Are you using AI in New Business

Are you using AI in New Business

If your answer is some variation of “we’re experimenting,” that time has passed. I treat AI like a Swiss Army knife strapped to my belt. Not a novelty, not a toy, and definitely not a gimmick. It’s eight tools in one, maybe more, and each one shaves a little more time off my plate so I can spend that time on strategy development, relationship building, and closing. Let’s dig into AI tools for ad agency business development.

A few years ago, I watched a talented new business director burn entire days chasing leads who were never going to buy, rewriting the same outreach by hand, and digging through old case studies to make them sound relevant for a prospect who already had 10 unread pitches in their inbox. Smart person. Broken system.

Then along comes AI.

Not as a replacement for judgment or creativity, but as the horsepower that finally lets BD leaders like us operate as strategists rather than administrative assistants.

Recently, I shared my AI-assisted prospecting workflow with him, and he looked at me like he’d just found a hidden cheat code. In an hour, he built a segment-specific outreach sequence, rewrote two case studies for the vertical they were targeting, pulled a list of decision makers to contact, drafted a strong POV for a LinkedIn series, and used sentiment analysis to tweak the tone for a risk-averse category. Same human. New horsepower. The result: he had more time to think rather than react.

That’s the answer most agencies are missing. AI is a force multiplier for the parts of BD that typically slow you down. When you use it well, you stop doing busywork and start doing real strategy. In 2026, we’ll have passed the experimental phase and be on to optimization of the tools and workflows for maximum impact. At the same time, we’ll need to keep a close eye on new tools and innovations to continue making progress and improving our conductor skills for the AI orchestra.

Here’s how I use my Swiss Army knife:

1. Positioning calibrator

Most agencies can talk for an hour and still not say anything differentiated. AI forces clarity. Prompt it to challenge, call bullsh*t, amend, and append until the solutions are obvious. It pulls apart your claims, compares them to every agency in your category, and helps you define a position that is both credible, sharp, and differentiated.

I sat with an agency that swore their positioning was “unique.” AI compared their messaging against 20 competitor agencies. 77% used the exact same phrases. We rebuilt their story in one afternoon, and it doubled inbound interest within a month.

2. Prospect analyzer

Not every brand is a real opportunity. In seconds, AI can help surface who is in market, who is unhappy with their current partner, who is hiring marketing leadership, who just raised capital, who’s launching products, and who’s laying off. While that context may not be complete, it provides clues that would take hours and days to uncover, not to mention the days and days of prospecting ghosts. You’ll have a much better idea of who to go after and who to pass by.

A consumer brand posted about a product delay. AI flagged it instantly, paired it with recent hiring patterns, and suggested they were struggling with launch execution. My client reached out with a surgical POV and got a response in 24 hours.

3. Outreach generator

Generic outreach is dead on arrival. AI adapts your messaging to the category, role, personality type, risk profile, and even the public writing style of the person you’re contacting. We can then analyze that data and use our new business acuity to craft a message that connects.

A healthcare CMO was known for being blunt and allergic to fluff. AI rewrote the outreach with a straight no-BS voice and a two-sentence hook. She replied in eight minutes. Eight. Humans didn’t suddenly get smarter. AI just removed the performative nonsense.

4. Case-study reframer

Most agencies recycle the same case studies for every purpose, even though they secretly dream of having the time to personalize them for each use. With a simple prompt, AI rewrites them for the specific industry, audience, and business problem you’re targeting. It tells the same story but tunes the relevance.

A digital agency wanted to pitch a regional bank but only had retail case studies. AI reframed the proof, shifting “cart abandonment” to “application abandonment,” “store traffic” to “branch engagement,” and “average order value” to “wallet share.” Soon after, those cases received the attention they needed from the bank.

5. Competitive scanner

One thing we old dogs prided ourselves on was the extensive research we did to understand the market, competitors, challenges, and opportunities. Boy, did that take time, but it was well worth it. You need to know the battlefield before you step onto it. With a variety of prompts, AI will scan all available sources in seconds, including RFP language, client interviews, category trends, and competitor claims, to uncover the best strategy and approach.

A prospect said they were “happy with their current agency.” AI flagged three areas where that agency’s POV clashed with market data. My client positioned their pitch around those friction points. Suddenly, the prospect wasn’t so happy, and the incumbent never saw it coming.

6. Content engine

It’s hard to continuously generate fresh, impactful, relevant outbound. If your content isn’t doing the heavy lifting, you’re wasting your time. AI helps you turn agency expertise into sharp, consistent content that builds authority and draws prospects in before you ever email them.

A new business director who ran out of content ideas and hadn’t posted for over a year began using AI to generate weekly insights from client conversations. And then industry news, analyst reports, and other publicly available thought leadership. Two months later, she had three inbound leads directly referencing those posts.

7. CRM co-pilot

Most CRMs are graveyards. AI makes sure nothing slips through the cracks. It can summarize calls, draft follow-ups, predict when a lead is getting cold, remind you who to nudge, research and identify hooks, and develop the proper CTA.

A BD leader who used to live in administrative hell started using AI to auto-summarize every call and generate next steps. It saved five hours a week and increased follow-up consistency enough to close two stuck deals.

8. Pitch-room rehearsal partner

AI is the sparring partner who doesn’t care about your feelings. It attacks your logic, challenges your claims, and role-plays the toughest version of the client so you walk in sharper than the competition.

This week, I used AI to run a simulated Q&A, covering every objection the client might raise, based on industry research and analysis, before a major pitch. By the time the real meeting happened, nothing surprised the team. We’ll see who wins the business!

None of this replaces experience. It amplifies it. You still need the instincts, the nose for real opportunity, the ability to read a room, and the guts to pick a strategy and commit to it. But AI clears the time-sucks, the hamster wheels, and the rabbit holes so we can operate like an actual rainmaker, not a task manager.

Agencies that embrace this reality are going to run circles around the ones that “dabble.” The gap is widening, and it’s widening fast.

So let me turn the question back to you.

How are you using AI for your agency’s business development? Comment below with your story. The more we share what’s working, the faster we all grow.

Happy AI-ing

Let’s talk about how your agency can leverage AI in the most efficacious way. I’ve helped agencies sharpen and focus their positioning, differentiation, services, and operating model, and turn their outreach into real growth. You can learn more about me at jheenan.com or grab time with me here: calendly.com/jheenan. If you haven’t already done so, sign up for my New Business Newsletter. If you know someone who might benefit from this post, please forward it. If you like this post, I’d appreciate a thumbs up and a comment. While you are at it, let’s connect on LinkedIn.

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