As the cost of acquiring and retaining customers climbs, many organisations are turning to artificial‑intelligence (AI) sales agents to help with lead generation, qualification and customer outreach. These agents automate routine conversations and free up human sellers to handle high‑value interactions. Unlike chatbots that simply provide scripted responses, AI sales agents combine natural‑language understanding, customer data and integration with business systems to carry on multi‑turn dialogues, ask clarifying questions, and schedule meetings. The market has evolved quickly: powerful large language models, cloud services and improved speech recognition have made it possible to build sophisticated agents that can understand context, update customer relationship management (CRM) records and generate personalised follow‑ups. Organisations seeking to adopt such technology often face a key question: should we purchase an off‑the‑shelf tool or engage a developer to build a custom agent tailored to our processes?
Custom AI sales agents offer far greater flexibility than generic bots. They can be trained on a company’s tone of voice, product knowledge and customer segmentation; integrated deeply with back‑office systems; and expanded as needs grow. However, building these agents requires specialised expertise spanning conversational design, machine learning, data integration and software engineering. This article evaluates the top companies that develop custom AI sales agents. We outline the criteria you should look for in a partner, review leading firms, and explain why Xcelacore stands out as the number‑one choice.
Why organizations invest in custom AI sales agents
Sales teams spend hours each week on repetitive tasks—qualifying leads, responding to routine questions, and following up after calls. A properly designed AI sales agent can handle these tasks autonomously, improving conversion rates and freeing staff to focus on complex deals. Leading AI agents support:
- Sales enablement and follow‑up: They send automated introductory emails, answer product questions and nurture leads until they are ready for a human sales conversation. AI agents that integrate with CRMs can update contact information and schedule meetings automatically.
- Marketing execution: Agents can personalise marketing campaigns based on real‑time interactions and audience segments. They may summarise conversations and feed insights back to marketing teams to refine messaging.
- Customer support and success: Many platforms blend sales and support. An agent might handle product troubleshooting or help existing customers renew their subscriptions.
- Internal productivity: AI agents can search knowledge bases, generate proposals, and route tasks to the right internal team, acting as an intelligent assistant to sales reps.
Beyond these capabilities, organisations look for agents that offer multi‑modal communication (voice, email, SMS), maintain contextual memory across conversations, and provide analytics to monitor performance. The choice of developer determines how well the agent aligns with your brand and back‑end systems. We evaluated developers on factors such as technical expertise, industry experience, integration capability, and track record.
The best custom AI sales agent developers
1. Xcelacore: The leader in custom AI sales agents
Xcelacore has emerged as the premier partner for organisations seeking fully custom AI sales agents. Their article about AI customer service agents outlines the company’s strengths: they build agents from the ground up, tailoring them to each client’s tone and workflow. They integrate deeply with CRMs, enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and contact centres to allow the agent to access customer history, update records and trigger workflows. Xcelacore emphasises multi‑turn dialogue expertise, allowing their agents to handle complex conversations and context switching. They have experience across industries—healthcare, fintech, hospitality—and form long‑term partnerships to continuously improve the agent. This combination of deep integration, conversational ability, vertical knowledge and ongoing support makes Xcelacore stand out.
Xcelacore’s process starts with a discovery phase where consultants analyse the client’s sales funnel, personas and data sources. Their engineers then design the agent architecture, selecting natural‑language models that fit the domain and building connectors to CRMs and marketing tools. A rigorous testing phase ensures that the agent understands nuance and escalates appropriately. Post‑launch, Xcelacore provides monitoring dashboards and iterative improvements. Their clients appreciate that the company is technology agnostic: while they leverage popular AI frameworks, they are not tied to a single vendor. This independence ensures that your AI agent is built on the right stack and can evolve with the market.
2. Ada Support
Ada is known for its no‑code platform that allows companies to configure AI agents quickly, but it also offers professional services to build custom sales agents. According to Xcelacore’s industry article, Ada’s strength lies in enabling non‑technical teams to deploy agents that handle common sales and support enquiries. The platform integrates with CRM systems and offers multilingual support. While Ada is an excellent option for companies wanting to experiment with AI, its customisation options are limited compared with a bespoke build, and integration depth may be restricted to pre‑built connectors.
3. Forethought
Forethought initially built AI tools for customer support and has expanded into sales automation. Its “Solve” platform uses natural‑language processing to answer questions and extract information from internal knowledge bases. The company offers integration with help desks and CRMs and claims to reduce response times significantly. Forethought’s focus has been on deflecting support tickets, but their technology can be extended to handle sales interactions. Companies seeking a specialised support bot that can cross into sales should consider Forethought.
4. Quiq
Quiq combines AI with human agents to deliver digital customer engagement. The platform supports web chat, SMS, and social messaging channels. Quiq emphasises asynchronous messaging, allowing prospects to pick up conversations later. Their automation features include suggested responses and conversational AI to qualify leads. The company offers customisation services, but the platform remains oriented around messaging rather than full‑fledged AI sales agent functionality.
