After sharing my thoughts on the global opportunities for SaaS innovators in the age of AI, I had the pleasure of recently sitting down with some of these innovators to learn about real-world applications and use cases. That’s what happened last month when G2 and ZoomInfo hosted an evening of AI Insights and SaaS Executive Conversations in London.
At this event, I had the pleasure of moderating a panel discussion with leaders from companies at the forefront of artificial intelligence: Bianca Draganbrand marketing executive paddle, Alex OllieCRO and Co-Founder deskand Sophie ZhengVice President of Product and Customer Marketing Zoom message.
Dixa Chief Marketing Officer Sylvia Jensen was one of the SaaS leaders in attendance.in her LinkedIn Post Reflecting on the meeting, she asked: “When technology companies desperately need to cut costs to survive in today’s economy, and they need more output from their marketing, sales and service teams, generative AI is the solution.” ‘?”
Answering this question is the focus of our discussion.
AI in SaaS: Expectations keep changing, but reality still outstrips reality
Despite the economic downturn, Artificial intelligence is booming With record funding and the emergence of new generative AI unicorns. Everyone seems to want to embrace artificial intelligence.
In fact, according to statistics, 81% of global software buyers say it is important that the software they purchase has artificial intelligence G2 2023 Software Buyer Behavior Report. However, leaders also realize that any investment in software (including AI tools and capabilities) must Deliver measurable value and ROI.
During our conversation, a common theme that emerged was that while the adoption of artificial intelligence continues to grow, expectations still outpace reality. Panelists agreed that we must be careful not to overpromise on the capabilities of artificial intelligence and focus on actual productivity gains.
For example, automating routine tasks can free up time for more strategic work, but the results are difficult to predict. The consensus is that there are clear opportunities to use generative AI for go-to-market (GTM) efforts, including customer acquisition, but it needs to be done for real use cases.
81%
of global software buyers say it is important for the software they buy to have artificial intelligence
source: G2
Marketing and sales use cases that drive business value
To delve deeper into how to implement AI, we looked at AI use cases in marketing and sales. Bianca says Paddle’s support bot has reduced ticket volume by 40%, while Sophie says ZoomInfo uses AI to interpret complex sales data visualizations for sales reps.
Additionally, Alex noted that Reachdesk is mining years of call data to build AI-assisted prospecting tools and leveraging AI-driven account-based modeling to reveal manufacturing and logistics as major untapped verticals to accelerate the pipeline.
While the sales team may be skeptical, the team agrees that they will benefit greatly from AI once adoption increases.
Looking to the future and discovering new growth opportunities
Looking ahead, panelists expressed cautious optimism about the future. While economic recovery may depend on demand-generating spending reversing current cuts, AI may help level the playing field by automating routine tasks, allowing teams to focus on strategic, higher-quality work.
Vertical positioning, AI-driven content personalization, and a focus on proven productivity improvements are factors that will help drive greater growth.
While we know the results are uncertain, artificial intelligence is undoubtedly changing the way software is developed, marketed, purchased, and sold. Continuing to listen to leaders like Bianca, Alex and Sophie will help us all navigate this chaos.
Let’s continue the conversation and continue sharing AI use cases—including what works, what doesn’t, and how we’re leveraging AI to drive business value and innovation.
