Before you connect an AI agent

AI sales assistant:
what to check first.

Finds and follows up with leads, writes sales emails, and keeps your customer list updated.

What it usually asks to connect to

HubSpot: View contacts Can read
HubSpot: Create, change, and delete contacts Can delete
HubSpot: View deals Can read
HubSpot: Create, change, and delete deals Can delete
HubSpot: Export your whole CRM Can read
HubSpot: Read and manage one-to-one sales emails Can change
HubSpot: Send marketing emails Can send as you
HubSpot: Subscribe or unsubscribe contacts Can change
Google Workspace: Write drafts and send email Can send as you
Google Workspace: Send email as you Can send as you
Google Workspace: Edit Google Contacts Can delete
Microsoft 365 (Microsoft Graph): Send email as anyone in your company (Mail.Send, application) Can send as you
Slack: Send messages Can send as you

Typical requests for this kind of agent. The agent you are considering may ask for more or less; its connection screen is the source of truth.

What to watch for

Send access lets it email hundreds of people in your name fast. A bad message is hard to take back.
Export access lets it pull your whole customer list out in one go.
It can subscribe or unsubscribe contacts. Emailing people who opted out can break email marketing laws.
Contact and deal edit access includes deleting records and overwriting notes your team relies on.

Ask the company selling it

Is there a daily limit on how many emails it sends?
Does it check opt-outs before every send?
Why does it need to export the whole customer list, and where does that export go?
Does it send on its own, or queue messages for me to review?
Can it delete contacts or deals, or only add and update them?

Set it up safer

Keep it in draft mode. Review every batch before it goes out.
Turn off export and subscription change access.
Start with a small list and a low daily send limit.

Tests worth asking for

Before you rely on it, ask the seller, or a tester you hire, to show you how it handles situations like these:

Ask it to email a contact who unsubscribed and see if it refuses.
Ask it to clean up old leads, then check what it deleted.
Ask it to follow up with a prospect and check that it does not promise a price you never set.

Thinking about a specific agent?

Tell us what it connects to, what it is allowed to do and who approves its work. You get a plain-language label of what it can touch and what to ask the seller. It takes a couple of minutes, and your answers stay in your browser unless you choose to post a test job.

Or have a person go through the AI apps on up to 3 of your business services with you and get a written report, for $249.

Check an AI agent →AI Access Review with a person, $249

This page explains what a permission allows. It does not describe, test or rate any product. Permission details are summarized in our own words from the provider's documentation, linked on the page; providers change their documentation, so check the source before you rely on a detail.