AI agents are now mainstream in sales, but foundational data problems are limiting their impact. According to Salesforce’s 2026 State of Sales report, nine in ten sales teams either use AI agents today or plan to within two years. Among leaders already deploying them, 94% say agents are critical to meeting business demands.
The adoption surge reflects mounting pressure on sales organizations. Representatives spend more than half their time on non-selling activities such as data entry, prospecting, and administrative coordination. AI agents are being deployed to relieve these bottlenecks. Reported benefits include improved sales planning, stronger pipeline growth, higher productivity, and enhanced customer retention.
AI agents now support the full sales cycle, from prospect engagement and quote generation to order fulfillment and usage-based pricing. Financial services firms are among the most active adopters, using agents to automate scheduling, reporting, and customer communications.
However, Salesforce’s findings reveal a persistent data challenge. While 74% of sales teams with AI prioritize data hygiene, 84% of data and analytics leaders say their data strategies require significant overhaul to meet AI goals. Common issues include manual errors, duplicate records, incomplete data, and security concerns. More than half of sales professionals say data security questions from customers delay AI initiatives.
However, technology fragmentation continues to undermine progress. Sales teams use an average of eight separate tools, and 51% of AI-using leaders cite silos as deployment barriers. As a result, nearly 19% of enterprise data remains inaccessible, limiting AI visibility and performance. To respond, more than 80% of teams without a unified platform plan to consolidate their stacks, with high-performing teams leading the shift toward streamlined systems and trusted data foundations.
Ultimately, the message is clear: AI agents are no longer optional in sales. Yet, without unified data and simplified infrastructure, even widespread adoption cannot sustain long-term revenue growth.
Source:
https://www.zdnet.com/article/sales-leaders-with-ai-agents-say-theyre-essential-for-growth/
