The rise of AI BDRs, chatbots, and other AI outreach tools has been fast, flashy, and sometimes overpromised. Over 64,000 AI tools have been released in the last 2 years alone, and more are coming to market daily!
As a sales leader, I’m skeptical because most of them are pointed at the wrong problem.
AI is being used to automate and amplify volume, not value. It’s designed to send more messages, book more meetings, and act as if qualified prospects are endlessly available. That sounds great until your buyers receive 15 robotic messages that all sound the same, so they ignore them. Then it becomes clear you are burning more bridges than you are building pipeline.
What if we used AI differently? Could we use AI to improve, target, and optimize our human sellers rather than trying to scale artificial sellers?
What AI Reps Are Good At
Let’s give credit where it’s due. AI reps are getting better. They’re excellent at:
- High-volume outbound where speed matters more than nuance
- Re-engagement campaigns or follow-ups based on intent signals
- SDR activities that are repetitive and rules-based (confirming webinar sign-ups, product interest triggers, or surfacing warm contacts)
AI SDRs can be a force multiplier if you sell a high-velocity, low-consideration product.
But here’s the catch: most B2B and enterprise sales motions aren’t low-consideration. They’re trust-based. Nuanced. Political. Multi-threaded. And that’s where artificial selling starts to break down.
Where Human Sellers Still Win
When the stakes are high or the context is complex, buyers don’t want an AI bot. They want a human who:
- Understands their specific business priorities
- Can navigate competing agendas and internal blockers
- Adjusts tone, context, and strategy mid-conversation
- Earns the right to guide the next step, not just taking one without permission
Enterprise sales isn’t about meeting with any warm body that will respond to your AI outreach. It’s about getting the right meeting, with the right organization, at the right time.
No AI bot can replace the consultative intelligence of a well-prepared rep who can lead a strategic conversation.
The Problem Behind the Problem
The real issue isn’t that AI BDRs are taking over. The problem is that most human reps aren’t being coached to outperform them.
Your buyers are getting hit by automated outreach every day. If your rep doesn’t have the skill, clarity, and confidence to stand out, they won’t. That’s a coaching and training problem, not a tech problem.
That’s where we focus at CoachEm.
Using AI to Make Humans Better
At CoachEm, we believe AI shouldn’t replace reps. It should make them better.
Our platform surfaces coaching insights for frontline managers, based on real activity and CRM data. We help their manager know what to coach, how to coach it, and when it matters.
We simplify the 1:1 so it’s not a status update or a pipeline review. It’s a tailored, consistent, and high-impact development conversation.
We’re not here to show you more data or add more noise to the already noisy system. We’re here to help your managers leverage insights from the data and find the signal in the noise that truly moves the needle.
When your sellers are up against AI bots and automated messages, the edge doesn’t come from matching the machine’s output. Your advantage as a human is to show up and be the messenger that buyers like and trust.
That skill comes from mastering the moments that matter through training, coaching, and practice.
Want to see how CoachEm helps sales managers coach real skills, not just check the box?
Reach out for a demo
