Gong CRM Integrations: How It Works With Salesforce, HubSpot, and Microsoft Dynamics 365

Q1: What is Gong's approach to CRM integration and how does it work? [toc=CRM Integration Approach]

The Activity-Logging Foundation

Gong's CRM integration strategy centers on a logging-only approach, where conversation data is pushed to CRM systems as activity notes rather than structured field updates. When Gong processes a sales call or meeting, it generates summaries and insights that appear in the CRM's activity feed, providing visibility into customer interactions without directly updating specific CRM properties or fields.

This method creates a detailed audit trail of sales activities but requires sales reps to manually interpret and transfer key information from these logged summaries into actionable CRM fields. For methodologies like MEDDIC (Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Identify Pain, Champion), reps must review Gong's activity notes and manually populate qualification fields—a time-consuming process that many organizations struggle to maintain consistently.

The Limitations of Pre-Generative AI Architecture

Traditional conversation intelligence platforms like Gong, built in the previous decade, face fundamental architectural constraints that limit their CRM integration capabilities. Gong's Smart Trackers rely on keyword-based detection and basic machine learning rather than generative AI, leading to contextual misunderstandings that frustrate sales teams.

"It's too complicated, and not intuitive at all. Using it is very...discomforting. Some people figure it out, but I think most just fumble through and tell tall tales about how easy it is for them to use."
— John S., Senior Account Executive [G2 Verified Review]

This logging-only architecture creates fragmented deal data across multiple platforms, forcing sales managers to manually correlate information from various meetings and tools to understand deal progression. The result is significant administrative overhead and inconsistent CRM hygiene across sales teams.

The Generative AI Revolution in CRM Intelligence

Modern generative AI transforms CRM integrations by enabling deal-level understanding rather than just meeting-level summaries. AI-native platforms can analyze conversation context, automatically extract structured data, and update specific CRM fields without manual intervention—addressing the core limitations of traditional logging approaches.

Advanced AI systems differentiate between casual mentions and actual buying signals, understand complex sales methodologies, and provide automated field updates that maintain CRM accuracy. This represents a fundamental shift from passive data logging to active, intelligent CRM management that reduces administrative burden while improving data quality.

Oliv.ai's Agent-First CRM Automation

Oliv.ai's CRM Manager agent transcends traditional logging limitations by automatically updating CRM fields, properties, and objects based on conversation analysis. Unlike Gong's activity summaries, Oliv.ai directly populates MEDDIC fields, updates deal stages, and maintains accurate forecasting data without requiring manual sales rep intervention.

Our Deal Driver agent provides comprehensive pipeline reviews and automated account management, while the Forecaster agent delivers one-page forecast reports with proactive deal risk identification. This agentic approach eliminates the manual correlation work that burdens teams using traditional platforms, delivering a true "single source of truth" for revenue operations.

Real-World Impact and User Adoption

The contrast between manual logging systems and automated AI agents creates measurable productivity gains for sales organizations. Companies transitioning from activity-logging platforms to AI-native solutions report significant reductions in CRM maintenance time and improved forecast accuracy.

"Gong has become the single source of truth for our sales team. From deal management to forecasting it's been really easy to gain adoption across the team."
— Scott T., Director of Sales [G2 Verified Review]

However, the administrative burden of traditional systems remains evident: sales teams using logging-only platforms require additional tools for forecasting and spend considerably more time on CRM hygiene—costs that modern AI-native platforms eliminate through automated, intelligent field updates and comprehensive deal analysis.

Q2: How does Gong integrate with Salesforce and what are the key limitations? [toc=Salesforce Integration]

Salesforce Integration Mechanics

Gong's Salesforce integration focuses on importing Salesforce data (accounts, leads, contacts, opportunities) for conversation enrichment and exporting conversation summaries as tasks or custom objects. The platform enables searching calls by Salesforce fields and provides CRM context within Gong's interface, creating bidirectional data flow between systems.

The technical setup requires API access, dedicated integration users with admin profiles, and specific permissions for Task/Event objects when exporting activities. Gong can import standard and custom fields from Salesforce objects, though multi-select, address, location, and encrypted fields cannot be imported, limiting comprehensive data synchronization across complex Salesforce configurations.

The Manual Field Update Challenge

Despite its comprehensive integration capabilities, Gong does not automatically update specific CRM fields or properties—a critical limitation that creates ongoing administrative burden for sales teams. While meeting summaries appear in Salesforce activity feeds, qualification data from methodologies like MEDDIC must be manually extracted and entered by Account Executives.

This logging-only approach means that valuable conversation insights remain trapped in activity notes rather than populating the structured fields that sales managers rely on for reporting and forecasting. The disconnect between conversation intelligence and actionable CRM data forces sales teams to choose between comprehensive note-taking and efficient CRM maintenance.

"While Gong offers valuable insights into call data and sales interactions, our experience has been impacted by significant data access limitations, especially concerning data portability and bulk export capabilities."
— Neel P., Sales Operations Manager [G2 Verified Review]

AI-Native Field Automation Potential

Generative AI transforms Salesforce integrations by enabling automatic field population based on conversation analysis. Modern AI platforms can understand sales methodology requirements, extract qualification criteria from natural conversations, and directly update relevant Salesforce fields without manual intervention.

