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SAP’s AI-Enhanced Discovery

How SAP uses AI for personalized outreach, and how you can too

Author

Logani Bangun
May 08, 2025

One-Minute AI News Brief

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  • Google released Gemini 2.0 Flash’s image generation in preview, now available in AI Studio and Vertex AI, offering faster, higher-quality image creation for developers.

AI Use Case Analysis: SAP’s AI Revolution for Personalized Discovery

Why: The Need for a New Approach

SAP, a market leader in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software, has gradually shifted its business model. What was once a strategy focused on licensing software to big corporations has now moved to cloud-based SaaS subscriptions.

SAP recognized an opportunity to tap into the market of some 40 million small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The problem is, SMEs associate SAP with complex and expensive software geared toward large corporations. SAP’s traditional model of outreach through in-person consultations would be too time-consuming and costly.

SAP needed a new solution for customer discovery. The firm then leveraged generative AI tools to help with prospecting and personalized outreach.

What: The AI Tools and Their Purpose

SAP developed a discovery system that connects to comprehensive databases to rapidly create personalized customer outreach. The list of tools includes:

  • Digital Launchpad: Connects to databases to generate personalized, industry-specific outreach activities.

  • Prospecting Assistant: Uploads and analyzes prospect lists from multiple sources.

  • Sentiment Analysis AI: Identifies each prospect’s communication preferences (preferred channel and style).

  • Campaign Automation Tool: Uses this data to craft and deliver tailored messages (LinkedIn, email, or video with human avatars).

How: The New Workflow

  1. Import prospect lists and business data from multiple sources.

  2. Apply AI to evaluate lead quality and determine communication preferences.

  3. Create personalized outreach campaigns based on industry and individual needs.

  4. Design messages that match each prospect's preferred style and format.

  5. Deliver targeted communications that resonate with each prospect through their preferred channels.

So What: The Takeaways

SAP’s AI-powered system stands out because it automates the process of sending tailored messages to each prospect in the format they prefer. Instead of a team spending hours researching each customer’s business, industry, and preferences, one AI-enhanced salesperson can now deliver highly personalized outreach at scale. This shift not only saves time but also makes each communication more relevant and engaging.

SAP’s own outreach proves the value: businesses using their AI Customer Insights tools have increased deal sizes by 10% to 30%, demonstrating the effectiveness of personalized, AI-driven communication.

Practical Skill Integration: Building Your Personal AI Discovery System

Creating your own AI-powered workflow-whether for customer outreach, job search, or networking-lets you personalize messages and research prospects just like SAP does, but on an individual scale. With AI search tools like Perplexity, you can manually gather insights, analyze preferences, and craft tailored communications.

5-Step Perplexity Prospecting & Outreach Workflow

Step 1: Define Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

Prompt:

“You are an expert business analyst. Help me define my ICP by analyzing the [industry/niche]. For any target market I input, provide: key demographics, company size range, decision-maker roles, top pain points, and technology usage patterns. Format with clear headers and bullet points.”

Step 2: Generate Targeted Prospect List

Prompt:

“Generate a comprehensive list of [business type] located in [location]. For each business, provide: business name, website, LinkedIn profile, key decision-makers, and brief description. Focus on companies that match these criteria: [paste relevant ICP elements]. Format as a bulleted list for easy export.”

Step 3: Research & Enrich Prospect Data (Use Deep Research for best result)

Prompt:

“Research [Company Name] and provide: recent news/developments, social media presence, pain points specific to their industry, company values/mission, and any recent leadership changes. Focus especially on information relevant to [your solution].

Additionally, for each of these three individuals ([Name 1], [Name 2], [Name 3]):

  • Professional background and current role

  • Recent content they've published or shared (articles, posts, comments)

  • Social media activity patterns and platforms they engage with most

  • Speaking engagements, webinars, or industry events they've participated in

  • Personal interests, causes, or achievements they've highlighted publicly

  • Any shared connections or conversation starters that could personalize outreach

  • Communication style and preferences based on their public content

Format with clear sections for the company overview and each individual person, highlighting potential connection points for personalized outreach.”

Step 4: Generate Personalized Outreach Templates (Use Claude 3.7 Thinking for best writing and marketing capabilities)

Prompt:

“You are an expert email copywriter specializing in personalized B2B outreach. Using the detailed company and individual research provided-including recent news, social activity, pain points, values, and communication preferences for [Name 1], [Name 2], and [Name 3]-create concise email templates (max 150 words each).

Each template should include:

  • A personalized opening referencing relevant company or individual insights

  • A clear value proposition tailored to the recipient

  • One specific pain point the recipient is likely facing

  • A brief mention of how your solution addresses that pain point

  • A single, clear call-to-action

  • Tone and format matched to the recipient’s communication style and industry norms

Format each email for easy copy-paste, labeling the intended recipient.”

Step 5: Analyze & Optimize Approach

Prompt:

“Analyze these outreach emails for [target industry]. Identify potential improvement areas focusing on: personalization depth, clarity of value proposition, emotional appeal, conversational tone, and call-to-action strength. Then suggest specific edits to increase response rates based on B2B outreach best practices.”