Connected Conversations in Insurance: Roberto Salinas

Published on

March 18, 2025

Contributors

Nick Berry

Demand Generation Marketing Manager

Nick is the Demand Generation Marketing Manager at Canopy Connect, where he brings 20 years of sales and marketing experience, including the last 6 years focused on broker tech companies. When he's not managing marketing campaigns, he's likely sipping on a dirty chai latte (hot) or building side projects to keep his skills sharp. Nick is a proud USAF veteran and a family man with 4 kids.

Hey, it's Nick Berry from Canopy Connect. I recently sat down with Roberto Salinas, who leads business development at GAIL—a company bringing AI-powered conversations to the insurance world. We talked about how AI and automation are evolving and what that means for insurance agencies.

Focus on the Problem, Not Just the Solution

Roberto believes in "falling in love with the problem, not the solution." In other words, the best innovations come from truly understanding what needs fixing instead of getting stuck on a single way to fix it. This mindset helps companies stay flexible and build solutions that actually work for real-world challenges.

How GAIL Got Started

GAIL was born out of necessity. Roberto shared how Lula, their parent company, was overwhelmed with customer interactions—missing a jaw-dropping 60,000 calls in just one year. Instead of hiring a massive support team, they built an AI assistant designed specifically to help insurance agencies. The goal wasn’t to replace people but to support them by handling routine interactions so agents could focus on more important tasks.

Changing the Way We See AI

A lot of people worry that AI is here to take jobs. But Roberto and I see it differently. AI isn’t about replacing humans—it’s about making their jobs easier. Tools like GAIL and Canopy Connect handle the repetitive, time-consuming tasks so agents can focus on what really matters: building relationships and offering expert advice.

The Workforce is Changing—AI Can Help

The insurance industry is facing a major shift. With many professionals retiring and fewer new agents entering the field, agencies are struggling to keep up. AI can help smaller teams do more with less, improving efficiency without lowering service quality.

AI Isn’t Going Anywhere

AI in insurance isn’t just a trend It’s changing the way agencies operate, allowing them to provide top-tier service without drastically increasing staff. Whether it’s automating paperwork or improving client communication, AI tools are giving smaller agencies the ability to compete with the big players.

AI is Here to Help, Not Take Over

As we wrapped up our conversation, Roberto made a great point: AI should be seen as a teammate, not a replacement. Just like robots in manufacturing took over dangerous tasks, AI in insurance is here to remove busywork so agents can focus on what they do best—helping people.

Want to see what GAIL can do for your agency? Check out their website at meetgail.com.