This capability addresses the fundamental inefficiency of traditional platforms that require sales reps to serve as "human middleware" between conversation intelligence and CRM systems. AI-native solutions can maintain MEDDIC fields, update opportunity stages, and ensure consistent data quality across the entire sales organization automatically.

Oliv.ai's Automated Salesforce Management

Oliv.ai's CRM Manager agent directly updates Salesforce fields and objects based on conversation analysis, eliminating the manual data entry that burdens teams using traditional platforms. The system automatically populates MEDDIC fields, creates and enriches contacts, and maintains bidirectional sync with comprehensive field mapping capabilities.

Our platform offers automated account and contact creation with online data enrichment, proactive Slack notifications for data verification, and intelligent deal creation based on defined criteria. This approach transforms Salesforce from a passive repository into an actively maintained, AI-driven revenue intelligence system that reduces administrative overhead while improving data accuracy.

Cost and Complexity Considerations

The manual nature of traditional Salesforce integrations creates hidden costs through administrative time investment and potential data inconsistencies. Organizations often require additional forecasting tools like Clari to complement Gong's limited predictive capabilities, creating dual-platform costs exceeding $500 per user annually.

"The additional products like forecast or engage come at an additional cost. Would be great to see these tools rolled into the core offering."
— Scott T., Director of Sales [G2 Verified Review]

Modern AI-native alternatives eliminate these hidden costs by providing comprehensive automation within a single platform, reducing both software licensing expenses and the administrative burden that traditional integrations impose on sales teams and RevOps professionals.

Q3: What are the challenges with Gong's HubSpot integration? [toc=HubSpot Integration Challenges]

HubSpot Integration Architecture

Gong's HubSpot integration enables importing HubSpot fields for call filtering and conversation enrichment while exporting Gong data as meetings, calls, or notes within HubSpot. The platform supports field selection from Account, Contact, and Opportunity objects, with capabilities for variable creation, change tracking, and automatic contact role associations for deal mapping.

The integration requires OAuth authentication and read/write permissions to HubSpot objects including contacts, companies, deals, pipelines, and engagements. Technical administrators can select up to 50 fields per object to avoid performance issues, though multi-checkbox, file, and HubSpot-user field types remain unsupported, limiting comprehensive data synchronization capabilities.

The Note-Logging Limitation Challenge

Similar to Salesforce, Gong's HubSpot integration primarily logs meeting summaries as notes rather than updating HubSpot custom properties or fields directly. This approach creates visibility into conversation history but requires sales reps to manually review activity notes and transfer relevant information into structured HubSpot fields for accurate reporting and pipeline analysis.

The logging-only method fails to leverage HubSpot's property-based automation capabilities, forcing sales teams to maintain duplicate data entry workflows. Critical qualification information remains buried in activity summaries rather than populating the custom properties that drive HubSpot's marketing automation, lead scoring, and revenue attribution systems.

"There's so much in Gong, that we don't use everything. Gongs deal forecasting we don't use."
— Karel Bos, Head of Sales [TrustRadius Verified Review]

AI-Driven Property Automation Benefits

Generative AI revolutionizes HubSpot integrations by enabling automated property updates based on conversation analysis. AI-native platforms can understand HubSpot's property structure, extract relevant qualification data from customer conversations, and directly populate custom properties that trigger downstream automation workflows.

This capability transforms HubSpot from a passive activity logger into an intelligent, self-updating customer database that maintains accuracy across marketing, sales, and customer success teams. Automated property management ensures consistent data quality while enabling sophisticated segmentation, attribution analysis, and predictive modeling capabilities.

Oliv.ai's Bidirectional HubSpot Automation

Oliv.ai provides full bidirectional sync with HubSpot, automatically updating custom properties based on conversation insights while maintaining complete data consistency across platforms. Our CRM Manager agent populates HubSpot fields directly, eliminating manual data entry while ensuring accurate property-based automation and reporting.

The platform offers proactive data verification through Slack notifications, automated contact and deal creation, and intelligent property mapping that leverages HubSpot's custom field structure. This approach enables seamless workflow automation while reducing the administrative burden that traditional logging-only integrations impose on sales and marketing teams.

Performance and Adoption Challenges

Traditional HubSpot integrations face significant adoption challenges due to their manual nature and limited automation capabilities. The disconnect between conversation intelligence and actionable HubSpot properties creates workflow inefficiencies that reduce user engagement and limit platform ROI.

"I love conversational AI. My favorite aspect of Gong is being able to go into any account and ask what is going on. By asking what the customer said they needed, I can prepare for any meeting."
— Amanda R., Director, Customer Success [G2 Verified Review]

While users appreciate conversation intelligence capabilities, the manual effort required to translate insights into HubSpot properties often leads to incomplete data adoption and reduced automation effectiveness. AI-native alternatives eliminate these friction points by providing automated property management that maintains HubSpot's full automation potential without requiring manual sales team intervention.

Q4: How effective is Gong's integration with Microsoft Dynamics 365? [toc=Dynamics 365 Integration]

Dynamics 365 Integration Overview

Gong's Microsoft Dynamics 365 integration enables importing contacts, leads, opportunities, and accounts into Gong while exporting conversation activities back to Dynamics. The integration requires a Global Admin user with read/write permissions and supports field mapping for deal stages, amounts, and custom properties. Technical setup involves connecting through OAuth authentication and configuring import/export settings for specific Dynamics objects.

