Clay Launches Claygent Builder to Democratize AI Agent Development — May 2026
Clay launched Claygent Builder, a no-code AI agent development tool, aiming to democratize AI agent creation for GTM teams. This move allows users to construct, test, and version-control AI agents using natural language, removing technical and cost barriers. Clay is attempting to scale its 'GTM Engineering' category by providing this tool for free on all tiers.
Key Findings
- Clay launched Claygent Builder — Democratizing AI agent development for GTM teams.
Source: Clay · clay.com · , Clay · linkedin.com · , Clay · linkedin.com ·
Clay— Clay Launches Claygent Builder to Democratize AI Agent Development for GTM Teams“Claygent Builder: The easiest way to build, test, and deploy GTM Agents”
- 140M monthly runs
directly extracted from source — no arithmetic
Baseline: directly stated in source
Confidence: inferred
Clay— Clay Formalizes GTM Engineering Category via Specialized Training and Recruitment- 50
directly extracted from source — no arithmetic
Baseline: directly stated in source
Confidence: verified
Clay— Clay Announces Flagship SCULPT 2026 Festival in San Francisco - Artisan published enterprise case studies — Quantifying ROI benchmarks for their AI SDR.
Source: Artisan · linkedin.com · , Artisan · linkedin.com · , Artisan · artisan.co ·
Artisan— Artisan Launches Ava 2.0 Targeting Five GTM Incumbents with $250/Month Entry Price- 89% lower
(2333.33 - 250) / 2333.33 = 89.2%
Baseline: Previous monthly estimate of $2,333.33 ($28,000/annual)
Confidence: inferred
Artisan— Artisan Participates in Y Combinator 'Future of Sales' Event with LinkedIn LeadershipArtisan— Enterprise Case Studies Quantify ROI Benchmarks for Artisan AI SDR“See how SumUp uses Artisan's AI BDR Ava to send 400,000+ personalized emails to local SMBs and generate 8 to 15 positive responses weekly at $52 per lead.”
“See how CookUnity used Artisan's AI BDR Ava to send 100,000+ personalized outbound emails at $45 per lead and save reps a full day of research weekly.”
- $52 per lead
directly extracted from source — no arithmetic
Baseline: directly stated in source
Confidence: inferred
- $45 per lead
directly extracted from source — no arithmetic
Baseline: directly stated in source
Confidence: inferred
- Apollo.io launched a ChatGPT application — Embedding GTM intelligence in AI conversations.
Source: Apollo.io · instagram.com · , Apollo.io · linkedin.com · , Apollo.io · instagram.com ·
Apollo.io— Apollo.io Deploys Claude AI Connector via MCP to Orchestrate Outbound within LLM Interface“You can now search 230M+ contacts, pull verified emails, and drop prospects into a sequence, all from one @claudeai chat in plain English.”
- 230M+
directly extracted from source — no arithmetic
Baseline: directly stated in source
Confidence: inferred
Apollo.io— Apollo.io Launches ChatGPT Application to Embed GTM Intelligence in AI ConversationsApollo.io— Apollo.io Integrates with HubSpot Breeze Prospecting Agent for Unified GTM Workflows - Salesloft deployed "Sally" AI Concierge — Orchestrating contextual intent across GTM workflows.
Source: Salesloft · linkedin.com · , Salesloft · linkedin.com · , Salesloft · marketplace.salesloft.com ·
Salesloft— Salesloft Deploys "Sally" AI Concierge to Orchestrate Contextual Intent Across GTM WorkflowsSalesloft— Salesloft Executive Commentary on GTM System Efficiency Achieves Viral LinkedIn Engagement- 11x account average
0.55 / 0.05 = 11.0
Baseline: Rolling 4-week average engagement rate: 0.05%
Confidence: inferred
Salesloft— Salesloft Scales Partner Marketplace to 280 Integrations to Support Rhythm AI Orchestration“1 - 15 of 280”
- 280
directly extracted from source — no arithmetic
Baseline: directly stated in source
Confidence: verified
- Instantly launched 'SuperSearch Signals' — Surfacing real-time B2B buying intent.
