie.ai, Lavender, and Clay scrape CRM data, LinkedIn bios, and previous touchpoints to draft personalised cold emails in seconds.
  

• Audience-specific landing pages: Tools like Mutiny and RightMessage allow marketers to dynamically tailor headlines, CTAs, and case studies based on firmographics or browsing behaviour.
  

• Feedback summarisation: Tools like Delighted or Typeform + Claude summarise thousands of NPS and CSAT responses into thematic insights that actually shape messaging.
  

Real-World Impact:

• One SaaS client cut their email writing time by 70%, increased open rates by 22%, and generated 3x more meetings booked by switching to AI-personalised outreach.
  

At scale, a marketing team of 3 can execute campaigns previously requiring 8–10 people.

STEP 2
Sales Teams Are Spending Less Time Prepping — and More Time Closing📞

Sales is a game of timing and context. The problem? Too many teams are still stuck stitching together LinkedIn notes, CRM entries, and past call recordings.

Modern AI flips that script.

Use Cases:

• Pre-call briefing: Tools like Gong, Sybill, and Salesforce Einstein generate contextual call summaries, pain points, and prior objections — so reps walk in warm.
  

• Follow-up generation: Humantic AI and Hypertype draft context-rich follow-ups, tuned to tone and stage of the deal.
  

• Pipeline risk analysis: Clari or People.ai scan sales activity and highlight when a deal is going cold or lacks exec engagement.
  

ROI and Time Savings:

• On average, reps spend 21% of their week on research and admin (HubSpot). AI can claw back 5–10 hours per rep per week, allowing teams to spend more time on calls — where the money is.
  

One enterprise scaled back its SDR team by 25% while increasing SQLs by 18% — just by automating research and follow-ups.

WAIT THERES MORE!!
STEP 3. SMARTER TAGGING WITHOUT A DATA SCIENTIST
STEP 4. AI-FIRST TEAMS AREN’T REPLACING CREATIVITY-THEYRE SPEEDING IT UP
WHAT COULD THIS ACTUALLY SOLVE?
FINAL THOUGHT

To read the rest of the guide including the sections above click here.

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Matt Jonns

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ABOUT MATT

Matt is the Founder and CEO of The Lightning Group, a product and AI innovation studio helping businesses build, scale, and future-proof their digital products.

With a decade of experience in venture building, product development, and investment, Matt has worked with startups and enterprises alike to create high-performing digital platforms. Today, The Lightning Group specialises in AI-powered product development, AI agent & copilot design, and corporate venture building, enabling businesses to leverage AI for smarter customer interactions, automation, and growth.

Under Matt’s leadership, The Lightning Group has launched and invested in over 40 companies, bridging the gap between startup agility and enterprise-scale in the new AI era.

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