Gartner Hype Cycle Reveals How AI and Digital Advancements Are Primed to Aid Sales Transformations

AI Agents for Sales, Emotion AI and Digital Twin of a Customer Are Most Critical to Sales Transformation Success

In response to evolving buyer behaviors and shifting purchasing trends, chief sales officers (CSOs) are transforming traditional sales practices by embracing innovative approaches, according to Gartner, Inc., a business and technology insights company. Gartner’s Hype Cycle for Sales Transformation 2025 highlights the AI, advanced technologies and organizational innovations powering this transformation and driving sales organization success (see Figure 1).

Gartner Hype Cycles provide a graphic representation of the maturity and adoption of technologies and applications, and how they are potentially relevant to solving real business problems and exploiting new opportunities. Gartner Hype Cycle methodology gives a view of how a technology or application will evolve over time, providing a sound source of insight to manage its deployment within the context of specific business goals.

“Sales transformation seems to be a never-ending state for today’s CSOs. The integration of AI, digital integrations and intelligence, and new modes of operational adaptability can no longer be delayed,” said Shayne Jackson, VP Analyst in the Gartner Sales Practice. “While this Hype Cycle encompasses a spectrum of innovations ranging from well-established solutions to emerging, cutting-edge technologies, all are designed to drive sales transformation.”

Figure 1: Hype Cycle for Sales Transformation, 2025

AI Agents for Sales

AI agents for sales, currently at the Peak of Inflated Expectations, are autonomous or semi-autonomous software entities that leverage advanced AI techniques to perceive, decide, and act within digital sales environments.

Powered by large language models (LLMs), these agents promise to revolutionize sales by autonomously planning and executing tasks, moving beyond the limitations of traditional AI assistants. Sales organizations see these agents as proactive partners capable of independent work and human-like reasoning to drive revenue.

The rapid surge in investment from major platform vendors and stakeholders since 2024 has fueled high hopes for AI agents in sales. However, the anticipated capabilities often outpace current technological realities, placing AI agents for sales firmly at the Peak of Inflated Expectations.

Emotion AI

Emotion AI, currently in the Trough of Disillusionment phase, leverages AI to assess users’ emotional states through computer vision, voice analysis, sensors, and software logic. It enables personalized responses tailored to a customer’s mood.

However, privacy and government regulations, such as the EU AI Act’s ban on computer vision-based emotion detection in education, remain a major barrier to enterprise adoption.

Initial excitement around emotion AI has given way to a more cautious approach, as organizations encounter significant implementation challenges—explaining its current position in the Trough of Disillusionment.

Digital Twin of a Customer

A digital twin of a customer (DToC), in the Innovation Trigger phase, is a dynamic virtual representation of a customer that organizations use to simulate, emulate, and anticipate customer behavior. DToCs enhance the strategic value of data and analytics by broadening the insights organizations can derive from customer data while helping to mitigate associated risks.

Currently, organizations employ digital twins to monitor product performance and determine optimal actions. With DToCs, they can simulate how customers might respond to specific scenarios, enabling more personalized experiences, stronger customer relationships, and increased revenue.

Despite its transformative potential, DToC technology is still in its infancy, with adoption and real-world applications only beginning to emerge. Its utility depends on customization for specific use cases, highlighting its evolving and immature state. As a result, DToCs remain in the Innovation Trigger phase, with significant growth expected as the technology matures.