The platform exports meeting invites as tasks, conference calls as phone calls, and emails as email activities, providing visibility into sales conversations within the Dynamics environment. However, like other CRM integrations, the system follows Gong's standard activity-logging approach rather than direct field automation.

Limited Field Automation Capabilities

Gong's Dynamics 365 integration maintains the same logging-only limitations found in Salesforce and HubSpot implementations. While conversation summaries appear in Dynamics activity feeds, the platform does not automatically update specific CRM fields or trigger Dynamics workflows based on conversation insights. Sales teams must manually extract qualification data from activity notes and populate relevant Dynamics fields.

This approach fails to leverage Dynamics 365's powerful workflow automation capabilities, forcing sales reps to serve as manual bridges between conversation intelligence and structured CRM data. Microsoft's own Copilot integration faces similar limitations, functioning primarily as a question-answering bot rather than an automated field management system.

"AI training is a bit laborious to get it to do what you want."
— Trafford J., Senior Director, Revenue Enablement [G2 Verified Review]

Generative AI's Dynamics 365 Transformation Potential

Modern AI platforms can revolutionize Dynamics 365 integrations by understanding complex sales processes and automatically updating relevant fields based on conversation analysis. Generative AI enables intelligent workflow triggering, where conversation insights directly populate custom fields, update opportunity stages, and initiate automated follow-up sequences within Dynamics.

This capability transforms Dynamics 365 from a passive repository into an intelligent, self-updating system that maintains accurate deal progression without manual intervention. AI-native platforms can differentiate between casual conversation topics and actionable sales signals, ensuring precise field updates and reliable automation triggers.

Oliv.ai's Advanced Dynamics 365 Automation

Oliv.ai's CRM Manager agent provides comprehensive Dynamics 365 field automation, directly updating opportunity fields, contact records, and account information based on conversation analysis. Our platform maintains bidirectional sync while automatically populating MEDDIC fields, updating deal stages, and enriching contact records with conversation insights.

The Deal Driver agent generates automated pipeline reviews and opportunity summaries specifically formatted for Dynamics 365 reporting, while our Forecaster agent provides predictive insights that integrate seamlessly with Dynamics forecasting workflows. This eliminates the manual correlation work that traditional platforms require.

Enterprise Integration Considerations

Organizations using Dynamics 365 often require robust integration capabilities for complex enterprise workflows, but traditional conversation intelligence platforms struggle with advanced automation requirements. The manual nature of activity-logging systems creates bottlenecks in sophisticated sales processes that rely on accurate, automated data flow.

"Since we purchased our package, the support model has changed drastically, which is infuriating."
— Elspeth C., Chief Commercial Officer [G2 Verified Review]

Modern AI-native platforms eliminate these integration challenges by providing intelligent automation that maintains Dynamics 365's workflow integrity while reducing administrative overhead for enterprise sales teams.

Q5: What are the main product and integration challenges users face with Gong? [toc=Product Challenges]

Comprehensive User Feedback Analysis

Beyond CRM integration limitations, Gong faces significant product challenges across its ecosystem. Users consistently report issues with forecasting accuracy (rated 4/10), problematic Gong Engage functionality, and Smart Trackers that miss conversational nuance. These challenges create cumulative operational burdens that force organizations to adopt multiple platforms, significantly increasing technology costs and complexity.

The platform's API limitations require custom development work for data extraction, while bulk export capabilities remain inadequate for organizations seeking data portability. These technical constraints create vendor lock-in scenarios that frustrate IT and RevOps teams attempting to integrate Gong with broader revenue technology stacks.

Forecasting and Engagement Platform Deficiencies

Gong's forecasting capabilities receive consistent criticism, with many users preferring dedicated tools like Clari for accurate pipeline prediction. This limitation forces organizations to maintain dual platforms, incurring costs exceeding $500 per user annually. Gong Engage faces even more severe user adoption challenges, with reviews highlighting slow performance, limited API integration, and inadequate sequencing capabilities.

"We've had a disappointing experience with Gong Engage... The platform lacks task APIs, does not integrate with other vendors or parallel dialers, and isn't built to function as a proper sequencing tool."
— Anonymous User [G2 Verified Review]

The engagement platform's focus on mass, non-personalized prospecting conflicts with modern sales methodologies that emphasize relationship-building and personalized outreach, leading to poor adoption rates and negative user feedback.

Outdated Technology Architecture Limitations

Gong's Smart Trackers rely on keyword-based detection rather than generative AI, creating contextual misunderstandings that reduce coaching effectiveness. The system struggles to differentiate between casual mentions and actual buying signals, leading to inaccurate deal scoring and misguided coaching recommendations.

These technology limitations reflect the platform's pre-generative AI architecture, built when basic machine learning represented advanced conversation analysis. Modern sales teams require nuanced conversation understanding that keyword-based systems cannot provide, creating gaps in deal intelligence and coaching insights.

