A direct sale in the first message converts only 3% of users

The study's authors attribute this to the same cause: template funnels without personalization stop working; the audience needs to be engaged through dialogue rather than pushed toward a sale from the first touchpoint.

AI agents are displacing simple scenarios

When standard mailings and simple scenarios no longer retain the user, companies bring in AI agents. They are increasingly becoming part of the sales funnel.

The numbers confirm the trend: 63.6% of AI agents store user data and continue the conversation from where it stopped. Another 36.8% are connected to the company's knowledge base and answer questions about products and terms.

According to the study, AI qualification increases the number of quality leads 4-fold and reduces acquisition costs.

Recommendations for setting up agents

For an agent to work effectively, the study suggests several steps:

• build the funnel entry through buttons, quizzes, and short scenarios;
• integrate agents at the qualification stage;
• define the agent's rules and operating scenarios;
• build a knowledge base;
• set up regular training on real conversations.

The takeaway for marketers: the first message should not sell but engage. Useful content and interactivity deliver four times higher conversion than a direct sales pitch, and the combination of quizzes with AI qualification reduces the cost per lead.