AI-first CRM systems: Learnings from organizations making the switch

CRM systems have come a long way since their inception in the 1990s. What began as digital rolodexes evolved over the decades to accommodate cloud hosting, mobile access, and integrations across an organization’s tech stack. But for many businesses, the core experience of using a CRM system hasn’t kept pace with the evolving expectations of modern customers, or the realities of the people managing those relationships.

Legacy CRM systems often rely heavily on manual data entry. They’re difficult to adapt as businesses grow and are frequently designed more for reporting than for allowing sellers, marketers, and service teams to succeed in real time. While this might have sufficed when field reps had hours between customer visits or when service agents had time to type up detailed call notes, those conditions no longer exist.

Today’s customers do their homework. They research independently, engage across multiple digital channels, and expect seamless, personalized experiences. Meanwhile, customer-facing teams need tools that work in the flow of their day, not ones that add friction. Companies trying to meet these demands with yesterday’s systems are feeling the strain.

With Microsoft Dynamics 365, organizations are embracing a modern, AI-first approach that redefines productivity and customer engagement. Embedded Microsoft Copilot capabilities help sellers and customer service agents work smarter by generating content, surfacing insights, and summarizing customer interactions.

AI agents take this a step further, automating repetitive tasks and allowing teams to focus on what truly matters—building relationships and closing deals. In the near future, legacy CRM systems will become background systems, while AI-powered workflows will take center stage.

Together, copilots and agents can accelerate your business outcomes. For example, imagine a sales rep preparing for a big client meeting. Copilot can pull together a summary of recent customer interactions, generate a tailored pitch based on account details, and suggest case studies that may be relevant to the customer. Meanwhile, an AI agent is working in the background, logging customer inquiries, triggering follow-up tasks, and updating the sales pipeline based on real-time interactions.

Common CRM system challenges, and how an AI-first approach solves them

Microsoft has worked with hundreds of companies navigating CRM system modernization, and while each journey is unique, several pain points come up time and again. Here’s a look at the most common challenges, and how organizations are overcoming them with Dynamics 365.

The challenge: Disparate systems and data silos

Legacy CRM systems often sit apart from the tools employees use every day. Sales leaders have to jump between systems to get a full view of the customer, resulting in time lost, inconsistent data, and disconnected experiences for both employees and customers.

The solution: A unified platform

Dynamics 365 provides a unified platform across sales, marketing, and service. It brings together internal and external data in one place through Microsoft Dataverse and connects with the Microsoft tools people already rely on, like Microsoft Teams, Outlook, and Microsoft Power BI. That means relevant insights are available in the flow of work and updates happen in real time, which can reduce manual effort and improve accuracy.

The challenge: Lack of innovation

Many organizations are trying to retrofit AI into systems that weren’t built for it. As a result, they miss out on the true potential of AI to personalize engagement, suggest next steps, and automate time-consuming work.

The solution: AI integration

Dynamics 365 is built with AI at its core. With embedded Copilot capabilities, sellers can draft emails, generate proposals, and summarize meetings based on real-time customer data. AI agents go even further by handling complete workflows, like qualifying leads or following up on customer inquiries. With tools like Sales Agent, Sales Chat, and Sales Qualification Agent, sales teams can scale their impact and focus on high-value interactions.

The challenge: High total cost of ownership

Legacy CRM systems often require costly add-ons, third-party integrations, and ongoing maintenance. The systems that once seemed quick to deploy become difficult to scale or adapt and drain resources instead of delivering value.

The solution: Business value through consolidation

Dynamics 365 consolidates capabilities on a single platform, reducing redundancy and unlocking efficiencies. Since it uses tools that many companies already use—like Microsoft 365, Microsoft Azure, and Power BI—organizations can get more from their existing investments.

ABN AMRO, one of the largest banks in the Netherlands, embraced Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales and has lowered total cost of ownership for its customer engagement platform by up to 40%.

Real-world results: What an AI-first CRM system looks like in action

Companies that have made the leap to Dynamics 365 are already seeing measurable impact, including shortened sales cycles, improved responsiveness, and greater customer satisfaction.

For instance, Lenovo, a global leader in technology solutions, used Dynamics 365 to build a unified global view of customer activity and power its digital sales transformation.

“We’re seeing the benefit of having one standardized system and a global view to all geographies’ activities. This is the foundation for Lenovo’s sales digital transformation—enabling better connections and an increase in sales productivity and actionable insights.”

Wei Bi, Business Strategy Senior Manager, Lenovo

Lexmark, a global innovator in cloud-supported printing and internet of things (IoT) solutions, migrated from Salesforce to Dynamics 365 to streamline and modernize its sales operations.

“We’ve been on the journey with Microsoft after moving from Salesforce to Dynamics 365 Sales. We’re excited to be one of the first customers to use Sales Qualification Agent and look forward to the ability to scale our sales team with agents and provide an exceptional experience to our customers.”

Kyle Farmer, Vice President, Global Sales and Strategy, Lexmark

Gardens Alive replaced its legacy CRM system with Dynamics 365 Customer Service, integrating voice, chat, and email channels through third-party connectors and unified routing. The result was a more than 7% improvement in customer service delivery.

And the momentum continues. In our Fiscal Year 2025 Third Quarter Earnings, Satya Nadella stated: “When it comes to business applications, Dynamics 365 again took share as companies like Avaya, Brunswick, SoftCat, switched to (Dynamics 365) from legacy providers. Verizon, for example, chose Dynamics 365 Sales to improve the efficiency of its sellers”.

More than a CRM system, Microsoft is a strategic resource in your transformation journey

For CROs and CSOs, the decision to modernize CRM systems is about more than upgrading technology. It’s about unlocking new potential. Companies want more than just a vendor; they’re looking for a strategic partner to help them navigate change, scale intelligently, and lead with data and empathy.

With Dynamics 365, Microsoft brings not only a powerful AI-first platform, but also a global ecosystem of expertise in sales, engineering, and business transformation. The result? A CRM system that’s intuitive, connected, and future-ready, so companies can deliver standout customer experiences and drive sustainable growth. 

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