Customer Support Artificial Intelligence

AI in marketing

Are you still Googling or already Prompting?

by Lars-Thorsten Sudmann

10 min read

Apr 29, 2025 10:36:16 PM

Are you still Googling or already Prompting?

4:27

1. Researching Trends and Topics with AI Tools

Imagine this: You are sitting at your desk on a sunny morning, a fresh cup of coffee in hand. Your mission: find out which AI services will be in highest demand among medium-sized businesses in 2025.

Not long ago, your first instinct would have been to open Google and sift through endless pages of links.

Today, there’s a better way: Prompting.

What’s the difference?

Googling means typing keywords like “AI trends SMB 2025” and manually combing through countless results, hoping not to miss anything important.
Prompting is more like having a conversation with a knowledgeable expert. You ask a specific question – “Which AI services will medium-sized businesses need in 2025 for sales?” – and you immediately receive a structured, summarized answer. No ads, no clutter, just focused knowledge.

Why is prompting becoming more valuable?

In today’s fast-moving world, finding information is easy.

Understanding and applying it correctly is the real challenge.

AI interactions offer:

Speed: Get precise answers without wasting time.
Depth: Discover connections and insights that traditional search might miss.
Personalisation: Guide the depth and direction of your research by interacting with the AI.

googeln-vs-prompting

2. Starting Research with Perplexity

Continuing our example: you decide to use Perplexity – a smart AI tool that extracts, summarises, and sources information from across the web.

First question to Perplexity:

Key AI Services Medium-Sized Companies Will Seek in 2025

Medium-sized companies are rapidly adopting AI in marketing, sales, and service to remain competitive and efficient. By 2025, several AI-driven solutions will stand out as particularly valuable for this segment:

Marketing

Hyper-Personalization: AI will enable companies to deliver highly tailored marketing experiences across all customer touchpoints. Algorithms will analyze vast datasets to personalize content, offers, and recommendations in real time, significantly boosting conversion rates and customer loyalty2 46.
Predictive Analytics: AI-powered tools will forecast customer behavior, campaign outcomes, and market trends, allowing businesses to proactively address customer needs and optimize marketing spend2 46.
Automated Content Creation: Advanced AI models will generate high-quality marketing content at scale, maintaining brand consistency and relevance while reducing costs and time to market24.
Marketing Automation: AI will automate routine tasks such as email scheduling, social media posting, ad optimization, and data analysis, freeing up staff for strategic work46.

Sales

Intelligent Lead Scoring and Qualification: AI will analyze customer data (e.g., online behavior, past interactions) to identify high-potential leads, enabling sales teams to focus on the most promising prospects and increase conversion rates26.
AI-Powered Sales Forecasting: Predictive analytics will provide real-time insights into sales pipelines, helping managers make data-driven decisions and accurately forecast revenue2.
Virtual Sales Assistants and Chatbots: AI-powered assistants will handle routine sales tasks, answer customer queries, schedule meetings, and provide personalized recommendations, allowing human sales professionals to focus on complex deals2.

Service

AI-Driven Customer Support: By 2025, 80% of customer service teams are expected to use AI-powered chatbots and virtual agents to provide 24/7 support, manage repetitive queries, and deliver faster, more efficient service36.
Emotion and Sentiment Analysis: AI will analyze customer interactions to detect emotions and satisfaction levels, enabling companies to respond proactively to issues and improve service quality36.
Process Automation: AI will automate manual service tasks such as order processing, ticket routing, and feedback analysis, increasing efficiency and reducing operational costs67.

Why These Services Matter for Medium-Sized Companies

Cost Efficiency: AI adoption leads to significant operational cost reductions-80% of mid-sized businesses investing in AI see savings within the first year7.
Scalability: AI-as-a-Service (AIaaS) and pretrained models make advanced AI accessible without heavy upfront investment or the need for in-house data science teams57.
Competitive Advantage: AI enables medium-sized companies to compete with larger enterprises by offering personalized experiences and rapid, data-driven decision-making67.

Summary Table: Most Sought-After AI Services

Area	Key AI Services in 2025
Marketing	Hyper-personalization, predictive analytics, automated content creation, marketing automation
Sales	Intelligent lead scoring, AI-powered forecasting, virtual assistants/chatbots
Service	AI-driven customer support, emotion/sentiment analysis, process automation

Medium-sized companies in 2025 will prioritize AI solutions that deliver immediate, measurable value-especially those that automate routine work, personalize customer engagement, and provide actionable insights for growth2 5 67.

