Salesforce is introducing a new AI-powered research tool called Einstein Relationship Insights (ERI) that it said autonomously mines the web and disparate data sources to uncover account and contact information about customers, prospects, and companies.
The aim is to provide sales teams with a personal assistant that can help develop contextual information about prospects, allowing reps to close deals faster and increase revenue, Salesforce said.
ERI is a desktop plug-in that works alongside the sales rep by highlighting key information from data sources such as news sites, social media, press releases, collaboration apps, and email. It also offers a single-click CRM update capability to directly import information from various data sources, Salesforce said.
Salesforce is pitching ERI as an example of how AI can work with salespeople to help reduce and potentially eliminate cold calling and manual prospecting. ERI is also being touted as a tool to help sales reps move deals forward and better utilize their time.
“Salespeople should be able to focus on the areas that matter most, like high-touch online or in-person customer interactions, and leverage technology as an assistant to handle the mundane task of finding relevant insights,” said Jason Briggs, senior director of product management for Einstein Relationship Insights. “ERI can do this at a pace and scale that is impossible for any human to do. This is a glimpse into the future of how humans will successfully work in tandem with AI.”
