How AWS is Replacing Sales Tasks with AI

How is AWS using AI agents in their sales functions?

>> So AWS like basically every other major software vendor uh works with third parties. They're called channel partners

parties. They're called channel partners and they range from from software providers to consultants to systems integrators. And the role of these

integrators. And the role of these partners is to kind of serve as extensions of the salesforce of AWS and the other companies. And so they sort of they get on board with the latest

product strategies. They tell customers

product strategies. They tell customers about this new thing that's coming that you're going to want to buy. And so AWS has a whole corresponding army of employees who work with these channel

partners. And it's in that function that

partners. And it's in that function that AWS has started to build agents that automate some of the work of these staff.

>> Channel partners. So these are people that help to sell, help to distribute, help to sort of customize the software so that it works with the end customer.

Is that the idea?

>> All of the above really. They they help customers kind of move along the path from beginning to use cloud services and AI uh to using more sophisticated forms

of those products. Uh but really the main role that these partners play in a lot of cases is just um sales and and AWS has a whole like I said team of uh sales people that work with the

partners. Now one thing that's important

partners. Now one thing that's important to note is sort of confusing but in a lot of cases AWS partners aren't customers. They are just large customers

customers. They are just large customers that have more than just a transactional relationship. They they work with a AWS

relationship. They they work with a AWS sometimes um jointly sharing technology and and developing things together. So I

just wanted to clarify that >> and and maybe another point of clarification. I mean this is like these

clarification. I mean this is like these are like the consulting firms that we think of that work with the big tech companies.

>> Sure. Yeah. Some of the most recognizable channel partners are Accenture Deote Capgeemini companies like that.

>> Okay. So what exactly are the agents doing then with respect to their work with these? I mean you know what are the

with these? I mean you know what are the roles or duties I guess that they're being tasked with? So, we've reported the the one uh piece of unreported info

information we had in the story was that um AWS is working on an agent and the agent will allow AWS salespeople in cases where customers have deep

technical questions uh to get answers quickly to those questions using the agent. um that you traditionally has

agent. um that you traditionally has been handled that that deep technical uh research role has been handled by what's known as AWS specialists who are just

really they're called domain experts and so they're they go really deep in like one area or a handful of areas like cyber security or or networking or things like that and so the upshot of

this agent is that um AWS says that its specialists will be able to focus on sort of higher level work and strategic work with customers as opposed to having

to go and perform the same uh research to get the same answer like over and over again, >> right? And so I mean a bit higher level

>> right? And so I mean a bit higher level here, I mean is it saving them costs?

You talked a little bit about layoffs that the company has done or headcount reductions. Remind us again which exact

reductions. Remind us again which exact headcount reductions you're referring to there because it's kind of hard to keep track of them. And then you know talk a little bit about how much it's actually saving them in terms of cost if we know

anything. Well, the people we spoke to

anything. Well, the people we spoke to for the story, which were current and former employees, their impression was that a lot of the automation that's happening uh with AWS and AI, uh the the

in the homegrown stuff that it's using internally um is designed to to take on some of the functions of the roles that

were laid off. It's AWS was very strongly speaking in the story saying we're not using AI to replace employees and certainly they're not the only

companies out there trying to to make that clear. Um but the story was all

that clear. Um but the story was all about sort of you can automate parts of roles using AI and the argument that vendors always make is well there's always higher level work and there's

they call it higher in the stack and you know that's certainly true. So I guess one question is um at some point how much more stack is there to move up to?

So that's not something we tackled in the story, but it's definitely a topic that comes up a lot in my conversations in the industry.

>> And when you went to Amazon and and you know suggested your or told them about your reporting, what did they say to you about this link between oh headcount reduction and and agents? I mean what

was their response? Yeah, they said very clearly in the story that we're not using AI to replace jobs. That that was really their stance. And I think like I said, we're not disputing that in any

way. But certainly I think at some level

way. But certainly I think at some level when AWS can use AI to automate parts of ROS, it also showcases AWS's own ability to because a lot of the stuff that it's

developing, it's using its own AI products for. And so I think at some

products for. And so I think at some point, you know, this can be a a big applied AI story that they can tell, showing investors that it's not just about selling AI to customers. It's also

how you use it as a large company to create more efficiencies. And no one's better at finding efficiencies than Amazon.

>> Let me ask you one one question before you go here. you you talk to all these sources um in and around the Amazon ecosystem about these agents and about

these uh changes to headcount. You know,

on one hand uh people at Amazon are designing the agents, they're building the agents, right? This is the company that is getting agents out into the world. And then we have this sort of

world. And then we have this sort of other uh parallel reality where it's like, yeah, maybe agents could do my job. I don't know, you know, and so I

job. I don't know, you know, and so I guess the question I have for you, Kevin, is is there like fear within these companies, uh, the companies that are literally making the agents, are the

employees themselves kind of scared about what what it is they're building in a way?

>> Well, I definitely spoke to some who were in fact scared um, just long-term, what are the implications? Uh, but I don't think they're alone. I think can you know any sort of knowledge work I

mean as we've written about extensively things like AI coding I mean I don't know that anyone can really look at what's happening with AI uh who has any kind of role in a company and say that

their job is completely safe. Now that

said um the higher in the stack uh argument I I think it does hold water.

There's there's definitely a lot of um real busy work, you know, responding to uh sales leads, looking into sales leads like another agent that AWS launched

last week. Um this basically helps its

last week. Um this basically helps its salespeople look at the sales leads that partners get which in many cases don't have a ton of data associated with them.

They're sort of incomplete. Um and so the AWS salesperson could look at that for spend an hour looking and find nothing that's actually worth chasing.

So instead of wasting that hour, the AI can sift through that and tell you, hey, here are the ones we need to prioritize.

>> Great. Well, Kevin, I want to thank you for coming on. That is Kevin McLaclin, our enterprise software reporter here at the information.