에피소드 103: Transforming Buyer Seller Engagement with Alon Rosenberg from Knock AI

Nobody looks at it from how it's happening from the outside and now I'm utilizing messaging apps in a more human way to do it with full transparency.

Hi, my name is Demetri Panici and I'm a content creator, agency owner, and AI enthusiast. You're listening to the AI Agents podcast brought to you by Jform and featuring our very own CEO and founder Aytekin Tank. This is the show where artificial intelligence meets innovation, productivity, and the tools shaping the future of work. Enjoy the show.

Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of the AI Agents podcast. We're really excited today to be introducing a cool product and we're here with the co-founder and CEO Alan from Knock AI. How are you doing, Alan?

I am doing great. How are you?

I'm doing awesome. Thank you so much for spending the time today. Just want to kind of learn a little bit more about you and your background. Obviously, Knock is a really cool tool and I actually really like the tagline on the website. I do agree that my traffic deserves more than forms and delayed responses. But just to put it in as succinct words as possible, what exactly does Knock do and how did you get into AI in the first place?

That's a fair question. On a very high level, what Knock does is help remove friction from pipeline creation. The goal is how do we help if a pipeline needs to be created, leads coming in, get them as fast as possible into the pipeline if they are a fit and get them deeper into the funnel with the capabilities of Knock. How did I get into AI? It's related to understanding and seeing the power of it. When ChatGPT came out, everyone started using it and engaging through it. Two things stood out: the immediacy of response which changed buyer behavior, and the question of what's next—how to utilize AI beyond answering questions to help in backend workflows, activity, and identifying different things. That's much more exciting than just a pure answer question type of thing.

Who mainly uses your product? What roles and types of companies?

We are targeting B2B, mainly companies with around 80 to 100 employees and above, focusing on building pipeline, qualifying better, and driving engagement better. The roles are mostly marketers, VP growth, demand, and revenue marketing aspects. What we're replacing are traditional solutions running on websites like form builders, chat widgets, and scheduling tools that focus only on improving conversion from the website. We want to replace all of them by enabling brands and B2B companies to drive engagement from anywhere, not just the site itself.

What are the main issues go-to-market people are having right now?

We see three main challenges: one, many brands engage with marketing assets like websites and posts but don't take the next step to reach out; two, even if they fill out forms, 30 to 40% are not quality and waste salespeople's time; three, even relevant leads drop off between booking demos and becoming true opportunities, leading to high no-show rates or people not progressing in the funnel.

What primary tools do you help augment or work through?

We utilize messaging apps as a true way to engage over B2B. Leads pick the messaging app they are most convenient with, like Slack, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Telegram, or iMessage, rather than filling out forms or talking to website chatbots. On top of that, there's AI and many layers built, but messaging apps are the core.

What is the most common tool people use now for SDR work in go-to-market through messaging platforms?

Email is still used but open rates are low and spam is identified, so it doesn't work well. LinkedIn messaging is increasing but will get saturated like email because people abuse it. That's why we offer all options so buyers can pick whatever works for them rather than being forced into email or LinkedIn messages. We see a good mix of Slack, WhatsApp, and other messaging apps depending on the buyer's background and role.

How does WhatsApp work in this context, especially since texting is off-limits in many countries?

In Asia and Latin America, WhatsApp is the main core. People prefer it because of the asynchronous nature of messaging. Adding AI that can engage and identify who you are makes WhatsApp a powerful tool. You open the app, start chatting, whether for referring a friend or B2B business—same idea and approach.

How does your tool help with outreach and responses?

We enable leads to pick the messaging app they want and start chatting. We identify who they are with AI, understand their intent, provide answers, route them, and let AI or humans handle them. The tool supports all flavors: AI-only chat, AI passing hot leads to humans. It operates omni-channel, so salespeople get all messages in Slack and don't need to monitor multiple channels, making it easier and more direct.

What feedback have you heard from SDRs as you've grown the product? How long has the product been around?

The company has been around for a year and a half. SDR leaders worry their teams will focus only on chat and neglect other tasks, but SDRs love communicating over messaging apps like Slack. They compete to answer qualified leads first, and customers report that 87% of chats are qualified leads, which energizes salespeople.

Email is inconvenient and cold email struggles with open rates. Many go-to-market tools optimize existing channels like phone and email, but those channels don't deliver. Knock changes the approach by focusing on messaging apps as the natural human way to engage, leveraging AI to enhance communication rather than just optimize old methods.

How does Knock differ from other products on the market?

Most AI chat solutions run on websites requiring users to stay on the site and fill forms or book demos. Knock moves engagement to the environment users control—the messaging app they pick. Engagement can start anywhere like LinkedIn posts or YouTube and continues synchronously beyond booking demos, widening and deepening the funnel rather than just driving demo bookings.

How does the product utilize AI to analyze conversations?

