Close.io, also known as Close CRM or simply Close is arguably one of the best CRM on the planet.

Loved by sales teams, Close has made a dent in the CRM space about 10+ years ago and quickly differentiated itself with powerful calling and SMS features.

However, how good Close is in the AI era? Well, it's good but not exceptional, I'd say they're the best of decades-old CRM in the space when it comes to AI but you now have better alternatives to Close with AI built-in.

Why Close CRM is no longer a viable CRM in the AI World?

Close, like many old CRMs, has been built without AI in mind, which is totally normal.

Who would have thought that in 2013 (Close's founding date but they got into YC in Winter 2011) we would be so far ahead in terms of AI capabilities in a CRM 🤯.

Therefore, from an architectural standpoint, their entire CRM was not built around AI at the core. They cannot be an AI native CRM. Close can only be a CRM with AI features.

Because of that, Close does have some AI feature capabilities like an AI note taker, call analysis and more, but it does not update the CRM for you automatically, nor does it create tasks dynamically based on what is happening with your leads ⚙️.

So if you actually want to save a crazy amount of time in manual data entry, you need to pick a proper AI Sales CRM 🚀. Here are some options.

Alternative #1: Breakcold - The AI Native CRM for Modern Sales Teams

Breakcold has the same target as Close: SMBs.

Breakcold is also a sales-focused CRM that shares similarities with Close, let's explore them!

Pros

Compared to Close, Breakcold is a sales CRM that updates itself with virtually zero setup except the questions you answer during onboarding 🤖.

Breakcold’s AI, Vision, is able to move leads and create CRM tasks automatically so that you can focus on selling. Beyond its AI native CRM features, you also get access to a native AI note taker and the ability to design your own meeting briefs and meeting summaries using AI with your own prompts.

The sales CRM is quite lightweight compared to Close, with a simpler UI and UX. Therefore the learning curve is not as big.

Beyond its AI native features, Breakcold also plugs into email, phone, LinkedIn, WhatsApp and Telegram. Close does not plug into that many B2B social channels, so Breakcold is a strong pick if your sales reps rely on them 💬.

Pricing is also on your side since the first plan starts at 29 dollars per month instead of more than 49 dollars per month for Close 💸.

Finally, Breakcold keeps the basics strong and includes all the traditional sales CRM features such as CRM analytics, lead scoring and more.

Cons

Although Breakcold integrates with many channels, it does not include SMS like Close.

It is also not as robust as Close when it comes to its calling integration. Close is arguably still very hard to catch on that side 📞.

Close excels at complex sequences, while Breakcold does not offer automated sequences yet ⚙️.

Other than that, Breakcold is pretty even and remains a strong contender in most areas 💡.

Alternative #2: Folk - The AI CRM for Solopreneurs

Folk is an AI CRM that can work in replacement of Close but only for a specific set of customers: solopreneurs.

Pros

Folk is a great Close alternative if you are a solopreneur 🌱.

Its AI is agile enough to help you send structured email follow ups to your prospects. Folk is also able to create reminders automatically and enrich your leads using their Magic Fields feature, which is amazing ✨.

Beyond its AI features, Folk has a much clearer UI and UX than Close and is super flexible. It really feels like Notion decided to launch a dedicated CRM, which is a great feeling 🧩.

Pricing wise, Folk is cheaper than Close by a long shot.

Cons

Depending on the landing page that they are A/B testing, Folk is not marketing itself specifically for salespeople. It wants to be a flexible CRM for marketing, sales and HR teams, and it is used that way 🧠.

I know many HR companies using Folk and it is great, but because it is not designed for one single category of users, it can have limitations compared to Close, which is very sales focused 🎯.

As mentioned in the intro of the Folk section, this CRM is more suited for solopreneurs. Companies that use Close are usually small sales teams and they are looking for something more powerful than a Notion plus plus setup.

Finally, although Folk has email and WhatsApp integrations like Close, the calling features are non existent 📞.

Alternative #3: Attio - The AI CRM for PLG Startups

Attio is the rising AI CRM at the moment.

VC-backed with more than $150M raised, it's become super rapidly not only an alternative to Hubspot and Salesforce but also to Close: how come?

Pros

The thing with Attio is that it is extremely flexible, so although its core ICP (dreamed customer) is large B2B PLG startups, you can customize it to the extreme for hardcore sales reps ⚙️.

From there, those reps can benefit from Attio’s AI data enrichment. Without you doing anything, Attio will enrich your leads with their company URL, company logo, company description, employee size and much more without you even realizing it ✨.

But the best part of Attio when it comes to AI is its CRM workflows feature. In it, you can use AI blocks that will run your CRM better than you would, saving you hours in manual data entry. For example, you can say that before a lead arrives in a specific sales pipeline stage, Attio should run an AI analysis to determine if it is actually a B2B or B2C lead and consequently if it deserves a spot in the CRM or not 🤖.

Pricing wise, Attio is similar to Close.

Cons

The flexibility of Attio is also a curse ⚖️.

One year ago, I never had people coming from Attio to Breakcold, but since they are moving more and more up market, the product complexity makes it hard for small teams to adopt Attio correctly.

It is also not a pure AI native CRM technically. Having started in 2017, Attio did not plan that much AI from the beginning and figured it out later using AI blocks in its CRM workflow system, which is very ingenious 🤖. But technically, Attio does not update itself without a strong setup, whether AI is involved or not.

Finally, it also lacks calling features. It has an AI note taker but no calling integrations, and there are no SMS capabilities either 📞.

Are there any other viable alternatives to Close with AI?

Yes, to name a few you have Zero, Dex or Clarify.

Those CRMs are also AI native CRMs like Breakcold and can be considered viable alternatives 🤖.

The reason I have not put them in this list is that they are a bit less mature than the softwares we mentioned in this top 📉.

When you really think about it, finding AI alternatives to Close is easy, but finding CRMs that can also be as robust is definitely not an easy task 💪.