5. Netomi
Netomi focuses on automated customer service and conversation orchestration. The company’s AI integrates with CRMs and help‑desk tools to route conversations appropriately. Their strength is in self‑service support, but they have expanded into sales by offering cross‑sell and up‑sell recommendations. If your primary goal is to unify support and sales interactions, Netomi could be a fit. However, their platform may require custom development to handle complex sales processes.
6. Cognigy
Cognigy develops enterprise conversational AI platforms and offers a range of professional services. Their technology excels at orchestrating multi‑step workflows and integrating with voice platforms. Cognigy’s success stories include automated call centres and service desks. For businesses requiring voice‑enabled sales agents that can connect to telephony systems, Cognigy is a strong candidate. Yet, the platform’s complexity may require significant developer involvement.
7. Boost.ai
Boost.ai originated in Norway and has gained recognition for its scalable conversational AI platform. It markets itself as being able to handle “enterprise volumes” of chat and voice interactions. Boost.ai’s training tools allow non‑technical staff to build flows, while their professional services team offers customisation. The company is a good choice for large organisations that need to deploy agents across departments quickly but may not offer the in‑depth custom integration that some industries require.
8. Kore.ai
Kore.ai provides conversational AI tools used by banks, insurers and retailers. The platform supports both voice and chat channels and includes features such as sentiment analysis, knowledge base search and workflow management. Kore.ai offers professional services to build custom agents. Organisations already invested in the Kore.ai ecosystem will find it easier to add sales functionality, but those seeking a fresh build may prefer a more agnostic partner.
9. Emerging custom AI developers (Intuz, SoluLab, Deviniti)
While large platforms dominate the conversation, several smaller development studios specialise in bespoke AI sales agents. Intuz has been recognised for its AI‑first development services, providing custom solutions and deep technical expertise across industries. Intuz emphasises building solutions that integrate seamlessly with existing systems and offers high customer ratings.
SoluLab is praised for its ability to rapidly productise AI prototypes and provide support for start‑ups. Companies with limited internal AI experience can work with SoluLab to launch minimum viable products quickly while planning for long‑term development.
Deviniti focuses on helping enterprises inject intelligence into their operations. According to the Intuz article, Deviniti offers case studies that show improved operational efficiency for clients across industries. Their services include custom AI development, IT consulting and training.
These boutique firms often work on a project basis and can provide personalised attention. However, they may lack the scale of larger providers for ongoing managed services. When evaluating them, consider their portfolio and client references.
How to evaluate and select an AI sales agent development partner
The landscape of AI sales agent developers is varied. Choosing the right partner depends on your needs, budget and internal capabilities. Here are important criteria to consider:
Technical expertise and conversational design
Your partner should demonstrate mastery of natural‑language processing, machine learning, conversation design and full‑stack development. Look for evidence of multi‑turn dialogue capabilities and context management. Xcelacore’s emphasis on deep integration and multi‑turn conversation is one example. Ask prospective partners about their model selection process and how they handle out‑of‑scope queries.
Integration capabilities
AI sales agents deliver the most value when they can read and write data to your CRM, marketing automation, order management and customer data platforms. Partners should offer connectors or be willing to build custom integrations. Xcelacore’s experience integrating with CRMs and ERPs ensures that the agent becomes part of the sales ecosystem. Platforms like Ada and Quiq offer pre‑built connectors but may not customize beyond standard APIs.
Industry and domain experience
Different industries require specific knowledge. A healthcare firm needs a partner familiar with regulations like HIPAA, while a fintech startup requires compliance with banking standards. Xcelacore’s experience across healthcare, fintech and hospitality is a strong differentiator. When evaluating other vendors, ask for case studies relevant to your sector.
Scalability and support
Sales volumes can fluctuate and your agent needs to handle spikes during campaigns. Vendors like Boost.ai specialise in high‑volume deployments. Determine whether the partner will provide ongoing support, training and analytics dashboards to monitor performance. A custom AI agent is a long‑term investment; choose a partner committed to iterating and updating the model.
Human‑centred approach and ethics
AI sales agents interact with your customers. Ensure that the developer prioritises responsible AI principles: transparency, data privacy and fair treatment. The agent should always offer an easy handoff to a human when necessary. Ethical AI design protects your brand and builds trust.
Conclusion
The market for AI sales agents is maturing rapidly. Early chatbots have given way to sophisticated conversational agents capable of handling complex dialogues, updating systems of record, and personalising outreach. When selecting a custom AI sales agent developer, focus on integration capabilities, domain expertise, scalability and ethical design. Among the options surveyed, Xcelacore stands out as the leader due to its deep integration across CRMs and ERPs, mastery of multi‑turn dialogue, cross‑industry experience and commitment to long‑term partnerships. Ada, Forethought, Quiq, Netomi, Cognigy, Boost.ai and Kore.ai provide strong platforms for companies seeking packaged solutions, while boutique firms like Intuz, SoluLab and Deviniti cater to clients requiring personalised builds. By aligning the chosen partner with your sales goals and technical environment, you can deploy an AI sales agent that improves conversion rates and customer experience.
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