Blog

Unlocking AI's Potential in B2B Marketing and Sales

Written by KHL Marketing Services | Jul 8, 2025 11:26:27 AM

The AI landscape is evolving at a speed unlike anything we’ve seen before and it’s reshaping how B2B buyers engage. The question isn’t whether you should be thinking about AI in your sales and marketing strategy — it’s how.

In this post, we’ll break down some practical frameworks, bust a few myths, and share where to start so you can confidently integrate AI into your everyday B2B workflows.

 

AI Is Now Core to B2B Buying

Here’s a stat that should get your attention:
46% of B2B buyers are using generative AI tools to conduct research, compared to just 17% who are turning to traditional whitepapers, newsletters, and case studies. 

This doesn’t mean those traditional formats are obsolete — they’re still vital. AI is simply reshaping the way audiences discover and engage with them.

 

 

Busting Common AI Myths

Let’s clear the air on some frequent objections:

“AI isn’t relevant to us.”
“Our team isn’t ready.”

Both statements are increasingly risky. AI isn’t a “future thing.” It’s a now thing. It’s already shaping how B2B decisions are made. And guess what? Complex, long-cycle, high-value sales — the kind many B2B organisations specialize in — are exactly where AI thrives. Ignoring it isn’t just conservative — it’s potentially catastrophic.

KHL Group has been leading the way with major investments in AI-driven marketing technologies. Our advanced systems let us segment audiences with precision, empowering us to launch personalized marketing campaigns that boost engagement like never before. This innovation not only maximizes impact for readers but also fuels growth for our clients and increasing their bottom line.

 

 

Where to Start: Use What You Already Have

Chances are, your current tech stack already includes AI. The first step? Audit your existing tools. Many platforms now come with embedded AI features already. 

Start small. Look at where AI can streamline and enhance existing processes:

  • Lead scoring & prioritization
  • Automated follow-ups
  • Personalized email flows
  • Chatbots and intelligent sales assistants

AI isn’t here to replace humans. It’s here to remove the low-value busywork, so your team can focus on what matters — building relationships, closing deals, and creating value.

 

 

Rethinking Content in the AI Era

We’re still writing content like it’s 2018 — chasing Google rankings. But Gen Z (the next wave of decision-makers) is already shifting behavior:
30% use AI tools for search over traditional search engines.

That means your content strategy needs to evolve. In the AI era, visibility isn’t about ranking. It’s about being referenced. To do that, your content needs to be:

  • Machine-readable: Clear structure, simple language, use of FAQs, definitions, and step-by-step formats.
  • Machine-valuable: Build a body of authoritative content. Reference your brand naturally and get indexed by trusted sources.

Need support?
At KHL Group, our team of expert journalists, designers, and marketers not only create compelling, industry-specific content that drives engagement and leads — we also craft it to be machine-readable and AI-optimized. This ensures your content performs better across digital platforms, reaches the right audiences, and stays future-ready in an AI-driven world. Click here to find out more.

 

 

Enhancing the Buyer Experience with AI

AI is brilliant at reading the signals we often miss. It can sift through unstructured data to identify:

  • Where buyers are in their journey
What they care about
  • What they need next

With the right tools, AI can help you predict buyer intent, serve up hyper-personalized experiences, and move leads through the funnel more intelligently than ever before.

The days of one-size-fits-all content journeys are over. Your buyers expect relevance. AI helps you deliver it — in real-time.

KHL has been a trusted voice in your global industry for over 30 years — and we continue to inform and inspire every day. Our editorial team brings a unique understanding of what your audience wants, powered by technology that predicts buyer intent and delivers hyper-personalized experiences.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Build AI Into Your Core Workflows

AI has already evolved beyond simple instruction-based tools. We're now seeing the rise of AI agents — systems that can interpret, make decisions, and act independently. These tools are no longer on the horizon — they're already in use across forward-thinking sales and marketing teams.

By building intelligent automation into your core workflows, you can unlock serious efficiency and eliminate friction from the buying process.

Here are just a few examples of how AI is already supporting high-value, resource-intensive activity:

  • Drafting RFP responses based on past submissions
  • Summarizing and analyzing tender documents
  • Automatically generating and formatting sales proposals
  • Surfacing real-time conversation prompts during live calls

 

Empowering Your Team for AI

For all of this to work, your team needs to be on board and enabled. Here’s how:

  1. Upskill in prompt engineering
    Teach your team how to get the best from AI by giving it quality instructions.
  2. Build an AI-first culture
    Frame AI as a co-pilot, not a replacement. Help your team see the opportunity.
  3. Establish governance
    Create clear policies on AI use. How should it be applied? Where?
  4. Test, measure, iterate
    Use AI to experiment. Track what works, drop what doesn’t, and double down on success.

 

Final Thought: Get in the Game — Now

We’ll leave you with a quote from Heather Akuiyibo, VP of GTM Integration at Databricks:

AI is revolutionizing how we sell at Databricks, freeing our teams from repetitive tasks and unlocking time for what truly matters – building relationships and closing deals. But the magic only happens with clean data, strong governance, and a mindset of experimentation.”

The winners are already moving. The question is: Do you want to be ahead of the game or left behind?

AI is already impacting your pipeline — whether you’re using it or not. Now’s the time to test, measure, and build your future around it. KHL Group is ready to partner with you and guide you every step of the way. Let’s start the conversation!