CRMs have become the preferred tool of sales and service teams across industries, helping them track and organize leads and customer interactions. However, a lot of sales and service teams have yet to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) functionality in their CRM due to worries about how it may affect customer interactions.
At this stage, there’s no denying that AI is here to stay, and with good reason. It’s helping us work quicker, smarter, and better while doing the heavy lifting on manual, repetitive tasks. In a CRM, AI can take over dozens of different roles, from composing emails to generating meaningful insights that can influence high-level sales decisions.
In this blog, we’ll take a closer look at AI CRMs and their benefits, features to look for, and our suggestions for the best solutions on the market, like monday CRM, which offers advanced AI features alongside a simple, visual interface.
Try monday CRMWhat is AI CRM?

Customer relationship management (CRM) software makes it easier for companies to manage all aspects of sales and customer interactions.
When paired with artificial intelligence, CRMs are taken a step further and can give teams a real boost in productivity to increase sales and improve customer satisfaction.
Integrated AI technologies make it easier for teams to gain deeper insights in real-time into customer data, make sales forecasts and predictions, optimize communication with generative content, and automate workflows to speed up manual tasks. AI in CRMs can help teams with all aspects of sales, marketing, and customer service, enhancing both the user experience and the way employees work.
How can businesses benefit from AI CRM systems?

Any team, whether big or small, can benefit from AI technology in CRMs. That said, many teams are reluctant to adopt AI technology. According to monday.com’s World of Work Report, sales teams have some of the lowest usage rates of AI at around 51%. However, the advantages behind the return on investment (ROI) of AI-powered features are clear.
Not only does AI help teams work more efficiently, but it also positively affects customers, who benefit from quicker responses and better service. Here’s a look at the advantages of AI-powered CRM platforms and examples of how they help teams work more productively.
Increase productivity and efficiency
AI-powered CRMs automate repetitive tasks such as data entry, lead scoring, and follow-up reminders, reducing the time employees spend on manual processes.
- Sales teams can focus more on closing deals instead of organizing spreadsheets, while AI-generated insights help managers make data-driven decisions quickly
- Automated scheduling and AI-powered recommendations help teams prioritize the most important tasks to increase overall productivity
Improve customer satisfaction
AI enhances customer satisfaction and experiences by providing quick, personalized interactions.
- AI-powered chatbots handle routine inquiries 24/7, reducing the burden on service teams and ensuring customers get quick responses
- Sentiment analysis tools help businesses gauge customer emotions in emails and other communications, allowing them to address concerns proactively and improve service
Decrease manual workflows
With AI-driven automation, businesses can eliminate time-consuming manual workflows such as processing customer inquiries, updating records, and assigning tasks.
- AI can be used to detect patterns in customer interactions and automatically log relevant data, reducing opportunities for human error and providing accurate data collection
- Workflow automation allows seamless handoffs between departments, preventing bottlenecks
Cost savings
By reducing manual processes and optimizing resource allocation, an AI-powered CRM system can help businesses lower operational costs.
- AI agents decrease the need for large customer support teams by resolving common issues without human intervention
- Predictive analytics reduce wasted marketing spend by targeting the most promising leads, while automated processes minimize administrative overhead
Hands-off lead nurturing
AI helps businesses nurture potential customers with minimal effort by automating personalized follow-ups, email sequences, and engagement tracking.
- AI-driven lead scoring prioritizes prospects most likely to convert so that sales reps can focus their efforts where they matter most
- Automated email assistants craft responses and suggest next steps based on past interactions, ensuring prospects receive timely and relevant communication
Targeted communication with leads and customers
AI enables businesses to deliver highly personalized messages to the right audience at the right time.
- Machine learning algorithms analyze customer behavior and preferences to recommend tailored product suggestions, special offers, or content
- AI-powered segmentation ensures marketing materials reach the most relevant leads, increasing engagement and conversion rates while reducing unnecessary outreach
Key AI CRM features and AI CRM use cases
AI CRMs come with a range of intelligent features that enhance sales, marketing, and customer service efforts. These tools help businesses automate processes, improve decision-making, and deliver more personalized customer experiences.
AI CRM use cases depend on individual business needs, and will look different from one organization to the next. For example, one business may need an AI CRM to enhance lead management, while another focuses more on generating personalized content to engage customers.
When thinking about how to choose the best AI CRM for your business, it’s important to keep your unique goals in mind.
Here are some key AI features and use cases to look for:
- Predictive analytics and sales forecasting: AI analyzes historical data to predict future sales trends, helping businesses make informed decisions and optimize their strategies
- Sentiment analysis: AI detects customer emotions in emails, chats, and reviews, allowing teams to respond appropriately and improve customer satisfaction
- Generative AI content: AI assistants and writers can create personalized emails, blog posts, social media posts, and marketing content, saving time and ensuring consistency in messaging
- AI customer support tools: AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants provide instant responses to customer inquiries, reducing wait times and support team workload
- Communication summarization: AI extracts key customer insights from call logs, emails, and meetings to provide summaries that keep teams informed
- Lead data collection: AI automates lead management by pulling insights from various sources, ensuring accurate, up-to-date information without manual input
Best AI CRM software platforms
These days, it’s more common than not for CRMs and work tools to include AI features to help organizations work more efficiently. However, not all AI CRMs are built the same, and not every team needs the same AI features. Below, we’ll look at some of the AI-powered CRM market leaders and their best features so you can get a better idea of what’s available.
1. monday CRM
Best for: Businesses seeking an intuitive and highly customizable AI-powered CRM for workflow automation and data-driven insights

