8 Best AI CRM Software - Busting the AI Myth?

TL;DR

AI in CRM handles customer service agents, workflow assistance, predictive analytics, lead scoring, personalized marketing automation, and AI notetaker integration for call summaries.
Top tools include Zoho One for best value-to-price ratio, Freshsales Suite for robust features with quick setup, and ActiveCampaign for e-commerce email marketing automation.
No CRM has AI assistants powerful enough to "wow" users yet, though AI functionalities made massive quality leaps over the past year and are becoming increasingly useful rather than gimmicky.

Our review contains a few affiliate marketing links. If you purchase any of the tools, we might receive a small commission.

Does AI really improve CRM software?

Even though AI is not as mature in CRM systems as it has been in other areas so far, there are a few common and tested use cases:

AI customer service agents can assist in answering client questions if you provide them with the right data set or resources
AI can help you with workflows or advise on their setup
Predictive analytics can help you understand your pipeline better and set the right emphasis
It can score leads, so you can prioritize them better
Apply and automate personalized marketing
You can integrate an AI notetaker to your CRM and get a call summary straight to your meeting event

But the tools promise more, so we gathered a

List of all AI capabilities of the CRM tools we tested:

ActiveCampaign:
Generates content for emails, SMS, and landing pages.
Performs lead scoring and sentiment analysis.
Offers AI-powered A/B testing and predictive sending.
Freshsales:
Generates sales emails and SMS content.
Provides deal insights and forecasting.
Suggests next best actions and resolves duplicate contacts.
Zoho CRM:
Enriches lead data and suggests workflows.
Analyzes email intent and summarizes communications.
Integrates with other Zoho tools for enhanced functionality.
Pipedrive:
Predicts deal closure probability.
Summarizes email content and generates emails.
Nutshell:
Provides AI timeline summarization for customer histories.
Offers AI meeting and call summarization capabilities.
Folk:
Automates tasks and provides insights across the customer journey.
Tracks email interactions and sales analytics.
HubSpot:
Offers AI-powered sales assistant features.
Provides insights and recommendations based on customer data.
Salesforce:
Uses Einstein AI for relationship and conversation insights.
Scores leads and opportunities, providing sales forecasting.
Vtiger:
Incorporates AI for sales automation and engagement.
Provides analytics and marketing automation capabilities.
General AI Capabilities:
Automated customer service and routine process automation.
Predictive analytics for sales and customer behavior insights.

SPOILER ALERT by Yuliya Lelyakh (CRM Development & Implementation Consultant, COO at Inceptly)

My takeaways from reviewing the AI CRM software and their AI capabilities:

I can’t say that any CRMs I’ve tested have AI assistants powerful enough to really wow the users (unfortunately, I was unable to test Salesforce’s Einstein Copilot). That said, the AI functionalities offered by many CRMs on the market today have made massive leaps in quality and actual usability over the last year alone, so I’m certain we’ll see them become a standard across CRM systems very soon, with sales managers relying on integrating AI into CRM more and more as they get smarter and more powerful.
Zoho One gives competitors a run for their money with the advanced features of AI CRM solutions. Best value-to-price ratio and AI capabilities that are actually useful rather than just gimmicky (full disclosure: I didn't think much of Zia last year). Zoho CRM is also a worthwhile solution, but I strongly prefer Zoho One for the extra set of tools it offers without having to pay that much more. Zoho can work for a business of any size, in any niche, but would be best for companies that need something as close to custom-built as possible, but at a fraction of the cost of a custom system.
Freshworks’s Freshsales Suite impressed me with a robust set of features coupled with a wide array of customization options and great usability. It's worth checking out for most businesses looking for something powerful, but also quick and easy to set up and run with.
ActiveCampaign truly shines when it comes to marketing automation and would be the best option for companies in the e-commerce space and those that rely heavily on email marketing.

