AI Didn’t Make Prospecting Easier. It Made Trust Impossible.
I’m halfway through compiling my annual State of Sales report.
And I keep staring at one pattern that nobody saw coming.
AI didn’t make prospecting easier. It made it exponentially harder.
Here’s why.
Remember When AI Was Going to Save Us?
Late 2022. ChatGPT drops. Everyone loses their minds.
Finally! AI will handle the grunt work! Email personalization at scale! LinkedIn outreach that sounds human! Lead research in seconds!
Anyone can create content!
I remember thinking: “This changes everything.”
It did. Just not the way we expected.
What Actually Happened
AI got so good at generating content that it broke the one thing prospecting needs to work:
Trust.
Think about what happened in just 24 months.
You read a Google review? Could be a bot.
That glowing LinkedIn recommendation? AI wrote it in 30 seconds.
The “personalized” cold email that noticed you posted about something? Obviously templated. We can all spot it now.
The case study you’re reading? Could be completely fabricated. AI can generate data, quotes, everything.
Those five-star reviews? Bought and AI-generated.
That voice on the phone? Might be cloned.
The video testimonial? Deepfake technology is terrifyingly good.
Here’s the problem: When everything can be AI-generated, nothing can be trusted.
And You’re Paying for It
Even if you’re not using AI.
Even if you’re writing every email yourself. Researching every prospect manually. Being genuinely thoughtful.
Doesn’t matter.
You’re guilty until proven innocent.
Because your prospects have been burned too many times. They can’t tell the difference anymore. The cost of being wrong is too high.
So they assume everything is fake. Including your legitimate outreach.
You write a thoughtful email? AI spam.
You send a LinkedIn message? Automation. Delete.
You share a case study? They wonder if it’s real.
You’re fighting a battle you didn’t start, against a problem you didn’t create, with tactics that worked perfectly well two years ago.
Welcome to the trust collapse.
The Number That Explains Everything
Here’s the stat from this year’s data that stopped me cold:
92% of buyers now start by asking peers, colleagues, and friends for recommendations.
Unchanged from last year.
Read that again.
We’re living in the age of AI. You can Google anything. ChatGPT can analyze your options in seconds. Information is infinite.
And peer recommendations are climbing.
Not despite AI.
Because of AI.
When you can’t trust what you Google, can’t trust the reviews, can’t trust the outreach, can’t trust the content… there’s only one move left:
Ask someone you already trust.
“Phoning a friend” isn’t nostalgic. It’s survival.
It’s the last trust anchor in a world where everything else can be manufactured.
Why Everything Feels Harder
You know how prospecting feels different now? Harder? Like you’re pushing a boulder uphill?
This is why.
You’re not competing with other professionals anymore. You’re competing with the trust collapse AI created.
Every tactic that used to work is now assumed to be automated:
Cold email? AI spam.
LinkedIn outreach? Bot.
Personalized message? Obviously templated.
Follow-up sequence? Automated.
Content? Probably AI.
Even when you’re doing everything right—writing it yourself, being thoughtful, adding real value—prospects assume you’re not.
You’re fighting an uphill battle you can’t win with traditional prospecting.
Here’s What Actually Works Now
I’m tracking hundreds of data points for my 2026 State of Sales report that informs my strategy for the upcoming year.
And one pattern is crystal clear:
The only thing cutting through the noise is someone the prospect already trusts saying: “Work with this person.”
Not giving them your name and number.
Not a casual “you should connect with them.”
Actually staking their reputation. Transferring their trust. Making the introduction with their credibility on the line.
When they vouch for you, you inherit their trust. The prospect shows up pre-sold.
That’s not better than cold outreach. It’s the only thing that works when trust has collapsed.
But here’s what most professionals are still doing:
Asking for referrals (getting names without trust transfer).
Networking at scale (collecting contacts, not building influence).
Trying to “personalize” outreach better (still screams automation).
Creating more content (drowning in AI-generated noise).
All of it fighting against a current that gets stronger every month.
Meanwhile, the professionals who are winning right now?
They’re building strategic partnerships where trust transfer happens naturally. Where introductions arrive pre-sold. Where prospects show up already believing.
It’s slower. More deliberate. Requires actual relationship work.
But it’s the only thing that works when nothing else can be trusted.
What’s Coming
This AI trust crisis? It’s one piece of a bigger puzzle.
The full State of Sales 2026 report drops in two weeks.
Seven years of data I’ve been following. What changed. What never changes. What failed this year. What’s still working. What you need to do differently in 2026.
It’s the most comprehensive analysis of what’s actually working in prospecting and business development right now.
Do This Now
Stop fighting the trust collapse with more outreach, better AI tools, or scaled automation.
Start building the partnerships that generate trust-backed introductions.
That’s what we’re doing at Speed Networking December 4th at 11:30 – 12:30 CST.
Not random networking. Strategic partner identification.
We’re helping you find the 5-10 people who should be in your referral ecosystem. The ones whose trust actually transfers when they introduce you.
[Register for Speed Networking →]
The Bottom Line
AI broke trust.
92% of buyers responded by asking people they already trust for recommendations.
If you’re still cold prospecting, you’re swimming against a riptide.
The professionals who thrive in 2026 won’t have the best AI tools or the biggest networks.
They’ll have influence partnerships that transfer trust before the conversation starts.
That’s what works now. That’s what the data shows.
Full State of Sales 2026: Two weeks.
Strategic partnerships: Start building now.