monday CRM offers a visual and customizable platform designed to streamline any sales process and improve team collaboration. Its AI-powered tools make it easy to create automations, optimize sales strategies, and gather actionable customer data. With a visual interface that’s as easy to use as it is effective, monday CRM is ideal for businesses looking to use AI to work smarter, not harder.
Key monday CRM features
- AI-powered automation: Identify repetitive workflow patterns using AI to create no-code automations that improve efficiency and reduce manual work
- Reporting and insights: Analyze historical data, access sales forecast trends, and generate custom reports based on real-time data with AI
- AI email writing: Generate context-aware email responses and improvements to personalize communication with prospects and clients
monday CRM pricing
- Prices starting from $12/seat/month
- Plans: Basic, Standard, Pro, and Enterprise
- 14-day free trial available
- Learn more about monday CRM plans and pricing here
2. Salesforce
Best for: Sales-driven organizations looking for advanced AI-powered automation and analytics
Salesforce leverages its powerful Einstein AI to provide deep insights, predictive analytics, and automation for sales, marketing, and customer service. Designed with large enterprises in mind, Salesforce helps teams make data-driven decisions, optimize customer interactions, and increase operational efficiency, making it a top choice for complex business needs.
Key Salesforce features
- Einstein AI: Use Einstein AI for sales, writing emails, customer service, and getting insights and real-time predictions based on data
- Conversational AI assistant: Einstein Copilot lets you build an AI assistant for your CRM to help teams work faster with smart actions
- AI agents: Create your own autonomous AI agents to take charge of routine tasks like following up with leads, closing cases, and interacting with customers
Salesforce pricing
- Plans start from $25/user/month
- Multiple plans for small businesses and enterprises
- Free trial available
- Learn more about Salesforce plans and pricing here
3. Zoho CRM
Best for: Small to mid-sized businesses looking for an affordable AI-powered CRM with intelligent automation and analytics

