ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
AI doesn’t need to replace lubricants salespeople... But it could make us better
Rob Taylor, Plan Grow Do
Artificial Intelligence is everywhere in the conversation at the moment. For many, it carries the fear of being replaced, of becoming less relevant in the eyes of buyers. For others, it promises efficiency and scale. The truth for those of us working in lubricants sales and marketing probably sits somewhere in between. AI will not take your role, but colleagues who use it well might just get ahead of you.
In an industry where time is short, content creation feels like a constant uphill battle, and buyers already expect answers before you have spoken to them, the potential of AI is worth exploring. The opportunity is not to replace the human connection but to use AI to support it.
Buyers are solving their own problems The Buyer Revolution research makes it clear. Ninety three percent of lubricant buyers now use search engines as their first point of research, and three quarters already know what they want before ever engaging a sales person. Buyers are taking control of their decision making and are looking for evidence of reputation, value and fit before they even reach out.
For sales and marketing, this creates a clear challenge. Time is tight, and many teams struggle to know what to create or when to share it. Silence is not an option,
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but generic brochures no longer cut through. This is where AI can help. It can summarise large amounts of data, suggest content ideas, and reduce the time spent producing first drafts of material. The key is that it still needs sales knowledge and buyer empathy to guide it. AI can lighten the load, but it cannot define the story on its own.
Speed and relevance matter When buyers do reach out, they expect immediacy. The research shows that in urgent cases, a response within three hours is now the benchmark. Over
LUBE MAGAZINE AR TIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE DECEMBER 2025
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