Chief Revenue Officers are developing their ambitions for “Do More with More” artificial intelligence through their plans for 2027 as companies seek to boost revenues and drive sales growth. According to a recent Boston Consulting Group (BCG) survey, 65% of revenue leaders expect to see an increase in staff, while 72% anticipate a rise in the budget, and 91% plan to increase quotas or seller productivity.
Therefore, the results indicate that organizations will invest more in sales, increasing the number of employees and expanding the scope of work. However, it is necessary to ensure that expenditures on artificial intelligence (AI) generate benefits for the company in terms of revenues. Despite variations in investment, companies find it challenging to translate improvements in productivity into higher sales.
In addition, the study identified changes in buyer behavior and the need for a more personal approach. As a result, revenue leaders must reconsider their use of AI to better understand customers and strengthen relationships with them.
The findings appear in a new report from Boston Consulting Group (BCG) titled The 2027 Revenue Agenda: Moving the AI Focus from Productivity to Proof of Value. BCG surveyed 398 chief revenue officers, sales leaders, chief commercial officers, and revenue operations leaders. The respondents represented five sectors across 23 countries.
The research examines Do More with More whether widespread AI adoption can improve commercial performance as companies increase spending and demand more from sales teams.
“Revenue leaders are not choosing between growth levers next year, they are pulling several at once. The 2027 plans we are seeing in our data are ambitious, with most CROs expecting to add people and budget while also raising quotas,” said Federico Fabbri, managing director and senior partner at BCG and coauthor of the report. “Those plans assume a productivity step-change that AI has not yet delivered. The gains so far are real but largely administrative and deal-support-related. Turning them into win rates and quota attainment is the work of the next year.”
AI Adoption Grows, but Sales Performance Gains Remain Limited
BCG’s survey of organizations found that AI in sales is becoming increasingly common. Roughly 90% of respondents said they were using AI in significant ways in sales and revenue workflows. But only 6% report that their organizations have deployed autonomous AI to complete end-to-end workflows within governed limits. Also, the survey finds that AI currently delivers stronger results on productivity than on commercial performance. The most common major benefit cited by respondents was reduced administrative workloads with 33% reporting improvements in this area.
Another 22 percent said it saved time for sellers. Another 18% cited improved coaching and enablement, and 18% better sales forecast accuracy. But results for direct commercial outcomes are more limited. Only 13% of respondents said improved win rates, and 14% said improved conversion rates. Further, only 8% reported increased quota achievement. The findings indicate that there is still potential for AI to enhance sales performance within organizations. Hence, revenue leaders should focus on AI application beyond administrative support and routine task.
AI-powered sales tools can help businesses to increase client engagement, assist in decision-making, and identify potential opportunities. But they should also set clear performance measures to assess whether these investments are contributing to the growth of the business.
AI Increases Customer Expectations and Disrupts Sales
AI is transforming the sales landscape and the way buyers make decisions. Today, they have more information about the products and the potential competitors than ever before. According to BCG survey results, this fact has several major implications for selling organizations.
For example, nearly 60% of revenue leaders stated that buyers come to the first meeting more informed about the products, competitive landscape, and potential use cases than they were two years ago. In addition, 54% of respondents said that there is a growing demand for customer or industry-specific personalization from sellers.
Moreover, 51% witnessed an increased need for custom proof of value (POV) presentations demonstrating ROI, while 24% observed that it becomes harder to achieve consensus since everyone has their own research and prioritization.
Despite that, Do More with More only 32% of revenue leaders reported that their organizations’ priority was to accelerate the proof of value activities that allow salespeople to show prospects that the offered product or service can effectively address their needs. Therefore, the gap between the potential of AI technologies and the current understanding of their impact is one of the critical challenges that sales leaders should overcome to increase customer confidence and close deals faster.
To do so, salespeople should shift their efforts from the presentation of information to assisting customers in decision-making. Indeed, in most cases, today, sellers need to help stakeholders realize the value of the considered solutions and facilitate the discussions with them. That is why AI can become helpful in sales enablement and personalization. Additionally, sales representatives can utilize generative AI tools to uncover the priorities of their prospects and create more compelling evidence.
Leading Organizations Turn AI into a Revenue Growth Engine
The BCG research also revealed the differences between the organizations that have already reached the level of fully integrated systems and those that are still at the start of the maturity scale. The companies that were using more integrated agents witnessed better commercial performance. For instance, in the former category, 23% attributed improved conversion to AI, while in the latter group, it was only 11%.
In addition, 69% of advanced companies saw double-digit revenue growth, whereas in less integrated firms, it was only 42%. Moreover, 67% of firms that had achieved a higher level of AI application had established tangible targets for adopting the technology. Meanwhile, only 23% of less integrated companies had realistic expectations for AI implementation. It can be concluded that integration into the business process and the achievement of concrete results is much more important than the mere utilization of the technology.
Therefore, when using AI, companies should be aware that they need to consider its application not only in automating the process but also in increasing revenues and selling more products. The leading revenue organizations are seen to exploit the technology in customer-facing activities and complex sales where consulting is needed. The companies appear to utilize the time saved due to automation for engaging in dialogues with clients. They enable the sellers to understand customer needs, offer solutions to meet their requirements, and promote the value of the product. As a result, the companies are able to combine more sales with higher revenues. Do More with More
“The real opportunity for AI is to augment sellers: give them time back and help them use it more effectively,” said Nacho Hafner, a managing director and partner at BCG X and coauthor of the report. “That means helping them understand their clients, prepare for more relevant conversations, and make better decisions about where to focus their effort. For 2027, success should be measured not just in hours saved, but in how effectively sellers turn that time into stronger client relationships and better commercial outcomes.”
Revenue Leaders Prioritize Measurable AI Outcomes for 2027 Essay
While entering a new year, revenue leaders have to balance various factors, including headcount, increased budgets, and high hopes about their performance. In parallel, in the context of AI commercialization, CROs need to ensure that their expenditures will lead to improved performance across the sales lifecycle. According to the BCG, the market reality is that generative AI alone is not sufficient to guarantee enhanced commercial outcomes. Instead, companies have to focus on pairing sales automations and intelligence with increased conversion rates and revenues.
Beyond that, the changing buyer landscape complicates business decisions, with personalization and proof of concepts being the key enablers in the modern environment. In this setting, sales professionals need to rethink their engagement strategies for buyers, considering their heightened awareness and complex purchasing behaviors. Thus, revenue leaders need to invest in solutions that prioritize building relationships and enhancing sales performance to get more value out of their AI expenditures.
Finally, the way how CROs approach 2027 will define their ability to leverage AI to transform their sales processes. Leaders have to ensure that their expenditures will lead to superior performance by focusing on their customers’ requirements and the associated commercial outcomes. By doing so, companies will be able to prioritize AI applications that will enable them to thrive in conditions where the technology alone is not sufficient to create substantial commercial gains.
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News Source: PRNewswire.com
