Fostering Collaboration between Human and Digital Workers in Technical Sales

In the rapidly evolving landscape of Agentic AI, Sales Engineers are uniquely positioned to lead the charge in integrating this technology into their roles and across entire GTM teams. More than just a tool, AI can act as a true teammate, amplifying productivity, enabling deeper customer engagement, and transforming workflows. But this shift requires SEs to rethink how they work with AI—approaching it as a partner rather than just another software platform.

This article explores insights from a discussion between Vivun’s CEO, Matthew Darrow, and Senior Sales Engineer, Taylor Bukowski, on how SEs can effectively integrate AI into their day-to-day responsibilities.

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The Evolution of AI in Sales Engineering

AI adoption is no longer optional for SEs looking to remain competitive. Over the past year, AI tools have evolved from basic text editors to sophisticated platforms capable of handling dynamic, high-value tasks.

Taylor describes her journey with AI as starting with simple use cases like drafting emails and slide edits. As her familiarity with the technology grew, so did her confidence in its capabilities to not only shave time off tasks but also complete entire work products.

Unlike general-purpose AI platforms like ChatGPT, agents like Vivun's AI Sales Engineer are purpose-built for technical sales. They understand domain-specific nuances, from demo preparation to solutioning and post-sale handoffs, enabling human SEs to focus on high-impact areas.

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AI as a Teammate: Key Use Cases for SEs

AI agents will reshape how SEs work by automating complex, time-consuming tasks, improving decision-making, and fostering stronger customer relationships.

Here are five transformative use cases for an AI Sales Engineer:

1. Demo Preparation and Customization: An AI SE generates demo scripts tailored to individuals’ preferred framework (e.g., “Tell-Show-Tell”) and customer-specific contexts. This allows SEs to deliver personalized, impactful presentations for every client interaction in a fraction of the time.
2. Dynamic Custom Solutioning: An AI SE can create and maintain solution documents that evolve alongside deals, incorporating new insights after each interaction. This ensures SEs have a holistic view of customer needs and can craft strategic solutions in real time.
3. Instant Contextual Awareness: AI will enable SEs to seamlessly step into any deal, even with limited preparation. Whether covering for a colleague or joining a late-stage opportunity, tools like Ava provide instant access to key deal insights in the context of your sales process and methodology (i.e. MEDDIC, MEDDPICC).
4. Efficient Customer Handoffs: One of the biggest pain points in sales is the transition from pre- to post-sales teams. AI ensures a smooth transfer of knowledge by consolidating and contextualizing deal history, enabling seamless customer experiences.
5. Tribal Knowledge Sharing: AI democratizes technical and industry expertise by making SE knowledge accessible across go-to-market teams. This reduces the dependency on individual SEs as sole knowledge holders and promotes cross-functional collaboration. Additionally, this shortens ramp times for new team members and facilitates real-time enablement on product updates for existing SEs.

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AI Adoption and Cultural Shifts

Understandably, many professionals remain apprehensive about Agentic AI’s role in sales. A recent Vivun survey found that almost 40% of SEs fear AI could replace their jobs. Bukowski addressed this concern head-on, emphasizing that while AI is not taking technical sales jobs, SEs who master these tools will have a competitive edge over those who delay or avoid adoption.

Creating an AI agent like Vivun's AISE requires more than leveraging a large language model. It involves embedding industry-specific knowledge, enabling active and passive learning, and designing user interfaces that replicate the collaborative nature of human teammates.

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Paradigm Shift: Working with AI Agents

Adopting AI as a teammate requires a mindset shift. AI isn’t just a resource for tactical tasks; it’s a strategic partner that enhances human expertise. By embracing this paradigm, SEs can achieve greater independence, improve collaboration with sales teams, and strengthen customer relationships.

This technology is fundamentally redefining what it means to be a Sales Engineer. As Matt Darrrow observed, "Every sales team of the future will have an AI-powered teammate. Those who adopt early will shape the industry."

Taylor echoed this sentiment, urging SEs to embrace AI as a way to elevate their roles. "Don’t wait for perfection," she advised. "Start experimenting, push boundaries, and find out what’s possible. AI isn’t replacing us—it’s empowering us."

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Balancing SE and Customer Experiences

The introduction of AI sales agents has profound implications for both SEs and their customers.

For SEs:

• Reduced Anxiety: With instant access to the right deal insights, last-minute sales calls are less stressful.
• Time Savings: AI handles routine, time-consuming tasks so that SEs can prioritize the customer-facing work that makes or breaks many deals.
• Improved Collaboration: With improved access to technical and industry knowledge, the entire GTM team can work

For Customers:

• Enhanced Continuity: Automatic knowledge sharing among internal teams means customers never feel like they’re starting from scratch when moving between pre- and post-sales.
• Stronger Relationships: SEs can dedicate more time to understanding and addressing customer needs, creating personalized and impactful experiences at scale.

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Top Takeaways for SEs

AI is revolutionizing the SE role by acting as a teammate, not just a tool. The promise of this technology it its capacity to actually produce high-quality, specialized, complex work products.

For Sales Engineers who don't know where to start, here are Taylor and Matt's tips:

1. Start Small but Think Big: Begin experimenting with simple use cases and expand as you gain confidence and expertise.
2. Uplevel your Soft Skills: Use AI to automate low-value tasks, allowing more time for high-impact activities like relationship building and deal strategy. Sales skills, like storytelling, will become more important in deals, so focus your enablement efforts there.
3. Embrace Collaboration: View AI as a partner that complements human skills, instead of as a simple tool or as a replacement.

"AI is changing B2B selling for good. It’s not about replacing human expertise; it’s about enhancing it."

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The future of technical sales lies in the effective collaboration between humans and AI. By embracing AI as a teammate, SEs can unlock new levels of productivity, creativity, and customer engagement.

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