How AI and Automation Are Changing Territory Design

This post is part three of our four-part series with our friends at BoogieBoard on territory planning. 

Series Overview:

• Article 1: Tactical Groundwork for Territory Design (click here to read it)
• Article 2: Navigating Complex Account Hierarchies (click here to read it)
• Article 3: Leveraging AI & Automation in Territory Design (you’re here!)
• Article 4: The Two Major Hurdles: Territory Equity and Change Management (coming soon)

Territory planning has always been one of RevOps’ ‘necessary evils.’ For years, it meant drawing lines on maps, wrangling spreadsheets, and bracing for sales backlash when assignments dropped. But in today’s world—where reps are remote, data is messy, and markets shift fast—that old playbook doesn’t cut it anymore.

Good news: AI and automation are rewriting the rules. What used to take hours of manual gymnastics can now be done in minutes. What’s even more exciting is that territory planning is not just faster. It’s getting smarter.

The Old Way: Geography, Gut Calls, and Spreadsheets

Before automation, territory design looked something like this:

• Geography first. Assignments were based on where a rep lived and how far they could drive in a day. Remote selling wasn’t even a factor.
• Niche specialization. Products were narrow enough that a rep could master one vertical and live in that world. Hiring decisions were often made based on their existing network in a given industry.
• Spreadsheet Chaos. RevOps pros manually cleansed data, uploaded assignments, and prayed formulas didn’t break.
• Locked-down account creation. Back in the day, we were banking on a known subset of accounts that could be trusted to understand how saturated a territory was and how many “open” accounts were needed to sustain a salesperson for a few years at a time.
• Fairness by feel. Equity meant splitting accounts evenly, regardless of revenue potential, conversion likelihood, or market readiness.
  
  

RevOps lived and died by the ‘ideal customer profile.’ GTM strategies and enablement were built on what had historically worked, which made pivoting to new markets—or surviving a downturn—painfully slow.

A dependence on geographic locale and account density also left businesses with a lot of dead space that couldn’t be efficiently covered. Think rural states in the United States or the northern reaches of Canada.

Furthermore, because the process was so manual, it wasn’t practical to roll out changes more than once per year.

The New Way: Smarter Territory Design with AI and Automation

Here’s what AI and automation unlock for modern RevOps teams:

• Data Normalization, Done for You. AI cleans up messy CRM fields (think: 20 variations of “Healthcare”) into usable categories.
• Geography as a Filter, Not the Rule. With remote reps, coverage is about time zones, languages, and distance limitations—not just zip codes.
• Smarter Balancing. Algorithms optimize territories based on precise attributes like: ARR potential, account density, intent signals, microindustry and conversion rates—not just account count.
• Built-In Transparency. Automated tools can generate clear logic behind assignments, giving reps confidence in the process.
• Continuous Optimization. Instead of annual “big bang” planning, you can adjust quarterly—or even monthly—without blowing up the model.
• Instant Efficiency. Hours of manual tinkering become “click of a button” adjustments.
  
  

In short: less grunt work, more strategy. With automation and the ability to analyze results quickly, it’s much easier to make adjustments as needed – or as market circumstances dictate.

This doesn’t mean salesperson specialization should be completely thrown out the window by revenue operators. Salespeople with established relationships in an industry, expertise about technical products (and how customers use them to solve problems), and attention to details like which time zone suits a salesperson best are all still very valuable factors when it comes to assigning territories.

However, data normalization at scale and automation around routing and account relationships means that we don’t have to lock down data entry as much as we used to and can adapt to what the data tells us about our buyers rather than focusing just on a vertical and hoping a subset of accounts in a territory are ready to buy and willing to talk to your salesperson.

Speed to lead is a serious determinant of whether or not an account will become a customer. Companies still relying on a manager to manually route leads aren't operating in alignment with modern expectations.

Case Study: BoogieBoard and Fundraise Up

Let’s see how a purpose-built tool like BoogieBoard modernized territory management for Fundraise Up.

Fundraise Up, a fast-scaling nonprofit donation platform had no structured territories. They didn’t trust their data, so did not automate routing. Reps hoarded accounts because they knew if they closed an opportunity, it would be eligible for round-robin again. Setting pipeline goals was nearly impossible, and round-robin assignments killed accountability.

The Problem

• No account ownership → sellers avoided closing deals to keep prospects.
• Spreadsheets weren’t sophisticated enough to provide multiple scenarios quickly and predict outcomes.
• Leadership couldn’t commit to headcount planning without clarity.
• New markets (like EMEA) added layers of confusion.
  

The Solution

BoogieBoard helped them implement:

• Structured territories with clear ownership.
• Quota-based patch sizing for fairness.
• Aligned AE/BDR territories to streamline handoffs.
• Transparent criteria reps could see and trust.
• Quarterly optimization instead of annual resets.
  
  

Technology is never the only factor necessary for success in territory management. It should be noted that managers and individual reps were involved in the requirements gathering process and a lot of work was done to make sure that the sales team trusted the process. 

They also worked with the sales leadership team to establish clear rules of engagement to correct behaviors like account hoarding.

The Impact

• Higher ASPs from better account targeting. Because they knew who they could target and that targeting was based on propensity to buy, they no longer focused on accounts that were unproductive or a poor fit.
• Predictable pipeline gave leadership confidence to hire and plan growth.
• Rep buy-in thanks to transparent rules and visual modeling.
• Ongoing adaptability: territories now evolve with product roadmap and market shifts.
  
  

Using “the Old Way,” Fundraise Up could have gotten partially better alignment with the sales team. By using enrichment and balancing according to historical ideal customer performance, there would be somewhat more balanced territories.

The New Way allowed the sales team to see why decisions were being made about territories and how those decisions correlated to past results and how accounts were currently interacting with their brand. These factors made it easier for salespeople to trust the process by seeing early positive results by selling into accounts that were already in market for their product.

Read the full case study here.

Manual vs. Automated Territory Design: A Quick Comparison

How RevOps Teams Can Start Modernizing Territory Planning

Buying a purpose-built platform is a faster way to build modern territories, but it’s not the only way. Here’s how to get started:

1. Audit the current process. How much time is spent in spreadsheets? Where are the bottlenecks?
2. Normalize your data. Even without AI, standardize industry, geography, and account fields.
3. Define equity. Is “fair” about ARR, TAM, account count, or something else? Get leadership alignment.
4. Pilot automation. Test AI-assisted rules on one segment or region.
5. Build transparency. Document criteria and share it with reps—trust matters as much as balance.
   
   

Our friends at BoogieBoard also realize you won’t always have access to a budget for a fancy territory planning solution. That’s why they built out this resource center with free templates and added fantastic content like this webinar on using AI to build pain-based territories.

Don’t Let Tech Limit Strategy and Optimization

Territory planning doesn’t have to be the thing everyone dreads at year-end. With automation, it becomes a lever for speed, equity, and trust.

At the end of the day, territories aren’t just maps or spreadsheets. They’re the blueprint of your GTM strategy.

And with the right automation, they can finally work for you—not against you.

Need help beyond this series? Explore BoogieBoard’s resource center—or see the product in action.