The Five Premier AI CRM Software Solutions for 2024

In recent years, the utilisation of AI within business applications has evolved markedly, advancing from foundational data analysis to the realm of  AI-driven app development, intelligent chatbot interactions, rich content generation, and myriad of other functionalities. This swift technological progression is set to reshape numerous facets of business operations, notably within the domain of customer relationship management.

Forrester Research anticipates that by the end of this year, half of global enterprises will actively experiment with customer-facing generative AI, harnessing it to optimise a range of front-office processes. This projection is hardly unexpected— Nucleu Research reports that organisations already employing AI are witnessing marked improvements in productivity, higher close rates, and an increase in average deal size. A strategic approach to ensuring that business leverages the full benefits of this AI revolution is through the implementation of an AI-powered CRM.

In this article, we shall delve into the manifold advantages of AI-driven CRM, elucidate the critical features to consider in selecting such a system, and proffer recommendations for five prominent AI CRM solutions.

What is AI CRM?

AI CRM is a customer relationship management platform augmented by Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning capabilities, designed to analyse customer data and patterns, forecast trends, suggest optimal next actions, and automate a myriad of routine CRM processes.

Outlined below are some examples of CRM tasks that can be addressed through AI-driven solutions:

• Customer segmentation: AI-driven  CRM system is capable of autonomously categorising customers into pertinent segments, drawing upon factors such as demographics, specific needs, and prevailing interests.
• Sales forecasting: Predictive analytics models powered by AI furnish businesses with the ability to anticipate customer behaviours, including churn risk, purchasing patterns, and product preferences.
• Lead scoring: Utilising historical data, an AI CRM can elevate each lead within the pipeline, assessing the probability of conversion and prioritising leads accordingly.
• Recommending next best actions: By analysing the traits of previously successful transactions, an AI CRM can recommend actions or offerings likely to stimulate purchasing decisions from potential clients.
• Customer journey mapping: AI systematically chart and scrutinises customer journeys, discovering pivotal touchpoints and uncovering opportunities to refine the overall customer experience.
• Dynamic content generation: AI facilitates the creation of dynamic, tailored content across email marketing, digital interactions, and personalised product recommendations, thereby enhancing customer engagement.
• Customer recommendations: Through analysis of consumer behaviours and data patterns, AI adeptly suggests products or content that bolster cross-selling and upselling potential.
• AI chatbots: Enabled by Natural language processing (NLP), AI-driven chatbots interpret conversational language with remarkable accuracy, responding to customer inquiries as a human agent might. This enables users to engage in a fluid, natural exchange rather than following a prescribed set of responses or actions. 

In essence, AI-driven CRM software functions as a remarkably adept assistant, harnessing the wealth of customer data as its disposal to markedly enhance engagement, conversion rates, customer retention, and overall customer lifetime value.

Let us now delve into the manifold advantages afforded by AI CRM, examining the transformative impact that Artificial Intelligence can impart upon your business.

Top 7 Advantages of AI-Driven CRM Software

Enhanced Productivity

The capability of AI CRM software to process and analyse customer data in real time, while recommending optimal actions to agents, greatly enhances employee productivity. Consider, for instance, the marked increase in productivity attributable to AI-powered lead scoring.

In a conventional setup devoid of AI, sales representatives would be tasked with manually assessing each individual lead, determining their readiness to buy - a process that consumes countless hours daily. 

By contrast, AI CRM software employs machine learning models, trained on historical sales data, to estimate the purchase likelihood for each lead, highlighting them for the sales team. Furthermore, it can autonomously draft and send tailored emails to each prospect as they progress through the sales funnel, leveraging AI-powered automation. In addition, AI CRM can suggest relevant sales materials, schedule meetings, or even compile a proposal deck on behalf of a sales representative. A sales process that would otherwise require several hours, or even days, can thus be streamlined to mere seconds.
 

Consistent Customer Engagement

For multinational corporations, maintaining continuous connectivity with their customers around the clock has historically posed a significant challenge, particularly due to the varying time zones in which they operate. The advent of artificial intelligence effectively eliminates the need for employees to engage in unconventional working hours or for businesses to establish distinct customer service and sales departments in each region. By utilising AI-powered chatbots that are equipped with natural language processing capabilities,  businesses can promptly attend to customer inquiries in real-time.

The capacity for immediate responsiveness ensures that customers are no longer compelled to await specific operational hours for assistance, thereby eliminating any negative sentiments associated with perceived neglect. Consequently, businesses can mitigate the risk of losing potential leads or overlooking critical customer inquiries, thereby fostering a more positive and engaging customer experience.

