Artificial Intelligence is no longer a future topic – it's already transforming field sales in tangible ways today.

From appointment scheduling and email communication to route optimization: AI tools are helping field sales representatives work more efficiently and with greater focus.

In this article, we'll showcase concrete use cases and tools that are already being deployed in 2025.

1. What Does AI Mean for Field Sales?

AI in field sales encompasses the use of technologies such as machine learning, natural language processing (NLP), and predictive analytics to automate processes, analyze data, and create personalized customer experiences. This enables field sales representatives to focus on more strategic tasks while routine activities are handled efficiently.

According to Gartner, by 2027, 95% of all sales workflows will begin with AI – compared to just 20% in 2024.

Gartner also predicts:

"By 2026, B2B sales organizations that leverage generative AI-powered sales technologies will reduce time spent on customer acquisition and sales conversation preparation by more than 50%."

But what does this look like in practice?

2. Concrete Examples of AI in Field Sales

2.1 Data-Driven Customer Prioritization

The biggest challenge in weekly visit planning?

In reality, it's usually done purely by gut feeling. Customers are visited simply because "we haven't been there in a while" – and that's it.

State-of-the-art AI technologies like Acto, however, analyze thousands of data points from ERP and CRM systems – identifying existing customers with the greatest revenue potential.

This enables field sales to plan visits specifically to prevent churn, follow up on stalled proposals, or tap into previously unrealized potential.

Example: How Schäfer Shop increased revenue by 11.2% through data-driven visit prioritization

2.2 Real-Time Coaching and Conversation Analysis

AI technology can also be leveraged for continuous sales team development. By analyzing conversation patterns, email communications, and customer outcomes, AI systems can identify patterns of successful sales strategies.

Tools with "Conversation Intelligence" like Jiminny analyze recorded conversations, identify best practices, and provide field sales teams with personalized feedback and coaching recommendations. This empowers the entire team to adopt the most successful sales techniques.

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Example: A system analyzes all recorded sales conversations and identifies that sales reps who address customer churn risks within the first minute have a 20% higher close rate. This insight is shared in a playbook for the entire team.

2.3 Route Optimization & Territory Management

Manual route planning is inefficient and wastes valuable time. AI-powered route planners analyze not only geography but also customer priority, visit urgency, and expected time requirements.

Tools like Badger Maps optimize routes based on CRM data to minimize travel time and maximize the number of daily visits. They can also identify potential new customers nearby based on revenue data, making new customer acquisition on the go easier.

2.4 Automated Proposal Creation and Documentation

Oracle has introduced AI agents that automatically create proposals and generate documents from various data sources. This significantly reduces manual effort and allows field sales representatives to focus on direct customer contact.

2.5 Automated Follow-up & Documentation

After meetings, the time-consuming follow-up often begins:

Capturing notes, creating tasks, writing emails to customers, and documenting everything in the CRM. This is where AI provides enormous relief.

Technologies like voice recognition enable visit notes to be captured and structured simply through voice input. AI agents can analyze discussed points, automatically create tasks for inside sales or other departments, and even pre-draft follow-up emails to customers.

Example: A sales rep speaks into their smartphone microphone: "Note after meeting at Sample Company: Customer interested in Product A, forward quote for 100 units to inside sales, follow up in 14 days." The system then automatically creates a CRM task, books a follow-up appointment, and suggests an appropriate email.

3. What Should Be Automated – And What Shouldn't

AI is an extremely powerful tool, but it's not the best solution for every use case. To deploy the technology effectively, you must clearly understand its purpose:

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Where AI Helps Optimally:

Process Optimization: For data-intensive, repetitive tasks such as data analysis, note-taking, appointment booking, or email drafting.

Forecasting & Prevention: For predicting customer behavior, such as churn or future purchasing patterns.

Personalization Based on Large Data Sets: For creating individual customer recommendations that would be manually impossible (e.g., with thousands of products and customers).

Efficiency Enhancement: For optimizing routes or prioritizing tasks to make optimal use of working time.

Where AI Should Not Be Used:

Relationship Building: AI cannot show empathy or build personal relationships with customers. This emotional component of sales remains the core human responsibility.

Strategic Direction: While AI can provide analyses and forecasts, the final strategic decision on how the company acts remains with sales leadership. AI is an assistant, not the sole decision-maker.

Creative Problem-Solving: For complex, unpredictable problems that require high creativity and unconventional thinking.

6. Acto: Field Sales AI for Wholesale and Manufacturing

Acto is the intelligent AI companion specifically developed for the complex requirements of wholesale and manufacturing.

Unlike generic AI solutions, our sales intelligence is trained to recognize specific patterns in heterogeneous product portfolios and B2B purchasing behavior.

Acto uses AI for:

• ‍Prioritization: Visit customers with the greatest revenue potential. Based on deep analysis of ERP and CRM data.‍
• Preparation: Optimally prepare for appointments – easily via voice assistant while driving to the customer.‍
• Follow-up: Dictate meeting notes into your phone and not only transfer them to CRM – but also automate follow-up processes.