"It's too complicated, and not intuitive at all. Some people figure it out, but I think most just fumble through and tell tall tales about how easy it is for them to use."
— John S., Senior Account Executive [G2 Verified Review]

Oliv.ai's Comprehensive Solution Architecture

Oliv.ai addresses these systemic challenges through our unified agentic platform that combines conversation intelligence, forecasting, and engagement in a single solution. Our Forecaster agent provides accurate pipeline prediction without requiring additional tools, while the Prospector agent delivers personalized outreach that surpasses traditional engagement platforms.

Our generative AI foundation enables contextual conversation understanding that eliminates the misinterpretation issues plaguing keyword-based systems. The CRM Manager agent ensures accurate field updates, while Deal Driver agent provides comprehensive pipeline insights that traditional platforms struggle to deliver consistently.

Cost and Complexity Reduction Benefits

Organizations transitioning from multi-platform setups (Gong + Clari + engagement tools) to Oliv.ai report significant cost savings and operational simplification. Our modular approach allows teams to implement specific agents based on immediate needs while maintaining comprehensive platform capabilities for future expansion.

"It was a big mistake on our part to commit to a two year term... all have said the same thing - they've been fine using a lower cost, simpler alternative."
— Iris P., Head of Marketing, Sales & Partnerships [G2 Verified Review]

The agentic approach eliminates the training overhead and adoption challenges associated with traditional SaaS platforms, providing immediate value through automated workflows rather than requiring extensive user adoption and process changes.

Q6: How does Oliv.ai redefine CRM integrations with generative AI and automation? [toc=AI-Native Integration]

The Generative AI-Native Foundation

Oliv.ai represents a fundamental shift from traditional conversation intelligence platforms, built natively on generative AI to provide deal-level understanding rather than meeting-level summaries. Our platform ingests data from every sales touchpoint—calls, emails, meetings, existing tech stack, and web sources—to create comprehensive deal intelligence that eliminates data silos across revenue operations.

Unlike platforms built in the previous decade, Oliv.ai's architecture enables true conversation understanding, automatically extracting structured insights and updating CRM fields without manual intervention. This approach transforms CRM systems from passive repositories into intelligent, self-maintaining revenue intelligence platforms.

Limitations of Traditional SaaS Integration Models

Pre-generative AI platforms like Gong require sales teams to adopt new software, learn complex interfaces, and manually correlate data across multiple systems. These traditional SaaS tools demand extensive user training and create workflow disruptions that reduce adoption rates and limit ROI. The manual nature of activity logging forces sales reps to serve as human middleware between conversation insights and CRM systems.

The fragmented approach of traditional platforms necessitates multiple tool integration—conversation intelligence, forecasting, engagement, and CRM management—creating cost burdens exceeding $500 per user annually while maintaining operational complexity that burdens RevOps teams.

"There's so much in Gong, that we don't use everything. Gongs deal forecasting we don't use."
— Karel Bos, Head of Sales [TrustRadius Verified Review]

AI-Driven Deal Intelligence Revolution

Generative AI enables 360-degree deal analysis that understands conversation context, identifies buying signals, and maintains MEDDIC qualification automatically. Modern AI platforms can differentiate between value-added activities and routine follow-ups, providing accurate deal scoring based on comprehensive conversation analysis rather than basic keyword tracking.

This technology transforms forecasting from manual compilation exercises into automated, predictive analytics that identify deal risks and opportunities proactively. AI-native platforms eliminate the correlation work that traditional systems impose on sales managers, providing unified deal intelligence that drives accurate pipeline management.

Oliv.ai's Agentic Automation Suite

Our CRM Manager agent automatically updates fields across Salesforce, HubSpot, and Dynamics 365, eliminating manual data entry while ensuring consistent CRM hygiene. The Forecaster agent provides one-page forecast reports with proactive deal risk identification, replacing hours of manual forecast preparation with automated pipeline intelligence.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Gong vs. Oliv.ai CRM Integration Capabilities

Integration Aspect	Gong	Oliv.ai
CRM Integration Model	Logs activities as notes; manual data entry required	Automated updating of CRM fields including customized sales methodology data
AI Technology	Keyword-based and basic machine learning	Advanced generative AI delivering contextual understanding and analytics
Forecasting	Separate tool (e.g., Clari) necessary for accurate pipeline forecasts	Integrated forecasting with AI-powered predictive insights
Automation Level	Limited automation; high reliance on manual processes	Fully automated agent-driven workflows
User Adoption	Requires extensive training and software adoption	Minimal onboarding; agents autonomously perform tasks
Reporting & Insights	Fragmented data; limited real-time visibility	Comprehensive real-time pipeline and deal intelligence

The Prospector agent conducts deep account research and creates personalized outreach campaigns, moving beyond mass prospecting to relationship-driven engagement. Our Deal Driver agent generates comprehensive pipeline reviews, while the Meeting Assistant automates post-meeting workflows including summaries, notes, and task creation.

Transformative Business Impact

Organizations implementing Oliv.ai report immediate productivity gains through eliminated manual workflows and improved forecast accuracy. Our platform reduces technology stack complexity while providing superior intelligence capabilities, enabling sales teams to focus on revenue generation rather than administrative tasks.

"I love conversational AI. My favorite aspect of Gong is being able to go into any account and ask what is going on."
— Amanda R., Director, Customer Success [G2 Verified Review]

The agentic approach delivers continuous value improvement as AI agents learn and optimize automatically, contrasting with traditional platforms that require ongoing user training and manual optimization to maintain effectiveness.

