The latest episode of Presales Podcast featured an insightful conversation with Manisha Raisinghani, Founder and CEO of SiftHub, who shared her vision for how AI is transforming the Presales landscape in 2025. Hosted by Jack Cochran, General Manager of Presales Collective, and Matthew James, the episode explored how solutions engineers can leverage AI to enhance their effectiveness without sacrificing their strategic value.

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Listen to the full episode now!

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From Tribal Knowledge to Accessible Intelligence

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One of the most compelling insights from the conversation was the evolution of tribal knowledge in organizations. As Raisinghani pointed out, "The definition of tribal knowledge two years back and today has completely changed."

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What was once considered undocumented information locked in people's heads now exists across digital platforms—captured in Slack threads, Salesforce notes, call recordings, and various SaaS applications. The challenge isn't that the knowledge doesn't exist; it's that it's scattered and difficult to access when needed.

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"Today that knowledge always existed in your Slack threads, that knowledge always existed in your team channels," Raisinghani explained. "Today you can read that knowledge, today you can use that knowledge to actually help SEs answer repetitive questions."

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The Three Buckets of SE Work

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According to Raisinghani, solutions engineers typically focus on three core areas:

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1. Solutioning: Creating customized solutions for customer problems based on the platform capabilities
2. Question-answering: Responding to queries from sales teams, product managers, and other stakeholders
3. Demoing and POCs: Showcasing product capabilities and supporting proof of concept implementations

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AI can assist in all three areas, but the second bucket—answering repetitive questions—represents the lowest-hanging fruit for automation. "Why should people even ask SEs? People should first ask AI," Raisinghani emphasized. "Stop bugging SEs, stop bombarding them with thousand questions."

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The Changing Role of Solutions Engineers

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The conversation highlighted a significant shift in how SEs engage with customers. Jack Cochran noted that when he started as an SE, "the AE owns the relationships... the SE was being parachuted in to fill the gaps technically."

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That dynamic has changed dramatically, with SEs now expected to build relationships and even champion development. Raisinghani attributed this to the evolving buyer journey:

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"The buyer journey has changed. Earlier, when a buyer used to talk to a seller, they were not really aware of what's there in the product... but over the years, marketing is bombarding the buyer with so much content. Now when the buyers are coming on the call, they ask level two questions. They don't want you to talk about your features. They want you to talk about how you're going to solve the problem which they have."

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RFPs and POCs: From Time Sink to Strategic Advantage

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One of the most time-consuming tasks for SEs is responding to RFPs. Raisinghani described it as "a dreading job" that no one enjoys—filling out hundreds or thousands of questions, ensuring answers are up-to-date, and customizing responses for different industries and regions.

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With AI assistance, what once took 32-48 hours can now be completed in about an hour for the first draft. This allows SEs to focus on making the RFP a winning submission rather than just completing it:

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"Make it a winning RFP. Make it a winning questionnaire, and hyper personalize with what you know about your product, what you know about this customer."

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Similarly, POCs contain valuable competitive intelligence that often goes uncaptured. AI can help extract and organize these insights for the benefit of the entire team.

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AI as a Teammate, Not a Replacement

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Raisinghani's closing advice was clear: "Embrace AI. AI solutions engineer or AI sales engineer is your sidekick, is your teammate. SEs are not going to go anywhere, AI is not going to replace them."

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The goal isn't to eliminate the human element but to enhance it—allowing SEs to focus on high-value activities while their AI sidekick handles repetitive tasks and consolidates knowledge from across the organization.

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As solution diagrams, workflows, and visual presentations become more AI-accessible, the potential for SEs to leverage these tools will only grow. While the technology isn't perfect yet, especially for visual content, rapid advances promise continued improvements.

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Looking Ahead

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The conversation highlighted how rapidly the Presales landscape is evolving, with AI playing an increasingly central role. For solutions engineers looking to stay ahead, embracing these tools as teammates rather than threats will be key to success.

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By automating repetitive tasks, consolidating knowledge, and providing 24/7 support, AI enables SEs to focus on what they do best: crafting strategic solutions and building meaningful relationships with customers.

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Presales LIVE airs every other Tuesday at 8 AM Pacific, 11 AM Eastern, 4 PM GMT. Join the Presales Collective Slack community at presalescollective.com/slack to stay updated on future episodes, and follow the PSC LinkedIn page for upcoming shows.

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