Are you a B2B revenue leader under pressure to move faster, prove ROI sooner and do more with less?
Traditional tools can’t keep up with the speed and complexity of modern buyer journeys, but go-to-market (GTM) AI can.
From dynamic account prioritisation to real-time buyer signals and automated activation plays, AI reshapes how sales and marketing teams go to market. But while many vendors claim to offer AI, few deliver true execution.
Some tools surface data, others score intent, and very few connect the dots between who to target, when to engage, and how to act all in one motion.
But with so many AI tools to choose from, how can you be sure you’re getting a vendor that can fulfil your GTM needs?
This article explains everything you need to know.
Why use GTM AI?
Buying cycles are getting longer, budgets are under more scrutiny, and revenue teams are expected to do more with less: fewer resources, fewer tools, and fewer chances to get it right.
Let’s take a look at each of these challenges in detail:
1. Buying cycles are getting longer. Budgets are tighter
There’s a lot of economic uncertainty at play, resulting in increased deal scrutiny, with more stakeholders in the buying process. CFOs are asking tougher questions, and budget holders need to see tangible ROI before they sign anything.
How does GTM AI help?
GTM AI prioritises high-fit, high-intent accounts before sales reps even make contact.
Take Cognism’s GTM AI, for example:
It combines verified data with behavioural signals, so your team isn’t wasting time on accounts that were never in the market to begin with. You close the gap between lead and opportunity, even in longer buying cycles.
Take a look at how it works 👇
Interested in learning more? Speak to sales about Cognism’s pricing.
2. Tools need to show ROI before procurement
Obvious? Yes. Easy? No.
Most data tools promise ROI but deliver bloated UIs, steep learning curves, or generic demo lists that don’t reflect real pipeline potential.
So what should you look for as a buyer? Here’s a quick checklist:
- Guided onboarding (not just a login link).
- Real accounts in your ICP and territory.
- Verified contacts with direct dials & emails.
- Signal-based targeting that shows why now.
- Integration into your live outreach or workflows.
- Support from sales and RevOps during the trial.
3. Revenue teams are expected to do more with less
It’s come to be expected that sales, marketing, and RevOps leaders will need to hit bigger targets with fewer resources, leaner teams, and tighter budgets.
Old playbooks, like manual prospecting, large tech stacks, and trial-and-error outreach, are no longer sustainable.
The reality?
- Sales teams spend more time researching and qualifying, and less time selling.
- Marketing teams are generating pipeline that sales can’t always activate.
- Operations teams are stuck stitching together disconnected tools and inconsistent data.
GTM AI removes low-value tasks, reduces guesswork and directs reps toward high-impact opportunities automatically.
But not every GTM platform delivers on that promise.
Many simply offer automation without intelligence. Or intelligence without execution.
Cognism is different. Our GTM intelligence is built to prioritise, personalise and activate the entire go-to-market motion, without the manual overhead.
This isn’t about replacing people.
It’s about freeing up revenue teams to focus on what matters most:
Generating pipeline and closing deals.
Head of Sales & Partnerships @UpCloud
Keen to learn more? Speak to a rep about your GTM goals.
Why modern GTM teams need AI that acts, not observes
Modern buyers don’t want a sales pitch. They want proof.
Most GTM tools still behave like traditional databases. It’s not enough for a data provider to store information. GTM teams need tools that prioritise the right accounts, surface the right contacts, and activate outreach, all in real time.
That’s where most GTM AI solutions fall short.
While platforms like ZoomInfo, Lusha, and Clay promise automation and insight, their AI is often limited to enrichment or keyword-based scoring.
You’ll still need to do the heavy lifting, like building workflows, interpreting vague signals, and manually qualifying accounts.
Take ZoomInfo Copilot, for example.
It uses generative AI to suggest messaging and surface contacts, but a lot of the value is gated behind expensive add-ons.
You get suggestions, not sales plays. And you’re still responsible for qualifying signals, chasing accuracy, and building outbound workflows from scratch.
Cognism was built to take that pressure off your team.
Our GTM AI doesn’t just surface data, it acts on it. From day one, it identifies in-market accounts based on real buying signals.
It connects those accounts to verified decision-makers and delivers ready-to-activate leads directly into your workflows, including timing prompts aligned to persona and territory.
This isn’t keyword-matching or passive lead scoring. It’s real-time signal intelligence, executed through pre-built GTM Plays that align to your actual go to market strategy.
Where others enrich your CRM, Cognism enables your team.
Where others “score” leads, Cognism delivers them: enriched, verified, and ready to act on.
If you’re evaluating solutions for your GTM tech stack, ask yourself:
- Does the platform help my reps execute, or just analyse?
- Will the AI deliver outcomes, or create more admin?
- Can I trust the data, especially in target regions like EMEA?
With Cognism, the answer is yes, and you can see it before you buy. 👇
Global Director of Data @CEC Marketing
Want to test Cognism’s data? Book a call so we can set you up with 25 free leads tailored to your ICP.
