Only 14 per cent of AI users deploy it in sales: why selling is lagging behind
According to a Bitkom survey of 603 companies, 57 per cent use AI, but only 14 per cent of them in sales, compared with 72 per cent in customer contact. An article in Vertriebszeitung on 5 October sets out five exercises salespeople can start with on their next working day.
What does the Bitkom survey show about sales?
Bitkom Research surveyed 603 companies with 20 or more employees over the summer, presenting the results on 14 September 2026. 57 per cent use AI. Of these, 72 per cent use it in customer contact and 54 per cent in marketing and communications, but only 14 per cent in sales. That is almost three times last year’s figure (5 per cent), yet still eighth out of twelve areas. 87 per cent of users say they are not exploiting its potential. Where AI saves time in selling today and where it does damage is covered in the guide AI in sales.
Which five exercises does Vertriebszeitung suggest?
In Vertriebszeitung on 5 October, Hubertus Porschen describes five starter exercises using an ordinary AI chat: a meeting briefing built from emails and notes, the five toughest customer questions from the buyer’s perspective, objection training against a sceptical decision-maker, a short follow-up email with dates, and structuring a 90-second voice note after the meeting. His rules: no personal customer data in consumer tools without IT approval, no terms taken from third-party offers, no recording without consent.
Why sales is lagging behind on AI
Customer service introduced AI because someone there counts the tickets. In sales, people count deals, and the time before them disappears into the calendar. That is why AI remains a private tool for individual salespeople there rather than a process. The five exercises are good because they target exactly the work that has nothing to do with the conversation itself: preparation and follow-up.
I know the pattern from field sales in payments: the best salesperson writes the worst notes, and three months later nobody remembers what was promised to the merchant. That is where AI pays off first, not in automated first contact. Anyone who takes a voicebot into cold calling saves time and loses their reputation.
What to do now
- Make one exercise, such as follow-up via voice note, mandatory for the whole team for four weeks and then measure whether the follow-up rate rises.
- Agree in advance with IT and data protection which tool may process customer data, and put it in writing.
- Bring AI objection training into the weekly meeting: one objection, five minutes, everyone takes a turn.