Citations:

Answer from Perplexity: https://www.perplexity.ai/search/which-ai-services-will-medium-df25bKFiTeGXZ2XEBot_IQ?utm_source=copy_output

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AI-generated results:

Marketing: AI-powered content generation and predictive campaign analytics.
Sales: Intelligent lead qualification and Sales Intelligence systems that identify opportunities early.
Service: AI-driven chatbots and self-service portals enabling 24/7 customer support.

Deepening the research:

Industries Benefiting Most from AI in Sales

Several industries are seeing significant gains from AI applications in sales, driven by their data-rich environments, customer-facing operations, and the need for efficiency and personalization. The top sectors include:

Retail & E-commerce

Personalized Recommendations: AI analyzes customer behavior and purchase history to suggest products, boosting cross-selling and up-selling2 57.
Dynamic Pricing & Inventory Management: AI optimizes pricing strategies and forecasts demand, reducing overstock and stockouts2 4 57.
Customer Service Automation: Chatbots and virtual assistants enhance the shopping experience and streamline support57.

Banking & Financial Services

Fraud Detection & Risk Analysis: AI monitors transaction patterns for anomalies, improving security5.
Sales Analytics & Lead Prioritization: AI identifies high-value prospects and tailors financial product recommendations6.
Algorithmic Trading: AI executes trades and manages portfolios based on real-time data analysis5.

Manufacturing & Supply Chain

Sales Forecasting: AI improves accuracy in predicting customer demand and aligning production schedules69.
Process Optimization: AI-driven analytics streamline sales processes and supply chain management9.

Automotive

Customer Insights & Lead Generation: AI identifies potential buyers and personalizes outreach in both B2B and B2C segments9.
Sales Process Automation: AI tools assist with customer communication, appointment scheduling, and follow-ups9.

Technology & Software

Sales Prospecting & Content Generation: AI tools generate personalized sales content and automate prospecting, increasing conversion rates812.
Pipeline Management: AI analyzes sales data to optimize workflows and forecast revenue8.

Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG)

Marketing & Sales Integration: Generative AI personalizes offerings, optimizes campaigns, and streamlines sales activities7.

Logistics & Transportation

Route & Inventory Optimization: AI analyzes logistics data to optimize delivery routes and inventory, supporting sales by ensuring timely fulfillment59.

Summary Table

Industry	Key AI Sales Applications
Retail & E-commerce	Personalization, dynamic pricing, inventory, chatbots
Banking & Finance	Fraud detection, lead scoring, algorithmic trading
Manufacturing/Supply Chain	Sales forecasting, process optimization
Automotive	Lead generation, process automation
Technology & Software	Prospecting, content generation, pipeline management
Consumer Packaged Goods	Marketing/sales integration, personalization
Logistics & Transportation	Route/inventory optimization, fulfillment

Retail, financial services, manufacturing, automotive, technology, and logistics are the industries benefiting most from AI in sales, with applications ranging from customer personalization and lead scoring to forecasting and process automation2 4 5 6 79. These sectors leverage AI to drive revenue, improve efficiency, and gain a competitive edge.

Citations:

Answer from Perplexity: https://www.perplexity.ai/search/which-ai-services-will-medium-df25bKFiTeGXZ2XEBot_IQ?utm_source=copy_output

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Perplexity highlights industries such as IT services, machinery manufacturing, healthcare, and logistics as key players, rapidly integrating AI into their sales processes.

results-perplexity-service

3. Further Research Using ChatGPT

To deepen the insights even further, we turn to ChatGPT, using the powerful o3 model, and ask related questions.

Initial question to ChatGPT:

“Which AI services will medium-sized companies seek in 2025?”

In 2025, medium-sized companies will increasingly seek AI services that deliver tangible business outcomes, especially in productivity, customer engagement, cost efficiency, and innovation. Here’s a detailed look at the most in-demand AI services this segment is expected to pursue:

🧠 1.

AI-Powered Automation Services

Medium-sized companies will focus heavily on workflow automation to reduce manual effort and scale faster without proportional headcount increases.

Top use cases:

Document processing (e.g. invoices, contracts)
Email and customer service automation
Internal ticketing and IT service desk automation
HR onboarding and recruitment workflows

Popular tools: UiPath, Microsoft Power Automate + Copilot, Zapier with AI plugins

💬 2.

Conversational AI & AI Agents

AI chatbots and voice agents will evolve from basic FAQ bots to multifunctional AI assistants that handle complex interactions across:

Customer service (first-tier resolution, 24/7 support)
Sales support (product recommendations, lead qualification)
Internal helpdesks (employee support for IT/HR)

Expect growth in multilingual bots and voice-based interfaces, especially with tools like OpenAI’s GPT-4o and Google’s Gemini 1.5.