Q7: What are the practical benefits of switching from Gong to Oliv.ai? [toc=Switching Benefits]

Understanding the Migration Driver

Sales teams increasingly evaluate alternatives to Gong due to persistent limitations in automation, forecasting accuracy, and integration complexity. While Gong established the conversation intelligence category, modern organizations require more sophisticated, automated solutions that eliminate manual overhead while providing comprehensive deal intelligence across their entire revenue stack.

The challenge extends beyond conversation recording to encompassing the complete sales workflow—from initial prospect research through deal closure and forecasting accuracy. Organizations need platforms that work for them rather than requiring extensive team adoption and training investments.

The Manual Labor Burden of Traditional Platforms

Gong's activity-logging approach creates significant administrative overhead for sales teams. Account Executives must manually review conversation summaries and transfer qualification insights into CRM fields, while sales managers spend hours weekly correlating data across multiple platforms to understand deal progression. This manual correlation work represents a fundamental inefficiency in pre-generative AI systems.

"While Gong offers valuable insights into call data and sales interactions, our experience has been impacted by significant data access limitations, especially concerning data portability and bulk export capabilities."
— Neel P., Sales Operations Manager [G2 Verified Review]

The dual-platform requirement—Gong for conversation intelligence plus Clari for forecasting—creates cost burdens exceeding $500 per user annually while maintaining operational complexity that strains RevOps teams and reduces overall system effectiveness.

Generative AI's Automation Revolution

Modern AI-native platforms eliminate manual correlation work through automated field updates, intelligent deal scoring, and predictive forecasting capabilities. Generative AI understands conversation context at a level impossible with keyword-based systems, enabling accurate MEDDIC field population and automated deal progression tracking without human intervention.

This technological advancement transforms sales operations from manual, labor-intensive processes into automated, intelligent workflows that maintain CRM hygiene while providing predictive insights that improve deal closure rates and forecast accuracy.

Oliv.ai's Comprehensive Automation Benefits

Our CRM Manager agent automatically creates and enriches accounts and contacts for every meeting, eliminating manual data entry while ensuring comprehensive CRM coverage. The system prompts reps to create deals at optimal moments based on qualification criteria and auto-fills methodology fields including MEDDIC scorecards.

The CRM Manager also enforces process compliance by reminding reps to verify core fields after meetings and nudging validation of custom fields unique to each organization's sales methodology. Daily and weekly recaps ensure complete task completion while providing RevOps teams with comprehensive visibility into pipeline health.

Our Forecaster agent provides accurate pipeline prediction without requiring additional tools, while the Deal Driver agent generates automated pipeline reviews that replace hours of manual forecast preparation with intelligent, data-driven insights.

Measurable ROI and Operational Impact

Organizations transitioning to Oliv.ai report immediate productivity improvements through eliminated manual workflows and enhanced forecast accuracy. Companies save approximately $300,000 annually by replacing dual-platform setups with our unified solution while gaining superior automation capabilities that traditional platforms cannot deliver.

"The additional products like forecast or engage come at an additional cost. Would be great to see these tools rolled into the core offering."
— Scott T., Director of Sales [G2 Verified Review]

The agentic approach ensures continuous improvement as AI agents optimize automatically, providing increasing value over time without requiring ongoing user training or manual system optimization that burdens traditional SaaS implementations.

Q8: How do Gong and Oliv.ai compare in CRM integration capabilities? [toc=CRM Integration Comparison]

Feature Comparison Overview

The following comparison analyzes core CRM integration capabilities between Gong and Oliv.ai based on documented features, user reviews, and technical specifications from official documentation.

Detailed Capability Analysis

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Gong vs. Oliv.ai CRM Integration Capabilities

Integration Aspect	Gong	Oliv.ai
CRM Integration Model	Logs activities as notes; manual data entry required	Automated updating of CRM fields including customized sales methodology data
AI Technology	Keyword-based and basic machine learning	Advanced generative AI with deep contextual understanding
Forecasting	Requires separate tool (e.g., Clari)	Built-in AI-powered forecasting
Automation Level	Limited; manual sync and reporting	Full agent-driven automation
User Adoption	High training requirements	Minimal onboarding via autonomous agents
Reporting & Insights	Fragmented data with delayed visibility	Real-time integrated pipeline and deal intelligence

Integration Architecture Differences

Gong's Approach:

• Imports CRM data for conversation enrichment
• Exports conversation objects as tasks/events
• Requires manual field mapping and data correlation
• Limited to 50 fields per object to avoid performance issues

Oliv.ai's Approach:

• Real-time bidirectional sync with automatic field updates
• Intelligent data correlation across multiple sources
• Proactive data validation with Slack/email notifications
• Unlimited field support with performance optimization

User Experience and Adoption

According to user reviews on G2 and TrustRadius, Gong integration challenges include:

"It's too complicated, and not intuitive at all. Searching for calls is not easy, moving around in the calls is not easy, and understanding the pipeline management portion of it is almost impossible."
— John S., Senior Account Executive [G2 Verified Review]

Oliv.ai addresses these usability concerns through agent-driven automation that requires minimal user interaction while maintaining comprehensive CRM data accuracy.

