The best initial use for AI in marketing operations is automating high-volume, low-complexity "digital janitor" tasks. Focus AI agents on answering repetitive questions (e.g., "Why didn't this lead qualify?") and cleaning data (e.g., event lists) to free up specialist time for more strategic work.

The next frontier for AI in product is automating time-consuming but cognitively simple tasks. An AI agent can connect CRM data, customer feedback, and product specs to instantly generate a qualified list of beta testers, compressing a multi-week process into days.

For service-based businesses, speed-to-lead is everything. An AI-powered office manager using advanced voice AI can provide 24/7, instant responses to inquiries. This isn't just a cost-saving measure; it's a revenue-generating tool that captures leads competitors miss due to slow, manual follow-up, dramatically increasing the likelihood of winning the job.

Vercel's CTO Malte Ubl suggests a simple method for finding valuable internal automation tasks: ask people, "What do you hate most about your job?" This uncovers tedious work that requires some human judgment, making it a perfect sweet spot for the capabilities of current-generation AI agents.

Beyond booking meetings for high-value deals, AI agents can be empowered to handle the full sales cycle for lower-priced products. They can answer questions, provide discount codes, and conduct follow-up, creating a significant, automated revenue stream with no human sales involvement.

The most significant near-term impact of voice AI will be in call centers. Rather than simply replacing agents, the technology will first elevate their effectiveness and productivity. Concurrently, voice bots will handle initial queries, solving the common pain point of long wait times and improving overall customer experience.

Clogging a sales calendar with unqualified prospects is a major bottleneck. Deploy an AI voice agent to call new leads and ask a single, ruthless qualifying question. This immediately filters out bad fits, freeing up sales reps to focus only on high-probability deals.

By building a custom AI agent for inbound lead qualification, Vercel reduced its inbound SDR team from ten people to one. The agent, which cost only $1,000 per year to run, maintained conversion rates while decreasing response time and number of touches needed.

The paradigm shift with AI agents is from "tools to click buttons in" (like CRMs) to autonomous systems that work for you in the background. This is a new form of productivity, akin to delegating tasks to a team member rather than just using a better tool yourself.