AI, Sales, and GTM in 2025/2026: What Every Revenue Leader Must Know
At the SaaStr + AI Summit 2025, Jason Lemkin and Kyle Norton, CRO of Owner—a $1B+ vertical SaaS leader—shared crucial insights on how AI is reshaping sales and go-to-market strategies. This is not next year’s challenge; it’s happening now.
The AI-Native CRO: Adapt or Fall Behind
Revenue leaders face a stark reality: team members who lack genuine curiosity about AI tools and their impact on sales must be moved out—fast. This isn’t about being an AI expert but about actively using AI to improve daily sales outcomes.
Four Essential Lessons for Revenue Leaders
- AI Curiosity Is Mandatory: By the end of the quarter, those not engaged with AI tools should be let go. Active involvement beats passive awareness every time.
- The 50/50 Hybrid Team: Soon, sales teams will be half AI agents and half humans. Managing these hybrid teams demands new skills focused on system performance and integration, not just people management.
- Widening Performance Gaps: AI amplifies the divide between top performers and average reps. Leaders must decide whether to upskill the middle or double down on their stars.
- Boosting Revenue-Generating Time: AI-driven automation can push reps’ revenue-focused activity from 20-30% to as high as 70-80%, transforming how sales days are structured.
AI Is Already Here. The Question Is: Are You Ready?
The new standard is clear. Without daily AI adoption, sales professionals risk obsolescence. Companies like Bamboo HR and Scale AI automate sales operations with AI, seeing up to 3-4x productivity boosts per rep. At Owner, automating CRM updates, note-taking, and pipeline management has already increased revenue-generating time by 25-30%.
Redefining CRO Hiring
Hiring now includes a mandatory AI evaluation. Candidates must show:
- Active use of AI tools—not just knowledge
- Implementation experience within their tech stack
- Authentic curiosity about AI’s sales applications
The goal is to find AI-native leaders who can orchestrate hybrid teams, blending human talent with AI capabilities.
The 70-80% Revenue Activity Goal
Traditional sales reps spend roughly 20-30% of their time on revenue-generating activities. AI is shifting this dramatically. A high-performing AI-augmented sales rep’s day might include:
- Four demos
- Two strategic follow-ups
- Ample time for pipeline development
- Zero time on CRM hygiene or administrative tasks
Warning: Poor AI automation can harm customer experience. Irrelevant or generic automated emails kill deals faster than no automation at all. The customer journey must be carefully designed, not just automated.
Management Intelligence: The New Coaching Tool
Top revenue teams are building AI-powered management intelligence layers—systems that provide real-time insights into rep performance and flag deal risks proactively. This is about enhancing coaching, not surveillance. AI surfaces critical moments for intervention, saving hours of manual work.
Specialization in the AI Era
AI blurs the lines between sales motions but increases specialization for humans. People will focus on:
- High-value demos and discovery
- Complex onboarding and implementations
- Strategic relationship building
- Deal structuring and negotiation
Meanwhile, AI handles:
- Initial qualification and nurturing
- Cross-sell signal detection
- CRM management and data enrichment
- Basic support and FAQs
Performance Distribution: The Hidden Challenge
AI widens gaps between elite and average sales reps. Top performers multiply their impact with AI, while others may struggle or become obsolete. Leaders face tough talent decisions: invest in upskilling or concentrate on amplifying top talent.
Contact Centers: What’s Ahead for Sales
AI has already slashed 25-30% of support teams by handling tier 1 tickets at scale. Some companies run 20,000+ AI-driven customer interactions daily. Revenue teams that delay AI adoption will lose ground on cost and efficiency.
Managing the 50/50 Hybrid Teams
By year-end, successful CROs will manage teams that are half AI, half human. This demands:
- A systems engineering mindset to optimize AI agents
- Continuous improvement processes for tuning AI
- Quality assurance for AI-human handoffs
- New performance metrics blending hybrid productivity
Digital Sales Engineers: The Next Frontier
AI-powered digital Sales Engineers will join every customer call, providing real-time product expertise, correcting misinformation, and supporting demos. This will become as essential as CRM systems once were.
Why the Lazy AI Approach Fails
Outsourcing AI strategy to agencies without active leadership involvement rarely succeeds. Only 2% of companies effectively implement AI SDRs because most take a hands-off approach. Success requires weekly optimization, continuous training, and deep understanding of AI tools.
The Challenger Sale Meets AI
The best sales reps have always challenged and educated buyers. AI can handle teaching and tailoring better than most humans, raising the bar for human sellers. The remaining reps must excel at relationship building, complex problem solving, and strategic influence.
The CRO’s Evolving Role
CROs must shift from just managing people to becoming systems architects, blending:
- Sales leadership and coaching
- Systems thinking and process optimization
- AI tool evaluation and implementation
- Hybrid team management
Competitive Advantage Is Narrowing
Quick AI adoption with continuous iteration creates lasting advantages. Treating AI as “set it and forget it” leaves you behind. Teams not AI-native by 2025 will compete against more efficient, AI-powered organizations investing heavily in growth.
Bottom Line for CROs
AI-augmented sales isn’t a future option—it’s a now requirement. Leaders can either become AI-native and increase their impact or risk being replaced by those who do. The divide between AI-savvy and traditional sales leaders is already widening.
Kyle Norton’s Top 3 AI Implementation Mistakes to Avoid
- The Lazy Agency Approach: Don’t outsource your AI strategy and step back. Active leadership and weekly refinements are critical.
- Poor Customer Journey Orchestration: Bad automation damages deals faster than no automation. Design with the customer in mind.
- Treating AI as ‘Set It and Forget It’: Continuous improvement is essential. Without constant iteration, AI systems fall behind competitors.
For sales professionals looking to get ahead with AI tools and training, resources like Complete AI Training offer courses tailored to sales roles and AI implementation strategies.
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