Gonzalez, Gabriel R., Johannes Habel, and Gary K. Hunter. “AI Agents, Agentic AI, and the Future of Sales.” Journal of Business Research, vol. 202, 2026, article 115799. ScienceDirect, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115799
This article explores how autonomous AI agents are transforming modern sales organizations. Unlike traditional AI tools, agentic AI systems can perceive information, reason through problems, and independently act to complete multi-step processes such as leading customer communication and sales management. The authors explain how these systems differ from earlier AI technologies that only automate or support individual tasks. They also outline several real-world applications of AI agents across the sales process, including prospecting, negotiation, and post-sale relationship management.
Agentic AI is becoming a major topic of discussion because it shows a shift from AI that simply assists people to AI that can act on its own! In industries like sales, this could dramatically change how companies communicate with customers and manage workflows. Some systems can already qualify leads, respond to customer messages, and even place calls without direct human input. That kind of autonomy raises big questions about how much responsibility businesses should give AI and what roles humans will still play in these processes.
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