What GTM AI should look like
AI has become a buzzword across the B2B landscape. Every go to market platform claims to be “AI-powered, ”but very few apply it in a way that actually moves the needle on revenue.
Here’s a breakdown of the top GTM AI tools available right now.👇
Summary:
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ZoomInfo Copilot provides AI suggestions, but most value is gated, and the EMEA data comes at an extra cost.
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Clay is powerful for builders but requires hands-on setup. Uses a waterfall database, so compliance and quality depend on the vendors.
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Cognism combines high-quality, compliant data, enrichment and signal intelligence for a revenue-driven AI-powered sales assistant.
How Cognism’s GTM AI delivers real-time execution
Most GTM platforms stop at insight. They surface data, dashboards, and intent scores, but expect your reps to figure out the rest.
Cognism goes further. Our GTM AI doesn’t just analyse opportunities. It delivers them.
Whether your team is prospecting, prioritising accounts, or engaging leads, Cognism’s AI is built to work inside your team’s existing workflows.
Here’s what that looks like in practice:
Real-time GTM signals that drive action
Our AI surfaces key buying triggers, including tech installs, funding rounds, hiring trends, and leadership changes and matches them against your ideal customer profile.
This isn’t generic intent data or third-party keyword clicks. These are real-world signals that your target accounts are preparing to buy.
We don’t stop at the account level. We connect these signals to the right decision-makers, complete with Diamond Verified® contact data, including direct dials, emails, and job titles.
AI-guided GTM plays tailored to your strategy
Sales Companion, our AI-powered sales assistant, helps reps take immediate action based on those signals. It provides channel-specific messaging recommendations and timing suggestions.
With these insights in mind, you can use our outreach plays to enhance your GTM strategy.
These GTM Plays showcase proven outreach strategies battle-tested by high-performing sales teams based on persona, industry, and buying stage.
Check them out. 👇
Activation, not administration
This isn’t another tool to manage. Our GTM AI integrates into your sales tools, including Salesforce, HubSpot, Outreach, and Sales Navigator, so reps don’t have to switch tabs or build from scratch.
Instead of planning outreach, they’re executing it.
Instead of wondering who to contact, they’re speaking with verified buyers.
Instead of reacting to stale lists, they’re acting on live intent.
Of course, in a crowded market of GTM AI tools, it’s natural for buyers to ask:
- “Why is Cognism more expensive?”
- “Doesn’t ZoomInfo do this already?”
- “Can’t we just use LinkedIn and Apollo?”
Here’s what those questions are really about, and why Cognism is the smarter, faster path to pipeline 👇
Objection: “It’s more expensive than Apollo or Lusha.”
Yes, and with good reason.
Cheaper tools rely on scraped, outdated, or crowdsourced data. Your reps spend more time validating contacts than booking meetings. And your campaigns burn budget chasing irrelevant leads.
Cognism offers:
- Diamond Verified® contact data.
- Real-time signal intelligence, not stale filters.
- Support from day one.
- Fewer wasted dials, fewer unsubscribes, more closed pipeline.
Cheap data costs more in the long run, in time, opportunity, and reputation.
You can read more about why in this article on technographic data providers. Or listen to a happy customer. 👇
Director of Business Development @SUB1
Objection: “ZoomInfo already has AI.”
ZoomInfo does offer intent scores and automation layers. However, its AI is often siloed behind expensive add-ons or requires lengthy onboarding to see value.
With Cognism, AI is integrated into every stage of the go-to-market motion:
- Trigger-based account targeting.
- Instant contact access.
- GTM activation in week one, not post-implementation.
Our guided demo proves the value. No guesswork. No waiting. Just execution.
Objection: “We’re already using Sales Navigator.”
Sales Nav is great for research, not for outreach. You don’t get verified emails, phone numbers, or real-time buying signals.
With Cognism, Sales Nav becomes your prospecting layer while we power your engagement with accurate contact data and sales triggers your competitors miss.
Some of our customers continue using Sales Nav, but say Cognism is what makes it actionable. 👇
VP of Sales EMEA @Allego
The bottom line
Cognism isn’t just another data vendor. It’s a GTM execution engine, powered by AI, proven in practice, and ready to deliver value.
That’s what makes it a premium GTM data orchestration solution, and why high-performing teams see the investment pay off, fast.
GTM AI: FAQs
Built for what’s next in B2B go-to-market AI
The way B2B teams go to market is changing fast.
Buyers are more informed, outreach windows are shorter, and the tools that used to give teams a competitive edge, such as static databases or basic enrichment platforms, are no longer enough.
AI will shape the future of go-to-market. But not every provider is ready.
Some vendors are retrofitting legacy platforms with surface-level AI features. Others promote automation that still requires hours of manual setup. Many still expect teams to build their own workflows before any value is delivered.
Cognism takes a different approach.
We’ve rebuilt the go-to-market motion from the ground up, combining compliant, verified data with real-time intent signals. Our GTM AI doesn’t just inform your strategy; it executes it.
