Why AI will Never replace sales!
A controversial statement, yes, but let me explain. As humans, a lot of our communication is nonverbal and as any good salesperson knows it’s the silences between the words, the subtle body language, people’s tone and cultural inferences in the conversations that tell us a lot more than the content.
So can AI pick up that the nose touching was not a sign of lying but that the person has flu. Or the fact that if someone’s eye moves slightly to the left that it’s not some type of unconscious signal but that they are distracted by something in the environment. A human would know that, but AI has been trained to pick up these signals as an indication of lying.
As Recruiters (and essentially Salespeople) we are constantly looking and identifying behaviours that would make you right or wrong for the role we are resourcing for. It’s our humanity that enables us to intuitively understand people and connect with them in an authentic way; to get a feel for a person so we can match them culturally to the right client. Our aim is not only to get people to start, but also to stay, and a good cultural/personality match ensures this happens.
We have noticed a massive uptake in the demand for Sales staff, including senior Business Development people, Account Managers and a garden variety of Sales Executives.
We asked the person of the moment to comment on this and ChatGPT said this:
“AI can augment but not fully replace salespeople—especially in complex, relationship-driven sales environments.” It provided areas where it could excel and aid sales like Lead Generation, Sales Analytics and the service of Chatbots. And then provided areas where Salespeople “still have the edge”.
These included the following:
Complex or high-ticket B2B sales –These require trust, strategic thinking, and human relationships that AI can’t replicate.
Negotiation and persuasion – Emotional intelligence, improvisation, and reading between the lines are critical—AI lacks these.
Deep product knowledge and customization –Salespeople often tailor solutions to the customer’s unique needs in ways AI can’t fully grasp or express.
Building long-term relationships – Human connection is still key to account management and loyalty.
According to the Pnet’s 2025 Job Market Trends report, sales roles like Sales Managers and Business Development professionals, remain “highly sought after”.
Positions in Sales have even started trumping the need for Finance people. Early in May this year, a businesstech.co.za article breaking down the report, noted that “Financial and Accounting professionals have given way to Representative and Sales Consultants, while Admin Clerks have climbed above Systems and Network Administrators.”
While the debate continues around the threat of AI, particularly to more human-centric industries, Salespeople are more in demand. Sales too, forms a big component in the business of Recruitment. It’s also no secret that any sales job is hands-down, one of the toughest gigs. It’s rarely smooth sailing when you’re persuading people to buy what you’re selling. Interestingly, despite a volatile local job market, hiring in the Sales sector has seen an upsurge.
The human element is at the core of what Salespeople do including in our jobs as Recruiters. It’s questionable if AI will ever master Sales or Recruitment 101.
As Recruiters, we are after all, selling jobs to people and people to clients. But does AI have what it takes to follow suit. It requires a human cocktail of natural intuition, empathy and understanding. The most critical ingredient being of course – the art of persuasion and the ability to influence the outcome. Each factor in the right mix makes for successfully selling your product or service whether you’re a Sales Rep, Account Manager or a Recruiter. Reading the room, understanding context and picking up nonverbal cues will continue to elevate our value in the workplace above an AI replica.
We know how to read people because we are people.
During candidate interviews we can often relate to the frustration of struggling to find work. We can pick up red flags when a job seeker might not be honest about a reason for leaving a job or able to read between the lines and probe further on things that come up in the interview because we have picked up subtle nuances in the way they speak. We can also try to sway clients to meet salary expectations or give candidates a chance when on paper they don’t appear to be a match.
It remains hard to imagine a powerful sales presentation packed with anecdotes of human experience and humour being delivered by an AI-powered humanoid robot.
AI has its pros and can help enhance operations – we as a Recruitment Agency have embraced utilizing these tools. But when it comes to the human behind the job, our algorithm has been designed in such a unique way. There’s a persona that technology may or may not one day be able to replicate. But how will it match the instinct, passion, drive and purpose human workers bring to the table.
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