Enhanced Marketing Campaigns

The integration of AI-driven segmentation and sophisticated data analysis capabilities, complemented by the Generative AI features inherent in modern AI CRM systems, equips  organisations with the ability to customise their marketing campaigns with an unparalleled level of precision.

By harnessing the advanced tools provided by AI CRM solutions, businesses can undertake an in-depth exploration of customer data, thereby acquiring invaluable insights into individual preferences, behaviours, and purchasing patterns. This nuanced understanding facilitates the development of hyper-targeted marketing campaigns, which resonate far more effectively with distinct customer segments.

Enhanced Customer Satisfaction and Retention

The provision of tailored experiences significantly cultivates customer satisfaction, thereby encouraging repeat business and bolstering retention rates.

Furthermore, by harnessing the capabilities of predictive analytics, businesses are afforded the opportunity to identify consumers who may be at a risk, thus enabling  proactive and personalised interventions to address their concerns effectively. AI CRM systems can discern those customers requiring additional attention and recommend relevant content and products designed to resolve specific issues.

Consequently, these personalised approaches not only serve to mitigate churn but also foster enduring relationships, ultimately driving sustained business growth and success.

Augmented Revenue per Customer

The deployment of AI-driven personalised content and recommendations yields significant advantages, including enhanced conversion rates and increased revenue per customer.

By meticulously tailoring offerings to align with the unique preferences and needs of individuals, businesses can proficiently amplify sales and optimise the value extracted from each customer interaction.

Data-Driven Decision-Making

As organisations progressively utilise AI CRM software, accumulating a wealth of historical data over time, the depth and accuracy of the insights and predictions it offers are markedly enhanced.

By capitalising on this vast wealth of information, businesses are afforded a strategic advantage, allowing  them to make informed decisions with both promptness and confidence. Whether it involves emerging trends, anticipating customer behaviour, or optimising operational processes, AI CRM equips organisations with the means to adeptly navigate the intricacies of the modern business landscape with both clarity and precision.

Cost Savings and Efficient Resource Allocation

AI CRM facilitates dynamic resource allocation through the continuous analysis of real-time data, thereby enabling enterprises to adapt their strategies in response to the ever-evolving market dynamics or shifting customer preferences. For instance, should a particular customer segment show increased engagement with a newly introduced product feature, resources may be redirected to capitalise on this opportunity, culminating in an enhanced return on investment.

Moreover, AI CRM contributes significantly to the optimisation of resources allocation by meticulously identifying inefficiencies or areas of excessive expenditure. Through the comprehensive analysis of customer interactions, sales data, and marketing campaigns, businesses are empowered to discern areas where resources are either underutilised or ineffectively allocated, thereby facilitating the implementation of prudent cost-saving measures.

How to Select the Appropriate AI CRM Software?

In modern business landscapes, the majority of enterprise-level CRM systems boast integrated AI capability; however, discerning which features to prioritise within AI CRM software can prove to be a formidable challenge without a thorough investigation into the subject matter. This section is meant to furnish you with a set of guidelines regarding the essential features to consider when evaluating AI CRM software.

Below are several key features that warrant your attention when contemplating the acquisition of an AI CRM solution:

• Functionality scope: An enterprise CRM is poised to offer a comprehensive suite of out-of-the-box AI functionalities, encompassing prebuilt data analysis models, recommendations for the next best actions, Generative AI capabilities, customer service chatbots, and sentiment analysis tools. Nevertheless, it is imperative to note that certain of these features may be lacking in more economical solutions tailored for small and medium-sized enterprises. It is crucial to thoroughly comprehend the primary use cases that hold significance for your organisation and to identify the requisite scope of functionality that aligns with those needs.
• NLP assistant: This particular tool affords users the capability to engage with the AI CRM through natural language, akin to conversing with a system such as ChatGPT. For instance, a sales manager might effortlessly solicit the AI assistant to compile a quarterly report that highlights exemplary sales practices, thereby receiving valuable insights in response. Although this functionality has not yet become a standard feature within AI CRM software, industry leaders are diligently striving to integrate it into their platforms.
• AI and ML customisation: The capability to construct bespoke machine learning models for the analysis of data endows organisations with significant flexibility, thereby enabling them to extract deeper insights from their AI CRM systems. However, a considerable number of organisations find themselves devoid of personnel possessing the requisite technical expertise or coding proficiency required for model development. Consequently, the incorporation of no-code tools assumes a position of particular importance within CRM solutions. Platforms enriched with no-code functionalities permit users to engage in the training of machine learning models tailored to diverse business requirements through an intuitive drag-and-drop interface.