Use Cases for The Best AI Tools of

CRM

Quick Overview of the Best AI Tools

Tool name

Best Pro

Biggest Con

Free Trial

ActiveCampaign

Built to encompass the whole customer lifecycle to enable CXA - customer experience automation, which shows through thoughtful selection and design of features; feels comprehensive, but not overwhelming

CRM functionalities are rather basic compared to competitors, this could present issues when it comes to scaling your business

14 days

Zoho CRM

Extremely flexible and customizable, enabling you to create custom modules and write your own code/functions if needed

Might be overwhelming to set up initially, especially for businesses with complex processes and no prior experience with CRMs or no dedicated employee/consultant to assist

30-day for Zoho One, 15 days for Enterprise

Freshsales from Freshworks

Very smooth, well-designed onboarding and setup

Limited number of marketing contacts included in the plan

21 days

Pipedrive

Clean and intuitive interface, easy to pick up even for a novice

Basic array of options for customization and automation could present issues if your processes become more complex as your business scales

14 days

Hubspot (CRM)

Wide variety of features

UI a bit outdated

14 days for Professional and Enterprise

Salesforce Sales Cloud / Einstein AI

Very powerful and customizable

Cluttered interface

100k Flex Credits

Nutshell

The interface stands out for its intuitive design that doesn't overwhelm users with unnecessary complexity, making it easy to navigate and use effectively.

The program seems to be a bit heavy on my computer and froze twice

14 days free

Folk

Simple dashboard

Not 100% intuitive

7 days

Vtiger

Has a steep learning curve when it comes to initial setup and customization - I struggled to figure out where to find certain settings

Includes marketing, inventory, project management, support features, bringing all key business functions together in one hub

15 days trial

CRM

Comparison

Best Tool for:

ActiveCampaign

Score

4.75

Tool performance:

Setup/Onboarding:

User Experience:

Prompt coherence:

AI capabilities:

Voice quality:

Lip sync & motion:

Music quality:

Image quality:

Design capabilities:

Pros:

Focus on marketing and nurturing leads every step of the way - from built-in landing page builder to the presentation of contact interactions in the record and integration with Facebook Custom Audiences & Lead Ads

Automations Map is a neat feature that allows you to see how various automations connect into one unified ecosystem, providing a bird’s eye view of all the cogs of your CRM machine

Free migration service - a very nice touch that you don’t really see at this price point

Cons:

CRM functionalities are rather basic compared to competitors, this could present issues when it comes to scaling your business

Limited reporting functionality

Monthly price starting from:

$59

For Who?

Tool Details<<<< Try Tool >>>>

Geared towards lead nurturing, email marketing and campaign automation, ActiveCampaign seems like a great fit for e-commerce businesses that are looking for a powerful marketing suite of tools but don’t need their CRM to do anything too complicated.

Tested Model:

Last test:

November 7, 2025

Best Tool for:

CRM

Zoho CRM

Score

4.75

Tool performance:

Setup/Onboarding:

User Experience:

Prompt coherence:

AI capabilities:

Voice quality:

Lip sync & motion:

Music quality:

Image quality:

Design capabilities:

Pros:

Extremely flexible and customizable, enabling you to create custom modules and write your own code/functions if needed

Comes with powerful automation features for sales and marketing, even with more affordable plans

Zia AI integrates with ChatGPT to throw even more AI power behind the CRM

Wide array of native integrations (even wider with Zoho Flow within Zoho One) coupled with access to an extensive ecosystem of tools covering all aspects of business - from invoicing and inventory to website activity tracking and support

Easy to set up, pay-as-you-go telephony at a very affordable price

Cons:

Might be overwhelming to set up initially, especially for businesses with complex processes and no prior experience with CRMs or no dedicated employee/consultant to assist

Adoption might take a while as most novice users experience a significant learning curve due to the abundance of features and options (which might be distracting at times)

Support can be slow to respond sometimes

Monthly price starting from:

$14

For Who?

Tool Details<<<< Try Tool >>>>

For years now, Zoho has offered the best value for money on the market, and they continue to push the envelope by constantly releasing new features. Zoho CRM is perfect for businesses that want a solid foundation for managing sales and other processes in one centralized hub, and prioritize a flexible system that can easily scale with the business. While it doesn’t have the most powerful AI functionalities on the market yet, the AI features come with an affordable price tag and are quite useful for day-to-day sales operations.If your business requires a lot of custom solutions for its CRM, you might be wise to hire a consultant/partner to lead the setup of your system - budget money and time accordingly.

Tested Model:

Last test:

November 7, 2025

Best Tool for:

Freshsales from Freshworks

Score

4.5

Tool performance:

Setup/Onboarding:

User Experience:

Prompt coherence:

AI capabilities:

Voice quality:

Lip sync & motion:

Music quality:

Image quality:

Design capabilities:

Pros:

Very smooth, well-designed onboarding and setup

Best I’ve seen in a while

Abundance of workflow templates that make it easy to get started with automating repetitive processes

Possibility to enhance the ecosystem with a whole suite of marketing and support tools

Built-in phone calling capabilities Very user friendly

Cons:

Limited number of marketing contacts included in the plan

Not suitable for serious mass email marketing without paying for extra contacts

AI functionality mostly focused on chatbots and user support, might not be very relevant to some businesses

Abundance of plans and services available makes it difficult to understand the differences and pick a suitable plan without additional help

Monthly price starting from:

$11

For Who?

