AI in Sales: What's Actually Working in 2026 (Close, Clay, ElevenLabs & PandaDoc)

Everyone is talking about AI. Very few people are sharing what's actually working. 00:00 Introduction 01:00 Meet the Panelists 04:00 What AI in Sales Actually Looks Like Today 12:00 The Gap Between AI Hype and Reality 22:00 Where AI Creates Measurable Results 30:00 How to Use AI Without Sacrificing Quality 32:00 AI and the Future of the Buying Experience 35:00 What AI Experiments Failed 45:00 Advice for Small Sales Teams Getting Started 50:00 What Should Stay Human? 53:00 Will AI Replace SDRs and AEs? 55:00 The Ultimate AI Wish List 58:30 Closing Thoughts In this live panel discussion, leaders from Close, ElevenLabs, Clay, and PandaDoc cut through the hype and share how they are using AI in sales today, where they're seeing measurable results, where they've failed, and what they believe comes next. Instead of theoretical discussions about AI replacing sales teams, this conversation focuses on practical lessons from companies building and deploying AI products every day. Topics include: • What AI is actually good at today • AI-powered prospecting, research, and prioritization • Voice agents and inbound lead qualification • How AI is changing buyer expectations • The future role of SDRs and sales reps • What Didn't Work with AI • Why human judgment still matters • How small teams can use AI to compete with much larger organizations Panelists Steli Efti (CEO & Founder, Close) Keith Rabkin (CEO, PandaDoc) Jonathan Chemouny (Sales Development Lead, ElevenLabs) Hari Kumar (Product, Clay) Hosted by Lauren Schuman, VP of Product Growth at Close. Close is the CRM built for founders, owners, and small sales teams. Close combines CRM, calling, email, SMS, automation, and AI into a single platform designed to help businesses communicate with more leads, follow up consistently, and close more deals. More than 11,500 businesses use Close to manage their sales process from first contact to closed deal. Learn more: https://close.com #AI #Sales #ArtificialIntelligence #B2BSales #SalesLeadership #RevenueOperations #AIAgents #SalesTech #StartupSales #CloseCRM Want more videos? Subscribe ►http://bit.ly/subcloseio CONNECT WITH US Blog: https://blog.close.com Linkedin:   / close-crm   ABOUT CLOSE Close is the CRM built for founders, owners, and small sales teams that want to operate like much larger organizations. Close combines CRM, calling, email, SMS, automation, and AI in a single platform, helping businesses respond faster, follow up consistently, and scale sales execution without adding complexity. More than 11,500 businesses use Close to manage customer relationships and drive revenue from first contact to closed deal. 🔔 Subscribe for weekly sales tips and product updates. Try Close free → https://close.com