Information technology services and consulting firm, Cognizant has used an artificial intelligence system (AI) to create about $200 million in new sales pipeline by analysing internal employee conversations.
At a recent AI Forum, the company’s leadership explained that the AI looks at signals from emails, meetings, chats, contracts and other business interactions across sales, delivery, support and other teams with a goal to find sales opportunities or customer issues that may not come up through regular sales channels.
Cognizant reportedly described the approach as “context engineering”. According to the company, this means organising company knowledge and business context so that AI systems can make better decisions. However, it noted that while software engineers earlier wrote code to automate fixed tasks, AI systems now require businesses to structure organisational context.
The platform was reportedly developed with the help of a startup’s system that builds digital versions of customer accounts by combining signals from functions such as sales, delivery, support and finance.
In a demonstration, the AI reportedly noticed that a client was facing pressure to reduce engineering costs and suggested that Cognizant offer a quality assurance optimisation service. The company also said the system can spot project risks early and recommend experts or communication strategies.
Cognizant indicated that the $200 million pipeline could reach $1 billion by the end of 2026. The initiative is part of the company’s broader plan to use AI across operations and client work, with more than 3,40,000 employees already trained in AI.