Tool Details<<<< Try Tool >>>>

An impressive array of features coupled with a very intuitive interface make Freshsales Suite a flexible, powerful CRM system that will be the perfect fit for businesses of all sizes and niches. I’d recommend definitely trying it out if you’re on the market for a CRM.

Tested Model:

Last test:

November 7, 2025

Best Tool for:

Pipedrive

Score

Tool performance:

Setup/Onboarding:

User Experience:

Prompt coherence:

AI capabilities:

Voice quality:

Lip sync & motion:

Music quality:

Image quality:

Design capabilities:

Pros:

Clean and intuitive interface, easy to pick up even for a novice

Straightforward setup across modules, automations, and integrations, very DIY-friendly

Built-in meeting scheduler, e-docs functionality, and invoicing

Project management and email campaign add-ons available for an extra fee

Multiple email accounts sync - not a given for most competitors

Cons:

Basic array of options for customization and automation could present issues if your processes become more complex as your business scales

Very limited AI capabilities and only available on request, in Beta

Monthly price starting from:

$14

For Who?

Tool Details<<<< Try Tool >>>>

Accessible,and user-friendly, Pipedrive is a great choice for SMEs focused primarily on sales. It would work best for businesses that don’t need robust customization and automation functionality and don’t prioritize possible integration with ERP/inventory, shipping, support, and other business functions.

Tested Model:

Last test:

November 12, 2025

Best Tool for:

Hubspot (CRM)

Score

Tool performance:

Setup/Onboarding:

User Experience:

Prompt coherence:

AI capabilities:

Voice quality:

Lip sync & motion:

Music quality:

Image quality:

Design capabilities:

Pros:

Wide variety of features

Great customer support

Cons:

UI a bit outdated

Monthly price starting from:

$50

For Who?

Tool Details<<<< Try Tool >>>>

If you are working with Hubspot already and pay for it already, even the oldish UI must not scare you off enough to go work with a nicer and more modern tool.

Tested Model:

Last test:

November 12, 2025

Best Tool for:

Salesforce Sales Cloud / Einstein AI

Score

Tool performance:

Setup/Onboarding:

User Experience:

Prompt coherence:

AI capabilities:

Voice quality:

Lip sync & motion:

Music quality:

Image quality:

Design capabilities:

Pros:

Very powerful and customizable

Extensive ecosystem of add-on services and integrations covering all aspects of business

Impressive AI capabilities (however, they require investment in higher-tier plans)

Cons:

Cluttered interface

Might be overwhelming to set up without professional help

Truly powerful customization, automation, and integration features are only available on more expensive tiers

Add-on services you’ll need to purchase to cover other business functions will add up quickly

Only the cheapest and most limited plan has a monthly billing option forced to commit to a yearly plan (i.e. big investment upfront, especially with many users/employees)

Monthly price starting from:

$25

For Who?

Tool Details<<<< Try Tool >>>>

Powerful and sophisticated, Salesforce might not be the best choice for startups or small businesses that haven’t found their footing yet, as competitor’s products offer better value for money with a more intuitive setup. This CRM is best for bigger, already established companies with complex processes and complicated approval hierarchies - provided your business has a healthy margin to justify the expense, and, ideally, a tech pro/IT team to manage the setup and maintenance of the system.

Tested Model:

Last test:

November 12, 2025

Best Tool for:

Nutshell

Score

3.75

Tool performance:

Setup/Onboarding:

User Experience:

Prompt coherence:

AI capabilities:

Voice quality:

Lip sync & motion:

Music quality:

Image quality:

Design capabilities:

Pros:

The interface stands out for its intuitive design that doesn't overwhelm users with unnecessary complexity, making it easy to navigate and use effectively.

The onboarding process is exceptionally straightforward with a gentle learning curve, allowing you to get up and running quickly compared to more complex CRM systems.

The platform offers an impressive variety of features that strike a perfect balance between functionality and ease of use for businesses of all sizes.

The AI capabilities are solid and practical, with features like timeline summarization and meeting transcription that genuinely save time and improve productivity.

Cons:

The program seems to be a bit heavy on my computer and froze twice

Monthly price starting from:

$13

For Who?