Cost and ROI Considerations

Organizations using Gong often require supplementary tools for complete functionality, creating total costs of $500+ per user annually. Oliv.ai provides comprehensive capabilities within a single platform, offering significant cost savings while delivering superior automation and intelligence features.

How Oliv.ai Simplifies CRM Integration:
Oliv.ai eliminates the manual correlation work inherent in traditional platforms by providing automated field updates, intelligent deal progression tracking, and unified pipeline intelligence that maintains CRM accuracy without requiring extensive user adoption or training investments.

Q9: What FAQs should sales leaders ask about Gong CRM integrations? [toc=Integration FAQs]

Common Integration Questions for Sales Leaders

Based on Gong's official documentation and user feedback, sales leaders should ask these critical questions before implementing Gong CRM integrations:

Technical Requirements & Setup

Q: What permissions are required for Gong CRM integration?

• Salesforce: Requires dedicated integration user with admin profile, API access enabled, read/write permissions for Lead, Contact, Account, Opportunity objects
• HubSpot: Integration user needs read/write rights to contacts, companies, deals, pipelines, owners, and engagements
• Dynamics 365: Requires Global Admin permissions and read/write access to Account, Opportunity, and Contact objects

Q: How long does integration setup take?

• Initial setup: 2-4 hours for basic configuration
• Field mapping and customization: Additional 4-8 hours depending on complexity
• HubSpot data export can take up to 6 hours for processing

Data Flow & Limitations

Q: Does Gong automatically update CRM fields?
Answer: No. Gong primarily logs conversation summaries as activities/notes but does not automatically populate MEDDIC fields, opportunity stages, or custom methodology fields. Sales reps must manually review activity logs and update CRM fields accordingly.

Q: What data gets exported to the CRM?

• Meeting summaries and call recordings (as tasks/events)
• Smart Tracker information (if enabled)
• Email activities (limited by workspace settings)
• Limitation: Maximum 50 fields per object to avoid performance issues

"While Gong offers valuable insights into call data and sales interactions, our experience has been impacted by significant data access limitations, especially concerning data portability and bulk export capabilities."
— Neel P., Sales Operations Manager [G2 Verified Review]

Integration Challenges & Troubleshooting

Q: What are common integration issues?

• Field visibility problems: Users cannot see imported fields if integration user lacks proper access
• Duplicate meetings: Calendar integrations may create duplicate entries
• API limitations: Gong's API requires custom development for bulk data extraction
• Performance issues: Importing too many fields can slow system performance

Q: How does contact and opportunity mapping work?
Gong matches conversation participants to CRM contacts via email addresses and associates conversations with open opportunities using Contact Role fields. However, calls may not appear if associated with contacts rather than deals/accounts.

Cost & ROI Considerations

Q: What are the hidden costs of Gong integration?

• Additional forecasting tools often needed (e.g., Clari), creating costs exceeding $500 per user annually
• Custom development for API integration and data extraction
• Administrative overhead for manual field updates and data correlation

"The additional products like forecast or engage come at an additional cost. Would be great to see these tools rolled into the core offering."
— Scott T., Director of Sales [G2 Verified Review]

Q: How do we measure integration success?

• Manual work reduction: Track time spent on CRM data entry before/after
• Data accuracy: Monitor CRM field completion rates and forecast precision
• User adoption: Measure how consistently reps use logged conversation data

How Oliv.ai Simplifies These Challenges:
Oliv.ai eliminates most of these FAQ concerns through automated CRM field updates, streamlined setup requiring minimal IT involvement, and comprehensive deal intelligence that removes the need for manual data correlation across multiple platforms.

Q10: What are the technical requirements and setup process for Gong CRM integrations? [toc=Technical Setup Process]

Salesforce Integration Setup Requirements

Prerequisites and Technical Requirements

Before initiating Gong's Salesforce integration, organizations must ensure several technical prerequisites are met according to Gong's official documentation:

Essential Requirements:

• API Access Enabled: Salesforce API access must be activated; without this, Gong cannot establish connection
• Dedicated Integration User: Create a Salesforce user with admin profile specifically for integration purposes
• Currency Configuration: For multi-currency organizations, set integration user's personal currency to corporate currency
• Object Access: Ensure integration user has access to teams, splits, product objects, and other relevant custom objects

Required Permissions Matrix:

Step-by-Step Integration Process

Phase 1: Initial Connection

1. Navigate to Gong Admin Center → CRM → Salesforce
2. Click "Connect" and authenticate with Salesforce credentials
3. Grant Gong read/write permissions to specified objects (Lead, Contact, Account, Opportunity, Task, Opportunity History, custom objects)
4. Verify connection status and integration user permissions

Phase 2: Field Configuration

1. Access integration page and select "Manage Salesforce Fields"
2. Configure import settings:
   • Choose standard and custom fields for import (Accounts, Opportunities, Leads, Contacts, Users)
   • Field Limitations: Multi-select, address, location, and encrypted fields cannot be imported
   • Select deal amount field and enable multi-currency support if applicable
   • Enable "Use contact roles" for automatic conversation-to-opportunity association

