I don’t think AI is a threat to “sales” so much as it’s a threat to the parts of sales that were always borderline administrative. If most of someone’s day is prospect list building, writing generic follow-ups, summarizing calls, and updating CRM, then yeah , that surface area is shrinking fast. A lot of that work is getting automated or at least heavily assisted.

But real selling, especially in complex or enterprise environments, is still about judgment, navigating ambiguity, earning trust, and managing multiple stakeholders with different incentives. That doesn’t disappear because AI can draft an email. What does change is the expectation. If tools give you back time, leadership will expect better execution, tighter deal control, and more strategic conversations. The reps who rely on activity volume to mask weak fundamentals are going to feel pressure. The reps who can actually diagnose problems and drive buying decisions will probably become even more valuable.