Zoho CRM offers advanced AI capabilities, making it a great option for small and mid-sized businesses. Zia, Zoho’s AI assistant, enhances sales processes by offering predictions, automating tasks, and analyzing customer interactions. Its conversational AI and sentiment analysis tools help businesses personalize customer engagement and improve decision-making.
Key Zoho CRM features
- Zia AI assistant: Provides predictive sales insights, automates workflows, and offers smart suggestions for tasks and emails
- Conversational AI: Allows users to interact with the CRM using text and voice commands for quick access to data and reports
- Data enrichment: Use Zia to update incomplete, out-of-date, or incorrect customer data to keep your database accurate
Zoho CRM pricing
- Plans start from $14/month/user
- Choose from four plans: Standard, Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate
- Free trial available
- Learn more about Zoho CRM’s plans and pricing here
4. HubSpot CRM
Best for: Businesses of all sizes looking for a CRM with AI marketing automation and customer engagement tools
HubSpot CRM provides a seamless blend of AI-powered automation, marketing tools, and sales intelligence to help businesses grow. With features like AI-generated content suggestions and predictive lead scoring, it optimizes customer outreach and sales efforts. There’s a free version of HubSpot CRM, however, users might not have access to the AI feature they need on a free plan.
Key HubSpot CRM features
- AI email writer: Generate email copy, subject lines, and personalized messages to keep in contact with leads and customers
- Breeze Copilot: Hubspot’s Breeze Copilot acts as an AI sidekick that uses generative AI to execute tasks and help teams work more efficiently
- Breeze Agents: AI-powered agents can help your team automate workflows, interact with customers, and filter new leads
HubSpot CRM pricing
- Plans start at $15/user/month
- Multiple plans available depending on the services you need
- Free plan with limited features
- Learn more about Hubspot CRM plans and pricing here
5. Freshsales
Best for: Companies looking for an easy-to-use AI-powered CRM with strong customer engagement capabilities

Freshsales, part of the Freshworks suite of products, uses an AI engine, Freddy AI, to enhance customer engagement, automate workflows, and improve sales processes. It’s designed for businesses that need a simple yet effective AI-powered solution to drive customer relationships. With smart chatbots and conversation insights, Freshworks uses AI to help teams interact with leads and customers more efficiently.
Key Freshsales features
- AI lead tracking: Use AI to generate, capture, qualify, and route leads and get their intent scores to understand where to focus your efforts
- Deal recommendations: Get timely insights into deals in your sales pipeline and plan strategies and resources with AI-powered recommendations
- AI writer: Use Freddy AI to help you write personalized emails to help with prospecting and engaging every lead
Freshsales pricing
- Plans starting at $9 per user/month
- Plans: Growth, Pro, and Enterprise
- Free 21-day trial available
- Learn more about Freshworks plans and pricing here
6. Creatio
Best for: Businesses needing a no-code AI-powered CRM with sales intelligence tools
Offering no-code AI automation, Creatio allows businesses to build custom workflows and sales processes without technical expertise. Its AI-driven sales forecasting and lead management capabilities help businesses optimize revenue strategies. With a focus on flexibility and automation, Creatio is a great choice for companies looking for an adaptable CRM.
Key Creatio features
- AI-driven sales insights: Access data on customer behavior, preferences, and buying habits to improve sales strategies
- No-code AI automation: Allows users to build and customize AI-powered workflows without technical expertise
- Lead management: Create custom workflows to collect and manage new leads and use AI to qualify and nurture them
Creatio pricing
- Plans starting at $25/user/month
- Plans: Growth, Enterprise, and Unlimited
- Free 14-day trial available
7. Pipedrive
Best for: Sales teams who want a simple AI-powered CRM focused on pipeline management

Pipedrive is a sales-focused CRM that uses AI to help teams with visual sales pipelines that improve deal conversions. Pipedrive’s AI-powered sales assistant and workflow automation make it easy for teams to prioritize efficiency. With its straightforward interface and actionable insights, Pipedrive is a good option for businesses looking for a simple yet powerful sales CRM.
Key Pipedrive features
- AI agents: Get a 24/7 digital teammate that can help with communication, assist with optimizing workflows, provide insights, and more
- Automated sales workflows: Automate your sales cycle with lead routing, auto-sequences, and AI prompts to quickly answer emails
- Email and call tracking AI: Monitors customer interactions and suggests the best times to engage leads
Pipedrive pricing
- Plans starting at $14/seat/month
- Plans: Essential, Advanced, Professional, Power, and Enterprise
- Free 14-day trial available
- Learn more about Pipedrive’s plans and pricing here
8. ClickUp
Best for: Teams looking for an AI CRM that integrates task management and sales automation
ClickUp combines project management and CRM functionalities with AI automation to help teams manage sales and customer relationships. With AI-powered task assignments, document automation, and predictive analytics, teams can enhance productivity without scaling resources. It’s worth noting that ClickUp’s AI features are mostly accessible through a paid add-on called ClickUp Brain.
Key ClickUp features
- ClickUp Brain: A neural network connects tasks, docs, people, and knowledge from all your apps in one place
- AI-powered chat: Create and connect tasks, trigger follow-ups, sync conversations, and more, all from AI-led internal chat
- Smart data insights: Analyze customer data to identify trends, recommend optimizations, and forecast sales performance
ClickUp pricing
- Free plan available
- Paid plans starting from $7/user/month
- Plans: Free, Unlimited, Business, and Enterprise
- Learn more about ClickUp plans and pricing here
Make the most of advanced AI on an intuitive interface with monday CRM
When it comes down to choosing a CRM solution, companies want to consider the AI functionalities they need, but that’s not all. It’s important to find a platform that not only fits your current business processes but that’s also simple to use, onboard, and customize, like monday CRM.
monday CRM offers advanced AI tools that teams actually use, like generative content, sales forecasting, and AI-driven insights, while still keeping the platform intuitive and uncomplicated. Users can personalize monday CRM to their specifications so that existing workflows aren’t disrupted but rather enhanced. Let’s take a closer look at some of the AI and other features that make monday CRM a reliable platform:
- Use AI to categorize data and sort it by type, urgency, or sentiment
- Access over 200 different app integrations, including Slack, SurveyMonkey, Google Apps, and many others, to sync data between platforms