Phase 3: Export Settings

1. Install Gong for Salesforce app to enable custom objects
2. Configure export parameters:
   • Set filters for which calls to export
   • Choose export format (tasks/events via Gong for Salesforce app)
   • Configure automatic user provisioning based on Salesforce hierarchy

"The user performing OAuth must have read rights to Account, Opportunity, Contact, Lead, Opportunity Stage/History, Publisher and, when pushing calls, write rights to Task or the custom Conversation object."
— Gong Help Center Documentation

HubSpot Integration Setup Requirements

Prerequisites and Authentication

Technical Prerequisites:

• OAuth Authentication: HubSpot user must have read/write permissions to contacts, companies, deals, pipelines, owners, and engagements
• Plan Dependencies: Available features depend on HubSpot plan and seat allocation
• API Rate Limits: Gong makes one API call per recorded call; expect API usage spikes during historical call synchronization

Configuration Process

Phase 1: Initial Setup

1. Access Gong's HubSpot integration page and click "Connect"
2. Authenticate with HubSpot account credentials
3. Authorize Gong access (connection details displayed for connections after June 2024)
4. Navigate to "Manage HubSpot Fields" for field selection

Phase 2: Field Import Configuration

1. Field Organization: Fields organized by Account, Contact, and Opportunity tabs with search functionality
2. Field Selection: Select HubSpot fields for import (available for call filtering and deal analysis)
3. Variable Creation: Use "Create variable" for CRM fields intended for email template usage
4. Change Tracking: Enable "Track changes" for fields requiring historical value retention
5. Performance Optimization: Import maximum 50 fields per object to avoid performance issues

Required HubSpot Fields Matrix:

Phase 3: Export Configuration

1. Call Export Options: Configure calls/meetings export as meetings, calls, or notes (default: meetings)
2. Activity Types: Select conference calls, telephony system calls, or both
3. Content Inclusion: Exported objects include call participants, recording links, call spotlight, action items, HubSpot entity associations, and metadata
4. Processing Time: Allow up to 6 hours for data syncing processing

Email Synchronization Setup:

• Choose between all emails or Gong email composer-only exports
• Select team members for email export (default: none exported)
• Configure workspace-specific email export settings
• Enable contact opt-out field updates for Gong Engage users

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Integration Setup

Prerequisites and Admin Requirements

Critical Requirements:

• Global Admin Access: Integration user must possess Dynamics 365 Global Admin permissions
• Alternative Setup: Non-global admin users require Dynamics 365 admin assistance for connection enablement
• Instance URL: Dynamics 365 instance URL required (Gong can list associated URLs if uncertain)

Setup and Configuration Process

Phase 1: Connection Establishment

1. Navigate to Gong CRM settings → MS Dynamics page
2. Click "Connect" and enter Dynamics 365 instance URL
3. Authenticate with Global Admin account
4. Approve integration permissions
5. Select deal stage field for Gong deal stage mapping (use default "Process code" field if not managing opportunities)

Phase 2: Field Import Configuration

1. Access MS Dynamics settings page → Import fields tab
2. Field Selection Process:
   • Select fields for each CRM object (mandatory fields marked with lock icon cannot be deselected)
   • Configure "Track changes" for fields requiring historical value retention
   • Enable "Create variable" for fields needed in email templates
   • Use "View selected only" filter for imported field display

Required Dynamics 365 Fields:

Phase 3: Export Configuration

1. Activity Export Settings:
   • Meeting invites/conference calls → Tasks
   • Telephony system calls → Phone calls
   • Emails → Email activities
2. Exclusion Rules: Emails with specific tags (MEETING_ACCEPTED, MEETING_DECLINED, MEETING_TENTATIVE, MEETING_INVITATION, MEETING_INVITATION_CANCEL, MEETING_NEEDS_ACTION, SCHEDULING) are automatically excluded
3. Advanced Configuration:
   • Select exportable activities (meeting invites, conference calls, telephony calls, emails)
   • Choose between Engage Dialer calls only or all calls
   • Configure inclusion of call attempts, short calls, non-recorded calls
   • Set workspace-specific email export parameters

"It can be overwhelming to set up trackers. AI training is a bit laborious to get it to do what you want."
— Trafford J., Senior Director, Revenue Enablement [G2 Verified Review]

Implementation Timeline and Milestones

Common Integration Challenges

Technical Issues Across All Platforms:

• Field Visibility Problems: Integration users require proper permissions for field access
• API Limitations: Gong's API requires custom development for bulk data extraction
• Duplicate Data: Calendar integrations may create duplicate meeting entries
• Performance Impact: Excessive field imports can slow system performance

"While Gong offers valuable insights into call data and sales interactions, our experience has been impacted by significant data access limitations, especially concerning data portability and bulk export capabilities."
— Neel P., Sales Operations Manager [G2 Verified Review]

How Oliv.ai Simplifies CRM Integration:
Oliv.ai eliminates the complex multi-phase setup process through automated integration that requires minimal IT involvement. Our one-time configuration automatically handles field mapping, permission management, and data synchronization across all major CRMs without requiring dedicated integration users or extensive technical prerequisites, reducing deployment time from weeks to hours.