AI collects data on where leads came from, their activity on websites and marketing assets, and questions asked. It identifies intent and routes leads appropriately—support questions get support answers, buying intent leads to demos or free sign-ups. AI acts as a co-pilot, collecting signals and pushing leads down the right path rather than just answering questions.

Does it do contextual research on products beyond the conversation?

Yes, it enriches data beyond basics like company size, looking at tech stack, team size, and other elements to qualify leads accurately based on multiple signals collected during chat and external data.

Where do people go wrong with enrichment processes?

Enrichment is often all or nothing, collecting many irrelevant fields. The right approach is to identify the relevant data for each case to make timely decisions. AI helps by selecting the right data set and signals in real time to guide next steps rather than dumping data that doesn't help decision-making.

What are your thoughts on Clay as a product?

We use Clay and love it. It's amazing how a not easy solution has gained traction and loyal users. Its strength is consuming many data sources and orchestrating outputs effectively. Many CRM tools try to compete, but Clay's ability to integrate diverse inputs and orchestrate them is a superpower.

Are you trying to make it simpler than Clay for users?

We don't see ourselves competing with Clay but aim to make things simpler for marketers and marketing operations who aren't developers. We help them utilize AI and data to get pipeline rolling and push insights into Clay for advanced use cases like ABM list building and ICP definition.

What is your favorite feature of the product?

Two features stand out: first, scheduling combined with engagement. Booking a meeting often leads to no-shows because people forget details. We drive engagement before meetings by sending LinkedIn connections, Slack messages, agendas, and reminders, reducing no-show rates to almost zero. Second, qualification capability uses backend data to answer qualification questions automatically, allowing deeper solution discussions rather than checkbox discovery calls.

How have competitors attempted similar solutions and what are their pitfalls?

We haven't seen anyone utilize messaging apps like we do. Many AI chats run on websites asking questions but don't use messaging apps in a human way. We believe the power lies in established customer identities and engagement through messaging apps, and we'd welcome competitors to help educate the market on AI and messaging app value rather than fighting alone.

What other cool products in the go-to-market AI space do you like?

On a personal level, I like webmail solutions like Shortwave that use AI to save time by searching emails, building templates, and prioritizing. Text-to-voice and voice-to-text tools also save time by correcting and pushing notes. Clay and Claude are top go-to-market tools we use extensively.

How does Claude power your company?

Claude helps orchestrate text like emails and simulates buyer behavior for negotiation prep. For example, I test pricing objections with Claude before calls. It also aids content creation and fixes various tasks, making it invaluable.

Is there SMS functionality in your tool?

We will soon launch iMessage support, adding another messaging channel. Top salespeople say closing deals moves away from email to personal channels like iMessage and texting, making communication more human and relationship-driven.

Are there concerns about messaging people via text without consent?

We don't do outbound messaging. Consent is given when users pick the channel to engage. This respects privacy and compliance.

Why can't you do outbound SMS like email?

There are laws restricting SMS outbound without consent. Email requires unsubscribe options and can incur heavy fines for violations. SMS is more regulated to protect recipients.

SMS reminders improve meeting attendance by making it easier for people to remember meetings, increasing convenience and reducing no-shows.

What was one of the harder things to get the ball rolling when starting the company?

Go-to-market is noisy, especially with many AI companies. Staying focused on the problem and target customer without getting distracted by interesting but irrelevant use cases is challenging.

Where do you think companies like yours will make a tangible impact on the job market?

AI will make jobs more professional rather than eliminate them. For example, SDRs won't just ask checklist questions but will collect data, understand customers, educate them, and add value. AI helps deepen knowledge and trust, making professionals more successful rather than obsolete.

I agree that AI adoption is essential, but agentic AI caused some fear. How do you see cold calling and inbound calls evolving with AI?

I prefer regulation on AI cold calling because I don't want to be fooled into thinking I'm talking to a human when it's AI. However, AI can help if the customer requests calls or wants to engage, speeding up research and communication in preferred channels.

I would be freaked out if told I was talking to AI on calls. It's important to keep human trust intact.

HR uses AI for pre-screening interviews with if-then logic. Do you see that as deterministic?

Recruiting is a sales process with discovery and funnel management until hire or no hire. AI can help but human judgment remains important.

What personal AI tools do you use?

I use AI browsers like Comet and Strawberry to save time researching hotels and other tasks. I'm still evaluating how much time they save versus setup effort.

What should everyone try in your product?

I invite everyone to go to no-ai.com, click on the product, pick a messaging channel, and start engaging. Experiencing it firsthand shows why it's valuable for leads and buyers.

Any final thoughts?

Thanks for the discussion and time. Check out Alan Rosenberg at Knock AI at knify.com. If you liked this episode, hit like, subscribe on YouTube, and leave reviews on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Thanks and see you next time.