AI is on every leader’s radar right now. But the real question is how to turn it into real results that last.
In our recent Go-To-Market (GTM) Performance Gap Report, polling 463 senior GTM leaders, we saw the same story across industries: AI won’t fix a broken Go-To-Market. Without the right foundation, it just scales chaos.
Across the industry, teams are experimenting with AI at speed, generating content, automating follow-ups, and testing new tools. But very few are seeing a consistent impact. Why? Because the real unlock isn’t the tech. It’s the system underneath it.
AI maturity in GTM doesn’t mean you’ve mastered every use case. It means your teams are set up to act on the intelligence AI provides, clearly, confidently, and consistently. And many teams are still building that structure. Not because they’re behind, but because that’s where the real work begins.
This isn’t a reason to wait. It’s a reason to start with intention.
Start with the outcome, not the tool
Here’s the advice I always give: lead with the outcome, and don’t try to AI everything at once. Success comes from sequencing.
Think of your GTM system like a home renovation. You don’t start with the shiny appliances. You start with the foundation. You get clear on the layout, shore up the wiring, and make sure everything works together before investing in finishing touches.
The same applies to AI. With the right structure first, it becomes a long-term strategic advantage, not a tactical experiment.
Ask the right questions first
You don’t need to overhaul your GTM overnight. But asking the right questions helps you focus on the places where AI can drive fast, meaningful change:
- What outcome are we trying to drive?
- What friction are we solving for?
- What behaviour do we need to change first?
- Where can AI remove friction and reinforce that change?
Then build your foundation
This isn’t about boiling the ocean. It’s about putting structure in place where it matters most.
Start by getting aligned across teams. Define what success looks like and who owns what. Map the pain points, where sellers get stuck, where data breaks down, and where content is misused. Make sure you’re measuring what actually connects to performance.
You don’t need to be perfect, just pointed in the same direction.
AI maturity isn’t a sprint. It’s a series of strategic shifts.
Teams don’t go from pilot to full-scale transformation in a quarter. They move in deliberate steps, building confidence, capturing value, and scaling what works.
1. Move from experimentation to structured, business-aligned use cases.
Start with two to three high-impact use cases that offer fast feedback loops and tangible value. For example, AI-generated follow-ups or persona-based messaging.
The first milestone isn’t to scale. It’s repeatable success, trackable moments where AI saves time or improves outcomes.
2. Shift from fragmented rollouts to workflow transformation.
AI maturity shows up in the work, during onboarding, live selling, and coaching. It’s about smarter execution, not more tools.
Highspot capabilities like AI Role Play and Skills Coaching help organisations embed development into daily workflows. Practice, feedback, and refinement happen in the context of real deals, not disconnected training modules.
Visa is a great example. Faced with the challenge of upskilling a global sales force of 4,000+, they partnered with Highspot to embed AI-powered coaching into seller workflows.
Time-intensive training became a scalable, adaptive system. Reps refined pitches in as little as 30 minutes with real-time AI feedback, and user engagement increased by 17%. Visa improved sales readiness and strengthened self- and manager-led skill development across the organisation.
To reinforce the right behaviours, you need clear GTM motions, cross-functional alignment, and a unified tech stack that equips frontline managers to coach for competency, not just completion.
3. Scale from smart selling to strategic execution at every level.
At peak maturity, AI becomes the connective tissue of GTM. It informs action, supports alignment, and operationalises what works across markets, segments, and roles.
This is where AI evolves from capability to competitive advantage. With tools like Initiative Scorecards, leaders gain real-time visibility into what’s working, who’s performing, and where to adapt. And with virtual teammates like Highspot Agents, reps get guided next steps, while managers coach at scale with confidence.
Getting here doesn’t require a perfect system. It requires the trust, rhythm, and clarity to act on insight, not just intuition.
The organisations that lead in 2026 and beyond won’t be the ones with the most tools. They’ll be the ones where strategy, enablement, content, and AI operate in sync, with execution that’s structured, consistent, and aligned.
AI will amplify whatever system it’s plugged into. When that system is clear and connected, the results follow.
Because real maturity doesn’t start with software.
It starts with structure.
Our Go-To-Market Performance Gap Report shares how leading organisations are building the structure they need to scale AI for real impact. Download the full report here.