• Integration of proprietary AI models: Integration represents a critical feature of any CRM system, in the context of AI CRM, one must exercise particular diligence in facilitating connections with closed models. Typically, AI CRM software operates utilising open-source or commercially available models that are publicly accessible, such as Meta’s Llama 2. Nevertheless, should there arise a need to integrate a bespoke model trained on your own data set or supplied by a partner, it is imperative to ascertain that the AI CRM solution you select accommodates such integrations.
• Scalability: It is of paramount importance to consider the scalability of AI CRM software and its capacity to adapt to the growth trajectory of your enterprise.
• Robust governance tools: A foremost concern around AI-driven software is the issue of security. It is advisable to prioritise strong and user-friendly governance features that facilitate the oversight of permissions, no-code development processes, and the deployment of custom AI tools. A comprehensive overview of your operations, coupled with complete control over them, enables you to safeguard your AI CRM against potential errors and security threats.

Informed by these criteria, we have meticulously curated a selection of five AI CRM solutions, each specifically tailored to accommodate diverse needs and varying business sizes.

Top Five CRM AI Software Providers

1. Creatio

Creatio emerges as the premier AI CRM solution for organisations that prioritise both extensive  customisation and scalable growth, owing to its distinctive, no-code composable architecture. This comprehensive end-to-end AI CRM solution affords businesses the utmost flexibility in automating workflows and CRM functionalities to align precisely with organisational demands.

CRM Creatio encompasses three core products dedicated to marketing, sales, and customer service, are constructed upon the Studio Creatio platform. Featuring an intuitive no-code user interface builder, a drag-and-drop business process builder, and an array of inbuilt tools  for workflow automation, Creatio empowers users to create  bespoke applications catering to diverse industry-specific workflows.

Sales Creatio Dashboard

Creatio's comprehensive capabilities are remarkably sophisticated, offering an extensive suite of tools for CRM and workflow automation across twenty distinct industries. Its Marketplace features over 700 applications and connectors, including a notable integration with ChatGPT, which facilitates the generation of AI-driven content directly withing the platform.

Creatio’s out-of-the-box AI capabilities encompass:

• AI and Machine Learning models for data analysis, intelligent scoring and predictions, customer segmentation, case routing and other critical applications;
• AI-driven business rules that empower the automate of routine tasks across marketing, sales, and customer service;
• AI-powered no-code development tools enhance the development process by providing AI-assisted capabilities, allowing for the creation of bespoke applications without the need for complex coding.

Moreover, Creatio has recently presented Creatio Copilot, an innovative fusion of generative AI and no-code technology, seamlessly embedded within Creatio's ecosystem. This advancement empowers users to engage with  out-of-the-box AI scenarios while also affording them the freedom to craft and modify new ones via intuitive no-code interfaces.

The Copilot Studio serves as a specialised workspace wherein users can create and customise AI models and scenarios by simply providing natural language descriptions. For end users, Creatio Copilot functions as a versatile virtual assistant, capable of retrieving information on demand - such as a customer's name or their recent interactions - and seamlessly generating custom applications. Additionally, it enables users to produce visualisations, charts, forecasts, and analyses with remarkable ease, all tailored to their unique business requirements. 

A catalogue of scenarios for Creatio Copilot

Sales professionals may harness the capabilities of Creatio Copilot to conduct sophisticated customer scoring, generate comprehensive interaction summaries, and receive insightful, real-time coaching guidance. Marketers are afforded the means to meticulously design campaign flows and engage targeted audiences poised to respond. Meanwhile, customer service agents benefit from streamlined case analysis automation, enabling them to provide tailored responses with exceptional ease and efficiency.

Creatio Copilot analysing a sales pipeline

Distinguishing features:

• No-code tools that permit extensive customisation and the development of business applications without necessitating specialised professional skills
• The integration of Creatio Copilot, which amalgamates AI and no-code capabilities to deliver an exemplary AI assistant
• Comprehensive governance tools
• Transparent and straightforward pricing structure

Pricing:

Creatio presents a composable pricing model, enabling users to customise their purchases according to their specific requirements. The core platform is available under three plans: Growth at £18.69, Enterprise at £41.11, and Unlimited at £64 per user per month. Moreover, its CRM products—Sales, Marketing, and Service—are priced individually at £11 per user per month, affording users the option to procure them separately as needed.

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2. HubSpot

HubSpot is esteemed for its customisable hubs, each dedicated to specific functions such as marketing, sales, services, operations, and content management. These hubs can be integrated into a cohesive suite, precisely tailored to meet distinct business requirements.

Beyond the conventional CRM functions of tracking customer interactions, managing contact information, and guiding prospects through each stage of the sales pipeline, HubSpot incorporates AI-driven tools that streamline repetitive tasks and enhance team productivity. These AI features empower team members to compose content, such as outreach emails and perform real-time customer data analysis with remarkable efficiency. For customer support, Hubspot offers an AI-enhanced chatbot that swiftly accesses support resources as needed.