Source: Instantly · instagram.com · , Instantly · linkedin.com · , Instantly · linkedin.com ·
Instantly— Instantly Launches 'SuperSearch Signals' to Surface Real-Time B2B Buying IntentInstantly— Instantly Concludes "Free Sending Domains" Promotion to Drive New User ActivationInstantly— Instantly Launches 'Instantly Academy' with 10 Free Outreach and AI Orchestration Courses - ZoomInfo reviews document customer migration from RocketReach and Apollo.io — Highlighting superior contact accuracy and filtering capabilities.
Source: ZoomInfo · g2.com · , Apollo.io · g2.com · , Apollo.io · g2.com ·
ZoomInfo— ZoomInfo Reviews Document Customer Migration from RocketReach and Apollo.io“RocketReach was simply horrible. It didn't have any helpful info- no cellphones, wrong email addresses... Apollo had pretty basic information. Most of it incorrect, not accurate.”
Apollo.io— Users Document Direct Displacement of ZoomInfo for All-in-One Workflow and 60% Efficiency Gains“I reduced my manual research time by 60%, which allowed me to build a $2M+ qualified pipeline”
- 60%
directly extracted from source — no arithmetic
Baseline: directly stated in source
Confidence: inferred
Apollo.io— Users Identify Lead Export Bottlenecks and Tech-Stack Data Inaccuracy in Apollo.io- 70% accurate
Direct claim: 70% accurate / 30% mixed data for tech filters
Baseline: G2 User Review ID 11752301
Confidence: inferred
- 25 people
N/A - Direct extraction
Baseline: G2 User Review ID 12576464
Confidence: inferred
- Seamless.AI offers a native MCP Server — Connecting sales intelligence to AI models.
Source: Seamless.AI · seamless.ai · , Seamless.AI · seamless.ai · , Seamless.AI · seamless.ai ·
Seamless.AI— Seamless.AI Offers Native MCP Server for Connecting Sales Intelligence to AI Models“Native MCP Server Makes Seamless AI Integration Possible... Seamless MCP connects existing AI-powered workflows with the sales intelligence that teams need”
Seamless.AI— Seamless.AI Maintains Three-Tier Pricing Model with Unlimited Exports for Paid Plans“Free... Pro... Enterprise”
- 50
directly extracted from source — no arithmetic
Baseline: directly stated in source
Confidence: verified
Seamless.AI— Seamless.AI Conducts High-Level Marketing Recruitment for Demand Generation and Search“Product Marketer - Remote US... Senior Director of Demand Generation - Remote US... Sr. Paid Search Manager”
- 3
Count of: Product Marketer, Senior Director of Demand Generation, Sr. Paid Search Manager
Baseline: Roles listed under Marketing category on careers page
Confidence: verified
What sales intelligence platforms shipped in May 2026
Apollo.io launched a ChatGPT application to embed GTM intelligence in AI conversations, enabling users to execute lead generation workflows directly within ChatGPT. Clay launched Claygent Builder to democratize AI agent development for GTM teams, allowing users to construct AI agents using natural language. Instantly launched 'SuperSearch Signals' to surface real-time B2B buying intent, transforming from an outreach tool to a sales intelligence provider. Salesloft deployed "Sally" AI Concierge to orchestrate contextual intent across GTM workflows, moving beyond simple chat to interpret buyer intent. Seamless.AI offers a native MCP Server for connecting sales intelligence to AI models, enabling AI agents to access real-time B2B data. 11x released updated performance benchmarks for its 'Alice' SDR agent, highlighting conversion data. Amplemarket pivoted to "Sales Orchestration" via a visual no-code automation engine.
Outreach solidified its Salesforce alliance as an initial AgentExchange partner, embedding AI Agents directly into Salesforce workflows.