Q11: How long does Gong CRM integration take and what are the implementation milestones? [toc=Implementation Timeline]

Timeline Overview by CRM Platform

Based on Gong's official documentation and user experiences, CRM integration timelines vary significantly by platform complexity and organizational requirements:

Critical Implementation Milestones

Week 1: Foundation Setup

• Salesforce: Create dedicated integration user with admin profile
• HubSpot: Configure OAuth permissions and field access (up to 50 fields per object)
• Dynamics 365: Establish Global Admin connection and instance URL configuration

Week 2: Data Configuration

• Import field mapping completion across all CRM objects
• Export settings for calls, meetings, and email activities
• Historical data synchronization (may take up to 6 hours for HubSpot)

"It can be overwhelming to set up trackers. AI training is a bit laborious to get it to do what you want."
— Trafford J., Senior Director, Revenue Enablement [G2 Verified Review]

Week 3-4: Optimization & Training

• User adoption training and workflow integration
• Smart Tracker configuration and testing
• Performance optimization (addressing any field limit issues)

Common Delays and Complexity Factors

Technical Challenges:

• API rate limits during historical sync periods
• Custom field mapping requirements
• Multi-currency configuration complexities
• Duplicate data resolution from calendar integrations

Organizational Factors:

• IT approval processes for admin permissions
• Cross-team coordination for field requirements
• User resistance to new workflows and adoption challenges

"While Gong offers valuable insights into call data and sales interactions, our experience has been impacted by significant data access limitations."
— Neel P., Sales Operations Manager [G2 Verified Review]

How Oliv.ai Accelerates Implementation:
Oliv.ai reduces deployment time from weeks to hours through automated field mapping and one-click CRM connections that eliminate manual configuration steps, enabling organizations to achieve full functionality within days rather than weeks.

Q12: What security, compliance, and maintenance considerations apply to Gong integrations? [toc=Security Compliance]

Security Framework and Data Protection

Gong implements enterprise-grade security measures for CRM integrations, though specific compliance details require careful verification with their security documentation:

Authentication and Access Control:

• OAuth 2.0 authentication (no credential storage)
• Dedicated integration users with minimal required permissions
• API access controls and rate limiting
• Encrypted data transmission between systems

Data Privacy Considerations:
According to user feedback, Gong provides data access "in line with industry standards," though practical data portability can be challenging. Organizations should verify specific compliance requirements including GDPR, CCPA, and SOC 2 compliance directly with Gong.

Ongoing Maintenance Requirements

Regular Maintenance Tasks:

Critical Monitoring Areas:

• Integration user account status and permissions
• API rate limit usage and potential throttling
• Data sync failures and error resolution
• Field mapping accuracy and completeness

Troubleshooting and Performance Optimization

Common Issues and Resolutions:

• Field visibility problems: Ensure integration user has proper read access
• Duplicate meetings: Configure export settings to avoid calendar integration conflicts
• Performance degradation: Limit field imports to recommended maximums (50 fields per HubSpot object)
• Sync delays: Monitor API usage during historical data synchronization periods

"Since we purchased our package, the support model has changed drastically, which is infuriating."
— Elspeth C., Chief Commercial Officer [G2 Verified Review]

Data Backup and Recovery:
Organizations should implement independent backup strategies as Gong's API limitations may complicate bulk data extraction for disaster recovery purposes.

How Oliv.ai Simplifies Compliance:
Oliv.ai provides transparent compliance documentation and automated security monitoring, eliminating the manual oversight required with traditional integrations while maintaining enterprise-grade data protection standards.

Q13: How can organizations assess their readiness for Gong CRM integration? [toc=Readiness Assessment]

Organizational Readiness Assessment Framework

Before implementing Gong CRM integration, organizations should evaluate their technical infrastructure and operational maturity across several key dimensions:

Technical Infrastructure Evaluation:

Cost-Benefit Analysis Framework

Total Cost of Ownership Considerations:

• Platform licensing fees (varies by user count and features)
• Implementation services and customization costs
• Ongoing maintenance and admin overhead
• Additional tool requirements (forecasting platforms like Clari)

"It was a big mistake on our part to commit to a two year term. Gong is a really powerful tool but it's probably the highest end option on the market."
— Iris P., Head of Marketing, Sales & Partnerships [G2 Verified Review]

ROI Measurement Criteria:

• Time savings from conversation insights and coaching efficiency
• Improved forecast accuracy and pipeline visibility
• Reduced manual data entry and CRM hygiene tasks
• Enhanced sales team productivity and deal velocity

Integration Maturity Assessment

Beginner Organizations:

• Basic CRM usage with minimal customization
• Limited API integration experience
• Small sales teams (<50 users)

Advanced Organizations:

• Complex CRM workflows and extensive field customization
• Existing revenue tool stack (forecasting, engagement platforms)
• Dedicated RevOps resources for integration management

Enterprise-Level Requirements:

• Multi-CRM environments and complex data governance
• Strict compliance and security requirements
• Large-scale user adoption and training capabilities

"Gong is a really powerful tool but... all have said the same thing - they've been fine using a lower cost, simpler alternative."
— Iris P., Head of Marketing, Sales & Partnerships [G2 Verified Review]

How Oliv.ai Reduces Readiness Barriers:
Oliv.ai's agent-driven approach eliminates many traditional readiness requirements through automated setup processes and minimal IT dependencies, making advanced revenue intelligence accessible to organizations regardless of technical maturity levels.

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