HubSpot is particularly suited to smaller businesses or those with straightforward and straightforward CRM requirements, where simplicity and ease of use are paramount.

Distinguishing features:

• Generative AI for content creation
• ChatSpot, HubSpot’s chatbot, for real-time customer insights
• Real-time updates for conversation summaries customer profiles

Pricing:

Hubspot provides a free version of its platform with restricted features. Pricing for more advanced tiers ranges from £13 per user per month to £337.

3. Zoho CRM

Zoho CRM, characterised as a fully integrated suite, encompasses an array of applications dedicated to sales, marketing, and customer service, further augmented by functionalities for project collaboration, business intelligence (BI), and comprehensive analytics.

Integral to Zoho CRM is Zia, an AI-driven tool designed to elevate team productivity alongside with conventional CRM functions, including management of contacts, deals, and leads. This virtual assistant streamlines workload management in the aggregation of customer data, the drafting of emails and documents, and the analysis of sales metrics.

With this AI CRM software, it is comparable to having a personal assistant allocated to each individual within the team. Its functionalities encompass the provision of real-time support, the offering of product recommendations based on customer behaviour, and the integration of chatbots on e-commerce websites to address customer queries.

Zoho CRM is particularly well-suited for small and midsize B2B and B2C organisations that possess moderate requirements for process management.

Distinguishing features:

• Zia's AI-powered pattern recognition for automation suggestions
• Automatic research capabilities for procuring customer information, including titles and contact details
• Automated cross-selling and personalised product recommendations

Pricing:

Zoho’s AI CRM software is available in four plans: Standard at £15, Professional at £26, Enterprise at £37, and Ultimate at £49 per user per month. AI predicting and analytics are exclusively accessible within the Enterprise and Ultimate plans.

4. Freshworks

Freshworks' CRM suite, encompassess Freshmarketer, Freshsales, Freshdesk, and Freshchat, presents a cohesive and modern customer experience. Ths comprehensive suite integrates tools designed for IT, marketing, customer service, and sales, thereby delivering a holistic solution for businesses.

Among the features of this AI CRM software are the rule-based process guidance and the next-best action recommendations, both of which significantly enhance the user experience. Furthermore, Freddy, an AI-driven bot embedded within the CRM, adeptly facilitates customer engagement by providing support and adeptly directing leads from web pages to the sales team. 

Nonetheless, the suite is constrained in its offerings, supporting merely a limited selection of pre-packaged AI scenarios and providing simple reporting and dashboard functionalities.

Consequently, Freshworks emerges as the optimal choice for teams possessing uncomplicated requirements who are in search of a solution that is both readily deployable and exceptionally user-friendly.

Distinguishing features:

• Freddy AI Self-Service provides customer support solutions
• Freddy AI Copilot utilises natural language processing to automate tasks, obviating the need for any coding expertise
• Freddy AI Insights delivers real-time visualisation of customer data

Pricing:

Freshworks CRM is available in three plans: Growth at £14, Pro at £37, and Enterprise at £59 per user per month.

5. Zendesk

Zendesk is renowned for its CRM software tailored to the requirements of service-oriented enterprises and sales teams, demonstrating a profound understanding of complexities inherent in selling services. Their suite of tools facilitates seamless connections with customers, thereby enabling your team to engage more effectively with a broader clientele. 

Powered by Zendesk AI, which leverages OpenAI’s GPT model, these tools serve to streamline workflows and automate mundane tasks, thereby allowing your representatives to concentrate on more substantive interactions. Furthermore, this AI-driven CRM software provides invaluable suggestions aimed at resolving customer issues during interactions.

You may further augment the functionality of AI CRM systems through integration with Zapier or ChatGPT.

Zendesk is particularly well-suited for mid-sized and larger companies characterised by significant volumes of interactions, especially those that place a premium on the automation of customer service processes.

Distinguishing features:

• Exemplary customer service AI functionalities
• Integration with ChatGPT via Zapier

Pricing:

Zendesk CRM is priced between £14 to £85 per user per month.

Enhance Your Productivity with AI CRM Software

AI CRM software amalgamates the capabilities of Artificial Intelligence and machine learning to optimise customer relationship management. These systems not only streamline tasks and enhance interactions but also offer myriad advantages, including improvements in productivity, personalised engagement, and data-driven decision-making.

The perfect AI CRM software presents a robust array of pre-packaged AI tools, whilst simultaneously allowing for the creation of bespoke models tailored for data analysis and automation. Try CRM Creatio to experience this balance for yourself and see how AI-powered CRM can transform your business.