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EVERY business owner I’ve spoken to LOVES the idea of AI supercharging their sales funnels.
And who can blame them?
These days you’ve got AI tools to:
- Write great copy
- Automate lead generation
- Speak to your customers
We’ve even implemented them in our latest sales funnels ourselves!
But here’s the thing:
If you don’t know how to use these tools, you might be botching up your sales funnel.
Here’s 3 mistakes businesses make when implementing AI in their sales funnels (and how you can avoid them):
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Mistake #1: Publishing Raw AI Copy Without Human Review
Picture this: You ask ChatGPT to write you a killer Facebook ad. It spits out something that looks decent at first glance. You’re busy, so you copy-paste it directly into your ad manager and hit publish.
Hours later, your phone blows up with angry messages from potential customers:
“Your ad promised a buy-one-get-one-free offer. Where’s my free product?”
The problem? Your actual offer had no such thing.
The AI just… made it up.
This scenario isn’t hypothetical – I’ve seen it happen to real businesses, and it’s painful to watch.
While AI has transformed how we approach marketing funnels, it’s not perfect. Current AI models have a nasty habit of “hallucinating” – confidently stating things that simply aren’t true.
The Solution: Always, ALWAYS have a human review AI-generated content before publishing. Think of AI as your first-draft writer, not your final editor. It can give you a solid foundation, but you need human eyes to catch fabricated features, pricing errors, or claims that could land you in hot water.
Mistake #2: Ignoring Compliance Issues in AI-Generated Ads
Facebook’s ad team doesn’t care that AI wrote your ad.
They WILL care if the ad breaks their rules. They might even shut down your account.
I’ve had clients come to me in panic mode after their ad accounts got suspended – or worse, permanently banned – because their AI-generated content kept violating platform guidelines.
The thing is, most AI tools don’t automatically know what’s allowed on each advertising platform. They don’t understand that Facebook has different rules than Google, which has different rules than TikTok, and so on.
When you use AI to generate ads without proper guidance on compliance, you’re essentially playing Russian roulette with your marketing channels.
Don’t do this.
The Solution: Create platform-specific prompts for your AI that include compliance requirements. For example, when asking ChatGPT to write Facebook ads, include something like: “Make sure the ad complies with Facebook’s policies – no before/after claims, no unrealistic results, no direct addressing of personal attributes.”
You might need to do your own research to stay abreast of the latest guidelines – just make sure to feed that new info to your AI bot as well so it knows how to avoid creating any compliance issues.
Check out our guide on how to attract high-value clients using AI-generated leads without triggering compliance flags.
Mistake #3: Deploying Chatbots That Sound Like, Well, Bots
Ever messaged a business hoping to get some 1-on-1 consulting…
…only to get hit with this line?
“Hello, valued customer! How may I assist you in your purchasing journey today?”
Ugh.
Nobody wants to talk to a robot that sounds like it’s reading from a 1990s customer service manual. Yet businesses keep deploying these soul-crushingly generic AI assistants and wondering why conversion rates aren’t improving.
In today’s world, authenticity is currency.
When your chatbot sounds like everyone else’s chatbot, you’re missing a massive opportunity to connect with your audience in a meaningful way.
The Solution: Train your AI chatbots to speak in your brand voice. Feed them examples of your company’s communication style, common phrases you use, and even jokes you might tell. The goal is to make the chatbot sound like a real person from your team, not a generic assistant.
At Radical Marketing, we’ve been developing chatbots that are virtually indistinguishable from human conversations. The results have been astounding for both cold and warm lead generation. If you want to see how we’re using AI to create lead generation systems that actually drive sales, check out our recent case studies.
Mistake #4: Zero Training for Teams Who Use AI
Two-thirds of marketers – 67% to be exact – say lack of training is the primary barrier to AI adoption.
I see this all the time. A coach buys some fancy AI tool, gives their team access, and then wonders why nothing changes.
New technology requires new workflows. New processes. Your team needs to understand not just how to use the tool, but when and why to use it.
The Solution: Create simple standard operating procedures. Run training sessions. Start small with one use case everyone can master before expanding.
Mistake #5: Ignoring Brand Voice
53% of buyers prefer brands with messaging services only when the tone feels authentic.
I’ve seen coaches implement AI chatbots or email systems that sound nothing like them. The result? A jarring experience that breaks trust with potential clients.
Your brand voice took years to develop. Don’t throw it away for convenience.
The Solution: Create detailed brand voice guidelines for your AI tools. Include examples of how you speak, phrases you use, and your overall tone. Then test the outputs to make sure they sound like you.
BONUS #Mistake: Automating Away the Human Connection
Here’s a bonus mistake that’s worth addressing: going too far with automation.
Yes, AI is powerful.
Yes, it can save you time and money.
But when everyone and their grandmother is using the same AI tools, generating the same kind of content, with the same images and the same messaging…
Well, you just become part of the noise.
The most successful businesses use AI strategically – automating the repetitive, low-impact tasks while preserving human touchpoints where they matter most.
The Solution: Use AI to enhance human connection, not replace it. Let AI handle the initial outreach, data analysis, and basic inquiries. Save your human bandwidth for personalized strategy calls, relationship building, and the kind of authentic interactions that build trust and loyalty.
For a deeper dive into balanced automation, see our guide on how to use AI to uncover your customers’ deepest motivations without losing the human touch.
The Path Forward: Strategic AI Implementation
So, where does this leave us? Should we abandon AI in our sales funnels altogether?
Absolutely not.
When implemented correctly, AI can transform your marketing efforts. The key word here is “correctly.”
Here’s your action plan:
- Never publish raw AI content without human review
- Create platform-specific prompts that address compliance concerns
- Train your chatbots to sound like humans, not generic robots
- And while you’re at it, train your team how to use AI too!
- Don’t forget to implement your brand voice in your AI tools
- Use AI to enhance human connection, not replace it
If you’re running webinars or online events, we’ve put together a comprehensive guide on how to promote webinars with AI in 2025 that walks you through ethically using AI to fill your events without wasting ad spend.
And if you’re looking to maximize your webinar attendance specifically, our webinar advertising playbook will show you how to pack your events in 2025.
This podcast is hosted by Terence Tam, author of Lead Surge: 8 Radically Effective Marketing Funnels for Coaches and Experts. He is also the Founder of Radical Marketing, a digital marketing agency that partners with high-ticket coaches to scale their businesses with Webinars – by using a proprietary blend of story ads and battled-tested sales funnels to achieve better returns on ad dollars.
