How AI Is Transforming Sales and Marketing Inside Slingshot

In the not-so-distant past, artificial intelligence felt like a tool to test. It helped draft an email or generate a social post headline. Fast-forward to today, and it’s not just helping with productivity; it’s reshaping how Slingshot’s sales and marketing teams operate at a foundational level.

From brainstorming campaigns in real time to personalizing outreach at scale, Slingshot has embedded AI into how we create and connect. This transformation isn’t a story about automation replacing people. It’s about augmentation: how Slingshot’s humans are working with machines to move faster, think bigger, and bring sharper clarity to the work that matters most.

AI’s Expanding Role in Daily Work

Whitney, Slingshot’s Marketing & Sales Coordinator, used AI only tactically just a year ago. “The main thing I was really using it for at the time was writing emails,” she recalls. “Just drafting something to get it going.” Today, that same starting point has evolved into a full-circle collaboration. “I might still be using the same tools, but now I engage them in entirely different ways that make my day more efficient and the results more impactful.”

Savannah, Director of Marketing and New Business, agrees. “AI used to be a jumping-off point, like, ‘Give me a few ideas for this caption.’ Now it’s a collaborative partner. It helps brainstorm, structure, and sharpen, especially when we’re up against deadlines.”

Slingshot’s Lead Sales Rep, Geoff, sees the shift too, from automation to acceleration. “Everybody’s trying to automate what they can from a workflow perspective. AI is just the next evolution of how business continuity happens.”

Use Cases That Matter

AI can plug into nearly any workflow, but where does it actually move the needle? Deciding what tool to use comes down to where they add real value. Across the team, these high-impact areas consistently stand out as where AI is making the biggest difference:

Campaign and Content Development

From email announcements to social posts, AI helps Slingshot move from high-level concept to creative output faster than ever. “I use AI to build out full campaign ideas from a high-level brief,” says Whitney. “It helps me think differently and suggests creative angles I wouldn’t normally consider.”

Custom GPTs trained on Slingshot’s tone support day-to-day content tasks. “That way, it’s easier to dump in raw content and say, ‘Hey, write this in our brand voice.’” Whitney adds.

Blog Creation

Blog development used to take weeks. Now, AI helps Slingshot ideate, draft, and publish on a much shorter timeline. “We used to take a month to write a blog.” Savannah explains. “Now, with custom GPTs trained on our tone and structure, we can move quickly and stay relevant in real time. Especially in tech, where a topic can be outdated in a few weeks.”

Personalization at Scale

Perhaps the most surprising AI superpower? Human connection. “Before, personalizing outreach just wasn’t scalable,” Savannah explains. “Now we can maintain that human feel but at much greater volume because we have time and tools to support it.”

The AI Stack Behind the Scenes

The team’s AI toolkit is expanding beyond ChatGPT. While that’s still the cornerstone, they’re integrating other platforms to handle specific creative and operational needs.

Canva AI is one standout. “Canva’s image generation has really improved,” Whitney said. “But now? It’s crushing it. I use ChatGPT to help write the prompt, then paste that into Canva AI. It really stepped up the output.”

Grammarly also makes the list. “It’s been a game-changer for making sure tone and clarity land the way I intend,” says Savannah. “It’s not just fixing grammar. It’s helping me become a better communicator overall.”

OtterPilot, Slingshot’s go-to transcription and meeting assistant, rounds things out. “It’s our brain dump,” says Whitney. “We use it in brainstorm meetings, then pipe the transcript into ChatGPT and say, ‘Give me the most actionable ideas.’ That saves hours.”

Custom GPTs are another essential part of the toolkit. “We’ve built several: brand tone, social media captions, email templates,” says Savannah. “It helps us draft content faster and keeps everything aligned with how we want to sound.”

The Skill of Prompt Engineering

Behind every strong AI output is an even stronger input. The team at Slingshot has learned that knowing how to ask is just as important as knowing what to ask. Prompt engineering has become a core skill. It unlocks more relevant, personalized, and useful results across sales and marketing work.

“Prompt engineering is a necessary skill,” Savannah explains. “Especially for marketing and sales, where you’re not just asking for information. You’re guiding tone, audience targeting, and business context. If you don’t give the AI enough to work with, you’ll get fluff.”

Geoff sees the upside. “I prompted ChatGPT: ‘Show me a list of buyers in Kentucky who might use our services.’ And it broke down industries and company types. It was super detailed. This result was off a really basic prompt, so the potential is huge.”

Getting sound output starts with giving good input. As Slingshot’s team has discovered, learning to talk to AI effectively is just as important as knowing which tools to use.

Pitfalls to Avoid: Hallucinations, Over-Automation, and Security

AI is powerful, but it’s not perfect. Without thoughtful guardrails, it can introduce new risks. This is especially true in high-stakes communication and customer-facing content.  Let’s look at some pitfalls to keep in mind when using AI for marketing or sales. 

Losing the Human Touch

Geoff is cautious about leaning too hard on automation. “We still need to remember we’re reaching out to humans. If your email or campaign sounds robotic, you lose trust. That personal connection matters.”

Data Consistency

Whitney warns about the importance of verifying AI-generated content. “AI is still hallucinating regularly,” she says. “We always double-check content for accuracy, especially when we’re putting out anything public-facing.” Ensuring consistency across messaging, facts, and tone is critical, especially in sales and marketing, where trust and clarity drive results.

Training and Staying Sharp

Savannah emphasizes the need for ongoing learning. “AI is moving faster than anything we’ve seen before,” she says. “It can’t be a one-and-done training. You need to stay on top of tools, prompting techniques, and best practices if you want to keep using them well.”

What This Means for Business Leaders

AI at Slingshot isn’t a siloed initiative or a flashy side project; it’s becoming part of the everyday fabric of how the company works, thinks, and creates. Whitney, Geoff, and Savannah are using AI to think more strategically, personalize at scale, and stay agile in a space that changes by the week.

The fundamental transformation is cultural. Everyone is learning, testing, and shaping how AI fits into their role. It’s not about chasing trends, but about building a sustainable, scalable way to stay ahead and deliver more value to clients.

For business leaders, the takeaway is clear: empower your teams to adopt AI thoughtfully. This mindset can unlock meaningful change across the business, not just in output. As Slingshot continues to evolve, that mindset is setting the pace for what comes next.

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