- Send personalized mass emails to leads and prospects in a few clicks and personalize each message with AI
- Forecast sales and access advanced reports to track sales by rep, month, quarter, team, and more
- Access your CRM from anywhere with a mobile app, so you stay connected on the go

- Extract data from files like PDFs, text columns, and other documents to add to a customer profile
- Detect customer sentiment from text like call summaries, emails, and other interactions to understand their level of satisfaction
- Create custom dashboards for a 360-degree view of performance and a real-time overview of sales, performance, and deal status

- Instantly sum up complex topics from meetings, emails, or customer calls with AI to drill down to the most important details
- Build custom work sequences in your own words and monday CRM’s AI will turn it into a powerful automation to keep your pipeline moving along at all times
Implementing an AI CRM: Adoption Strategies
Implementing an AI-powered CRM requires advanced planning and a strategic apporach to make sure that everything runs smoothly and integrates with existing systems and work tools. Businesses need to first identify their main goals and pain points, whether it’s a lack of sales forecasting or inefficient lead management, and then select the right AI CRM platforms that will address these issues.
AI CRM adoption strategies should focus on gradual implementation, starting with the most critical features first, such as automation or AI-driven recommendations. Then, it’s important for managers to provide adequate training for teams and sales agents to make sure the platform is being used to its full potential. Finally, it’s critical to continuously monitor adoption success by looking at performance, efficiency gains, or improved customer satisfaction rates.
AI trends shaping the future of CRM
There’s no doubt that AI is already changing the way we use CRMs compared to just a couple of years ago, but as the technology continues to evolve, the existing AI features we’re already using will get even smarter. Here’s how AI in sales and CRMs might look in the not-so-distant future:
- Hyper personalization: AI will be able to create content completely autonomously and in real-time, such as email campaigns and communications, tailored to customer’s preferences and search history
- Improved AI automation: Automations will get even smarter and more integrated into work processes, for example, AI will be able to instantly prioritize and score leads and then engage them before an agent even gets involved
- Omnichannel integration: AI will integrate even more channels and devices, whether it’s IoT devices or social media platforms, to create a seamless customer experience that spans different channels
- Better data privacy: Using AI, companies will be able to make sure their customer data is well-protected by creating systems that alert teams instantly when there’s suspicious behavior and continuously monitoring CRMs for compliance
- Digital workforce: Soon, we’ll start to see CRMs with built-in AI-powered digital workers who can help train and guide employees with relevant research, onboarding help, project analysis, and platform assistance
Give your team a productivity boost with the right AI CRM
No matter what industry you work in, if the CRM you’re using doesn’t include AI features, you’re probably going to be trailing behind the competition. A lot of companies avoid implementing modern tools because they’re worried about how well they’ll integrate into existing systems and workflows, but the truth is, a customizable platform like monday CRM will only make workflows more efficient. An AI CRM is one of the best ways to give your team a boost of productivity while ensuring your company is using the most cutting-edge technology to offer better service, close more sales, and work more efficiently across the board.
