Indian businesses are preparing their present and the future to be more resilient at a time when technology, and more specifically, AI, has become second nature of our lives. According to a new survey, Indian businesses and decision-makers are more geared towards using technology and artificial intelligence to automate and augment their processes. Here's how India stands up to the US and UK in terms of using technology in its businesses. Artificial intelligence, or AI, has been one of the core aspects of digital transformation of businesses. From making more informed decisions to improving operational efficiencies, AI has been a net positive for modern businesses.

Second Nature announced an agreement to integrate its AI-powered sales conversation simulations into Corporate Visions sales messaging certification and fluency coaching programs. The first ever AI implementation at scale by a prominent sales training company, the integration will enable Corporate Visions to provide an automated feedback and assessment program that will increase sellers' competency on mission-critical commercial conversations. With the agreement, Second Nature gains a trusted, world-class partner that works with industry-leading B2B companies around the world while Corporate Visions further augments its industry-leading sales skills training, coaching and message certification programs. "It's a perfect partnership," said Second Nature CEO and Co-founder Ariel Hitron. "Corporate Visions helps companies develop new stories and skills to drive strategic initiatives, while Second Nature's immersive simulation platform enables individual reps to practice whenever and wherever they want. With this partnership, companies gain increased confidence to turn strategic initiatives into sales practices that drive results."

Second Nature's sale coaching platform analyzes a simulated client conversation and identifies strengths and weaknesses of a salesperson's pitch. This is the dashboard a trainee sees after completing a simulation. Another assistant just got a significant chunk of money to make her name just as familiar. Jenny is a virtual assistant who specializes in training salespeople. Second Nature, the company that created this conversational robot, announced a $12.5 million round of investment Wednesday, Jan. 11 to build out the conversational artificial intelligence service.

As remote and hybrid work becomes commonplace, companies are investigating ways to train salespeople one-on-one virtually -- typically over video chat platforms like Zoom. Even before the pandemic, 59% of learning and development professionals were spending more of their budget on online training than in-person, according to LinkedIn. But not every department is devoting an equal amount of time to coaching, surveys show -- and this can be to the detriment of sales. A recent RingDNA report found that 45% of salespeople have received less coaching than usual or no coaching since moving to remote work during the pandemic. It's estimated that 75% of sales organizations waste resources due to random and informal coaching, besides, the opportunity costs being substantial.