Customer gap analysis: Where are sales intelligence platforms failing?
Salesloft users report switching from Outreach and HubSpot for workflow intuition, citing Salesloft's 'rhythm' as a primary reason for migrating. However, user sentiment identifies critical forecasting and call recording gaps in Salesloft relative to Gong, highlighting a performance gap in consolidation attempts. Outreach is successfully displacing specialized dialers like Orum by offering superior AI-driven connect rates, though users still flag a lack of parallel dialing as a competitive gap.
ZoomInfo reviews document customer migration from RocketReach and Apollo.io, with users citing superior contact accuracy (specifically mobile numbers) and more robust filtering capabilities as primary drivers. Artisan's enterprise case studies quantify ROI benchmarks for their AI SDR, illustrating a repeatable model for achieving a ~$50 cost-per-lead at scale. Amplemarket published case studies validating high-velocity pipeline generation for enterprise accounts, demonstrating the platform's ability to drive high volumes of qualified opportunities.
Why companies are switching from RocketReach and Apollo.io to ZoomInfo
ZoomInfo reviews document customer migration from RocketReach and Apollo.io, with users citing superior contact accuracy (specifically mobile numbers) and more robust filtering capabilities as primary drivers. Recent feedback identifies a pattern of displacement where users are moving from RocketReach and Apollo.io. The primary drivers for switching are reported as superior contact accuracy and more robust filtering capabilities.
Salesloft users report switching from Outreach and HubSpot for workflow intuition, citing Salesloft's 'rhythm' as a primary reason for migrating. One enterprise user noted a forced switch from Outreach due to private equity shifts.
How sales intelligence platforms build vs differentiate
Clay launched Claygent Builder to democratize AI agent development for GTM teams, allowing users to construct AI agents using natural language. This move aims to scale its 'GTM Engineering' category by removing technical and cost barriers. Seamless.AI offers a native MCP Server for connecting sales intelligence to AI models, enabling AI agents to access real-time B2B data. Apollo.io launched a ChatGPT application to embed GTM intelligence in AI conversations, reducing context-switching by moving GTM execution into the tools where users are already brainstorming.
Salesloft deployed "Sally" AI Concierge to orchestrate contextual intent across GTM workflows, moving beyond simple chat to interpret buyer intent. Artisan's enterprise case studies quantify ROI benchmarks for their AI SDR, illustrating a repeatable model for achieving a ~$50 cost-per-lead at scale. Amplemarket pivoted to "Sales Orchestration" via a visual no-code automation engine, allowing teams to build branched logic based on CRM signals. Cognism and Lusha exhibited limited public activity during this period.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are companies switching from RocketReach and Apollo.io according to ZoomInfo?
How does Apollo.io's ChatGPT application compare to Salesloft's "Sally" AI Concierge?
What new AI features did sales intelligence platforms launch in May 2026?
What pricing updates did Apollo.io and Amplemarket make in May 2026?
What enterprise ROI benchmarks are Artisan AI SDR customers reporting?
Methodology & Sources
IndustryLens reports are generated from live, multi-source competitive monitoring. Every figure below references the data and coverage that produced this analysis — disclosed for full reader and AI auditability.
Competitors Monitored
This report monitors the competitive activities of 11x, Amplemarket, Apollo.io, Artisan, Clay, Cognism, Instantly, Lusha, Outreach, Salesloft, Seamless.AI, and ZoomInfo.
Insights Analyzed
This report analyzes 33 approved insights related to the competitive landscape.
Coverage Period
The data analyzed covers the period from May 1, 2026, to May 25, 2026.
Data Sources
The data sources used for this report include Google Ads, Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads, LinkedIn Posts, Instagram, YouTube, G2/Capterra reviews, Google News, and website monitoring.
Coverage Gaps
Cognism and Lusha had limited data available during the coverage period, resulting in fewer insights for these competitors.
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