7 Security Criteria for GenAI Sales Enablement Platforms
Generative AI (genAI) is transforming sales enablement platforms. Using the technology, these powerful platforms automate processes, increase productivity, get sales reps up to speed faster, and help create personalized buying experiences. Top features include:
GenAI Search: Lets sellers quickly find answers from peers and subject matter experts based on content within the platform.
GenAI Assessment Generator: Saves trainers time by creating assessments for sellers, allowing trainers to focus on high-impact, most relevant training information when creating assessments.
GenAI Dialog Simulator: Sales reps engage in realistic virtual role-plays to practice objection handling, value proposition delivery, and closing techniques.
GenAI Call Summarization: Provides feedback on sales call summaries, ensuring accuracy and areas for improvement.
GenAI Transcript Translation: Allows sales leaders to extract actionable insights from translated transcripts to inform regional sales strategies.
And that’s just the beginning. As the technology matures, enablement platforms will gain more features to help sales teams improve processes, engage effectively with prospects and customers, and increase conversion rates, ultimately driving revenue growth.
But with great power comes great responsibility. And sales and enablement leaders must ensure the genAI tools they implement are secure and don’t put their organizations at risk. Responsible organizations already consider the risk factor, but now with the passage of the EU Artificial Intelligence Act, new emphasis has been placed on AI technology to ensure it is used responsibly and in a fair manner by any organization or government in the EU, regardless of where the systems are developed or deployed. That means that even businesses outside the EU must follow the Act’s rules if they want to operate in Europe.
To help you understand the risks related to AI-enhanced enablement tools, I’ve outlined the top security concerns linked with the technology, as well as the six must-have security criteria the platform should meet.
6 Top Security Concerns with AI-Enhanced Sales Enablement Platforms
Sales enablement platforms now lean on genAI to enhance efficiency and personalize experiences. Securing AI deployment involves addressing fundamental issues like data privacy alongside nuanced challenges such as ensuring fairness in AI. Here’s a closer look at each critical area:
Data Privacy and Compliance: The true sign of a trustworthy AI-enhanced platform is its approach to data privacy and compliance. With regulations like GDPR, CCPA, and the recent EU AI Act, the unifying mandate is to protect sensitive customer data at all costs. GenAI technologies, with their deep dives into user data, underscore the critical need for ironclad privacy policies and state-of-the-art data encryption measures. As these technologies parse through and store user data, it’s imperative they get the job done without compromising its integrity and confidentiality.
AI Bias and Fairness: Bias in generative AI models is a significant threat to the fairness of automated decisions. This bias can subtly or significantly skew generative outcomes and when that happens, trust in AI’s decision-making capabilities breaks down. Addressing this challenge demands vigilant algorithm auditing and a dedication to diversifying training datasets in all areas. Enablement managers must actively, not passively, engage in this process to ensure their AI tools prioritize fairness and impartiality.
Cybersecurity Risks: Even the most advanced AI-enhanced platforms are not immune to the threats of phishing, malware, and data breaches. These digital dangers pose serious risks to the integrity and security of sales operations. Designing a defensive system should include the latest in cybersecurity technology, but you can’t neglect the role of your employees. Creating a company-wide culture of security and compliance awareness and preparedness among all employees can include strategies such as comprehensive training, adopting multi-factor authentication, and conducting regular security audits. When implemented properly, they become the pillars of a secure AI-enabled revenue enablement platform.
Intellectual Property Protection: With the proliferation of content creation tools powered by generative AI, the threat of intellectual property theft is a pressing concern. Unauthorized use or reproduction of proprietary content breaches legal rights and undermines brand integrity and value. To safeguard these assets, stringent measures such as digital watermarking, rigorous access controls, and enforceable legal agreements are essential. These steps ensure that creativity and innovation remain securely protected within the organization and its competitive edge and reputation are shielded.
Vendor Security and Trustworthiness: When selecting a vendor that uses genAI in its product, always prioritize security and trustworthiness. Vetting potential vendors for their security certifications, reputation in the market, and feedback from existing customers provides a lens through which you can assess their suitability and reliability. It’s a process that demands diligence but promises peace of mind in knowing that your sales enablement platform is in safe hands. When making big ticket investments, peace of mind can go a long way for your team and stakeholders.
Continuous Monitoring and Compliance: Relying solely on static security protocol doesn’t get the job done today. To ensure the security and compliance of an AI-enhanced sales enablement platform, continuous monitoring of security protocols and strict adherence to industry standards go hand-in-hand. Forming a dedicated cybersecurity task force or working group helps organizations proactively address potential security challenges and stay one step ahead of emerging threats to safeguard their AI initiatives effectively.
7 Must-Have Security Criteria for GenAI Sales Enablement Platforms
Now that you know the risks, you must make sure the enablement platform you select protects against them and doesn’t put your organization, your data, and your customer’s data in danger. Here are the top criteria you must consider as you evaluate genAI-enhanced sales enablement platforms. Use them as a checklist during your vendor evaluations.
- Customer Data and Model Training: A trustworthy platform will ensure that customer inputs are strictly off-limits for training genAI models. This practice prevents any inadvertent sharing of sensitive information and maintains the confidentiality of your data.
- Customer Data Retention: The principle here is simple yet profound: the platform should hold onto customer data only as long as it serves a clear purpose. Once there is no longer a need, the vendor must ensure its secure deletion for privacy.
- Vendor Diversity: Flexibility in architecture speaks volumes about a platform’s resilience and future-readiness. A system that isn’t tied to a single provider for its AI needs can adapt more swiftly to technological advancements and integrate a wider range of AI solutions which enhances its capabilities and overall security.
- Data Separation: Segregating customer data is non-negotiable. Each customer’s data should be an island, inaccessible and invisible to others on the platform. This isolation safeguards against unauthorized access or use, preserving the integrity and confidentiality of each dataset. Features like this are essential for financial services firms and life sciences companies, in particular.
- Mitigation of Copyright Infringement Risk: Ensure the platform incorporates safeguards designed to ensure that outputs generated for a customer are derived from the content provided by that specific customer. Verify that any third-party genAI models provide protection against copyright violations.
- Encryption: Ensure customer data is always encrypted at rest in the platform. And ensure customer data inputs, content, and query data are encrypted in transit to the platform’s third-party genAI vendors.
- Compliance Assessments: Verify the vendor conducts assessments to assure the platform complies with the EU AI Act and performs risk assessments to identify potential biases, discriminatory practices, or safety risks; maintain comprehensive documentation and records related to AI systems. The vendor also should ensure appropriate levels of human oversight and control for AI systems that fall under the scope of the AI Act and provide clear and understandable explanations of AI system outputs?
Safeguarding Sales Enablement: Your GenAI Assurance
Implementing a genAI-enhanced revenue enablement platform unlocks incredible potential in your sales team, but it also demands a true commitment to security and compliance. Trust forms the foundation of all sales relationships, and once it’s compromised by something like a data breach that could have been avoided, rebuilding it is difficult. By choosing vendors that adhere to stringent security standards and regulatory compliance, companies can leverage the transformative power of genAI to enhance every aspect of the sales processes while ensuring data privacy and security above all.
About Jeremy Bender: Jeremy Bender is Director of Technical & Solutions Enablement at Allego. As such, he is an in-house resident expert on the revenue enablement landscape and is responsible for equipping Allego’s go to market teams to provide solutions to our customers.
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