Tool Details<<<< Try Tool >>>>

When I tested Nutshell, I found it to be a solid customer relationship management solution that strikes a good balance between functionality and ease of use. Nutshell stands out for its intuitive interface that doesn't overwhelm users with unnecessary complexity. The platform offers essential CRM features, including contact management, sales pipeline tracking, and reporting tools that help businesses stay organized.

What impressed me most about Nutshell is how quickly you can get up and running. The setup process is straightforward, and the learning curve is relatively gentle compared to more complex CRM systems. I was quite struggling with Zoho CRM, for example, Nutshell is a walk in the park compared.

Tested Model:

Last test:

November 12, 2025

Best Tool for:

Folk

Score

3.5

Tool performance:

Setup/Onboarding:

User Experience:

Prompt coherence:

AI capabilities:

Voice quality:

Lip sync & motion:

Music quality:

Image quality:

Design capabilities:

Pros:

Simple dashboard

Ease of use

Integration for Linkedin and Chrome Extension save time

Cons:

Not 100% intuitive

Monthly price starting from:

$25

For Who?

Tool Details<<<< Try Tool >>>>

Very basic tool, Notion users and fans will like it. The Linkedin Plugin seems practical, but then the categorisation isn't so convenient because you can not enter companies directly, but only a person.

Tested Model:

Last test:

November 7, 2025

Best Tool for:

Vtiger

Score

3.25

Tool performance:

Setup/Onboarding:

User Experience:

Prompt coherence:

AI capabilities:

Voice quality:

Lip sync & motion:

Music quality:

Image quality:

Design capabilities:

Pros:

Has a steep learning curve when it comes to initial setup and customization - I struggled to figure out where to find certain settings

The interface feels a bit clunky and complicated to get a hang of, so user adoption might suffer if you choose to go with this option

Cons:

Includes marketing, inventory, project management, support features, bringing all key business functions together in one hub

Similar to Pipedrive, comes with a built-in appointment scheduler

The Vtiger Application Platform (VTAP) feature offers a low-code platform for building custom apps and solutions compatible with your CRM (similar to Zoho Creator)

Interesting licensing option with Single App vs Standard access, allowing you to save costs as your team grows

Monthly price starting from:

$15

For Who?

Tool Details<<<< Try Tool >>>>

Given the robust set of features and the focus on customization, Vtiger seems to be trying to compete with Zoho, but falls short when it comes to the user experience. This CRM is worth keeping an eye on to see what new features and improvements get rolled out in the future.

Tested Model:

Last test:

November 7, 2025

Yuliya Lelyakh

About the Author
Yuliya Lelyakh, CRM Development & Implementation Consultant, COO at Inceptly
As a person who liked to play with spreadsheets as a child and built her first Excel-based CRM from scratch at age 16 while working a summer job at her dad’s office, Yuliya was obsessed with efficiency and order from an early age. Armed with a degree in Business Administration, she worked in several marketing-adjacent roles and startups before re-discovering her true passion.
For the last five years, Yuliya has been helping SMEs ditch their busy work and embrace efficiency through custom CRM solutions and process automation. Coming from a family of small business owners and having worked with multiple SMEs from various niches, she knows all about the day-to-day struggles and concerns that her clients deal with and finds fulfilment in helping them set up custom CRM solutions and back office systems to fuel their growth and become leaner.
Full disclosure: Yuliya is a Zoho Authorized Consulting Partner. But that doesn’t mean that she recommends Zoho to anyone who asks her for a suitable solution to their business needs, as it all depends on your specific needs and requirements as a business.

As someone who built her first Excel-based CRM from scratch at age 16, Yuliya has been obsessed with efficiency from an early age. For the last five years, she's helped SMEs ditch busy work and embrace efficiency through custom CRM solutions and process automation. Coming from a family of small business owners, she understands the day-to-day struggles her clients face.

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The 8 Best AI CRM Software

TL;DR

Does AI really improve CRM software?

List of all AI capabilities of the CRM tools we tested:

Use Cases for The Best AI Tools of

CRM

Quick Overview of the Best AI Tools

Compare AI tools directly

CRM

Comparison

FAQ

CRM

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The 8 Best AI CRM Software

TL;DR

Does AI really improve CRM software?

List of all AI capabilities of the CRM tools we tested:

Use Cases for The Best AI Tools of

CRM

Quick Overview of the Best AI Tools

Compare AI tools directly

CRM

Comparison

Did you know?

FAQ

CRM

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