📊 3.

AI for Business Intelligence & Forecasting

With increased data maturity, more companies will use AI for:

Sales forecasting
Demand prediction
Customer churn modeling
Dynamic pricing
Inventory optimization

Smaller data teams will use tools like Power BI + Copilot, Tableau GPT, and ThoughtSpot Sage to run predictive analytics without needing data science hires.

🛍️ 4.

Personalization Engines

Retail, SaaS, and B2B service providers will seek real-time personalization tools that can:

Adapt websites and email content to user behavior
Suggest relevant products/services
Adjust pricing and bundling dynamically

Open-source frameworks (e.g. Recombee) and managed services (e.g. Amazon Personalize) will gain traction.

✍️ 5.

Content Generation & Marketing Automation

AI for marketing ops will continue to explode, especially:

Blog post and ad copy generation
SEO content planning
Video and podcast summarization
Social media automation
Newsletter creation

Teams will prefer integrated platforms like Jasper, Copy.ai, or custom GPT-4-based solutions via API.

🔐 6.

AI for Cybersecurity & Compliance

As attack surfaces grow, medium-sized firms are turning to AI to:

Detect anomalies in real time
Automate incident response
Monitor compliance (e.g. GDPR, ISO)

Tools like CrowdStrike, Microsoft Sentinel, and Darktrace offer SME-friendly packages.

🧩 7.

Custom AI Model Development

For competitive advantage, some mid-sized firms (especially in fintech, logistics, and healthtech) will train small custom models on proprietary data. Popular approaches include:

Fine-tuning foundation models (e.g. GPT, Claude, Mistral)
Building Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems
Embedding company knowledge into private LLMs

This will usually involve working with AI consultancies or hiring fractional AI leads.

🧰 8.

AI Integration & Advisory Services

Medium businesses often lack internal expertise. They’ll increasingly seek:

AI strategy consulting
Tool/vendor evaluation
Custom integration services
Ethical and legal guidance

This opens a growing market for specialized AI implementation agencies or freelance AI advisors.

📦 Bundled AI-as-a-Service (AIaaS)

Vendors will also start offering modular AI packages (e.g. CRM + AI assistant + analytics), especially attractive for firms that don’t want to manage APIs or models themselves.

Would you like a market-ready PDF guide with recommendations tailored to service providers targeting medium-sized businesses?

Back to top

Summary of ChatGPT’s response:

Marketing: Customer engagement automation and hyper-personalization.
Sales: Real-time customer behavior analysis and smart sales assistants.
Service: Advanced chatbots and voice bots that continuously learn and adapt.

Focusing on intelligent customer interaction:

“I am particularly interested in intelligent customer interaction (chat- and voice-bots). What should businesses consider?”

ChatGPT provides crucial advice:

CRM Integration: Bots must be able to access and utilize customer data effectively.
Multilingual capabilities: Essential for companies operating internationally.
Self-learning capabilities: The AI should improve with every interaction.

Checklist for introducing intelligent customer interaction:

Choose a scalable AI chatbot system.
Seamlessly integrate it with existing CRM databases.
Train employees to work alongside AI systems.
Continuously retrain AI models with new data.
Establish escalation procedures for complex inquiries.

checklist-ai

4. Key Insights

What do you gain from such an AI-supported research journey?

More clarity:

Instead of getting lost in hundreds of links, you gain clear, actionable knowledge within minutes.

Reliable sources:

Perplexity automatically provides sources for every answer, making it easy to verify and expand your findings.

Actionable recommendations:

Combine different AI tools for comprehensive research.
Spend time crafting strong prompts – the better your question, the better the answer.
Use the insights to develop focused strategies and build competitive advantages.

from-question-to-ai-strategy

5. Closing Words

The takeaway:

Use tools like Perplexity and ChatGPT as your new research partners.

Whether you are gathering initial ideas or diving deep into your specific market segment, AI-supported research brings you clarity and speed.

Your next steps:

Define your key questions.
Start targeted research using modern AI tools.
Prepare for the next phase: identifying the right partners and decision-makers (more on that in our next newsletter).

Most importantly: Start today.

Download our White-paper 5 Steps to Successful AI Adoption”.

Download our White-paper “5 Steps to Successful AI Adoption”.

Are you still Googling or already Prompting?

2025-04-30 • 18 min

Are you still Googling or already Prompting?

Podcast about Digital Topics in the Business

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