Backstory Reviews & Product Details

Backstory (formerly People.ai) is the Revenue Answers Platform for GTM leaders. Revenue leaders ask the same questions every day: Is this deal real? Where's my risk? What do I focus on next? Backstory gives you straight answers - grounded in 100% of actual revenue activity, not CRM guesses. With more than a decade of training AI models on billions of sales interactions, Backstory connects every signal to the right accounts and opportunities and delivers answers where you already work - whether that's your CRM, Claude, Copilot, or other AI tools you already use. With Backstory, you can: - Know which deals are real and which are at risk, without waiting for rep updates - Get forecast answers you can defend, backed by actual activity data - Ask revenue questions directly in the AI tools your team already uses - See exactly what's happening across your pipeline and what to do next Sales leaders from Red Hat, Palo Alto Networks, Iron Mountain, TransUnion, Five9, and Randstad rely on Backstory to drive trillions in pipeline and revenue. Recognized by Gartner and Forrester, the Inc. 5000, Y Combinator Top Companies, and Forbes AI 50. Based in San Francisco and backed by ICONIQ Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and Lightspeed Venture Partners.

Seller

Backstory

Discussions

Backstory Community

Languages Supported

English

Solution Type

All-in-One

Overview by

Amy Brandl (--)

Used by PandaDoc and 2 others

Beta

Value at a Glance

Averages based on real user reviews.

Time to Implement

3 months

View More Pricing Information

Backstory Integrations

(2)

Verified by Backstory

Backstory Reviews FAQs

Generated using AI

Last updated: Nov 04, 2026

What is Backstory, and what problem is it built to solve?

Backstory is used to capture and organize sales activity, giving teams visibility into customer engagement, opportunities, and sales performance. It helps reduce manual CRM updates and makes it easier to see where teams should focus.

What languages does Backstory support?

Backstory supports 1 language: English.

What company sizes and industries is Backstory the best fit for?

Backstory appears to suit teams across small, mid-market, and enterprise organizations, with the strongest reviewer presence in mid-market and enterprise settings. Positive experiences span several technology-oriented sectors as well as telecommunications.

How long does it take to implement Backstory across a team?

The most common reported time to go live is 1–3 months, though implementation can be faster or take longer depending on the rollout.

What customer support options does Backstory provide, and how do users find the overall support experience?

Support is available through email/help desk, chat, and a knowledge base. The support experience is often described as responsive, helpful, and hands-on during setup and ongoing use; some users also encounter upfront configuration work or slower follow-up.

What tools and platforms does Backstory integrate with, and how do these integrations help users get more value from the product?

Backstory offers 2 integrations, both in the Salesforce category:

Salesforce: Salesforce Platform and Salesforce Sales Cloud

These connections help keep sales activity and CRM records together, making it easier to review pipeline information and update records without as much manual work.

What features or capabilities could make Backstory even more useful?

More flexible reporting and a smoother way to work with data are the clearest opportunities to make Backstory more useful.

Expand reporting customization, including more flexible dashboards, filters, and cross-object views.
Improve activity capture and data matching so engagement records are more complete and accurately tied to accounts and opportunities.
Make common editing and collaboration workflows easier, including clearer sync feedback and more convenient sharing or exporting.

G2 reviews are authentic and verified.

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Verified User in Internet

Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

4/23/2023

"Good tool, but can still improve documentation part"

4/5

What do you like best about Backstory?

The tool itself is very good, once get rampped up, it's very simple to use. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Backstory?

The documentation part is very outdated, compared with the API content. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Verified User in Computer Software

Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

8/26/2022

"Easy to use, blazing fast!"

4/5

What do you like best about Backstory?

I find it super easy to configure different views for myself and my colleagues from the Sales team. The speed is also quite fast which is great and the ability to share the views with others via links. Furthermore, the writeback is great so I can enter comments and update fields directly in here instead of going into SFdc. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Backstory?

I am missing that it does not use my details (name, role, etc) and use intelligence on top so I can have a few auto-generated views as well as relevant widgets ready to go. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is Backstory solving and how is that benefiting you?

Now I don't need to go into Salesforce that often, which saves me time since Salesforce requires too many clicks to get to where I need to go. Also, the table view simplifies consumption of information as well as allowing for a quick and powerful filtering and configuration of the columns I need. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Michaela A.

Manager, Corporate Customer Success

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

11/10/2022

"Critical efficiency tool for Corporate CSMs"

5/5

What do you like best about Backstory?

My team heavily uses PeopleGlass heavily. They each manage around 40 accounts and the efficiency it gives us to manage our business is incredible. It is intuitive, which is rare in GTM tools. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Backstory?

Sometimes our SFDC fields take a bit to show up in PeopleGlass to be able to build reports on, but this may be an Ops update we can make. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Marshall K.

Account Executive

Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

7/8/2022

"People.ai helps me monitor my performance so I know how to be as effective as possible!"

4/5

What do you like best about Backstory?

The ability to track individual metrics over a certain period. This allows me to analyze trends in my performance so I can make sure I am moving my performance in the right direction. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Backstory?

It would be helpful to have more visibility into other team members' stats. This would help me to see what my colleagues are doing well and learn from them. This way I can do even better. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Recommendations to others considering Backstory:

It's a good tool overall, but especially in a WFH or hybrid environment. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is Backstory solving and how is that benefiting you?

People.ai is helping to create a path to success that can be duplicated. By understanding what metrics make me successful, I can continue to do things that move the needle and even improve on them. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Response from Rick Reid of Backstory

edit

Thanks for the nice review! We agree that viewing team members success is useful - access to other team members is an administrative setting, you should be able to see other people on your team. Reach out to your People.ai admin, or feel free to reach out to us at support@people.ai and we'll try to help.

Andrea S.

customer success manager

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

11/10/2022

"Love PeopleGlass!"

5/5

What do you like best about Backstory?

It makes running dashboards and making SFDC edits super easy and way more efficient than doing it in salesforce Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Backstory?

I wish there was an easier way to run a report of opps that I am the CSM for since i dont own the opp but am attached at the account level Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Jessica P.

none

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

6/30/2022

"great resource our entire company uses"

4/5

What do you like best about Backstory?

I like how it shows what activities everyone is doing on the team since we needed to start recording our data and analytics on what is getting things to work within our internal and external outreach. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Backstory?

It is odd that it is always tracking haha but I would say it doesn't know exactly what meetings we are in, customer vs internal and that I think would be really interesting for me to be able to see Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Response from Rick Reid of Backstory

edit

Thanks for the review! We work really hard at making sure the activities we capture are relevant your sales efforts. We do know the difference between external and internal calls - maybe your configuration needs to be looked at. Please reach out to support@people.ai in order to check it out.

Theodore R.

Techincal Lead

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

Originally submitted 5/16/2022

"great tool. amazing support"

4.5/5

What do you like best about Backstory?

The well structured and comprehensive implementation and enablement program is fantastic but even more than that I like the level of support their customer success team provides. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Backstory?

Slack messages cannot be synced to Salesforce Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Response from Rick Reid of Backstory

edit

Thanks for the review. We do offer auto-creation of contacts through our Data Foundation product, since it looks like you are using Data Foundations, email the details to support@people.ai and we can figure out what is going on.

James S.

Vice President, Revenue Operations

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

Originally submitted 12/6/2019

"A fantastic, easy to use sales process and execution tool"

5/5

What do you like best about Backstory?

The playbook, a series of questions which help you drive the next action really get sales people thinking.

The relationship mapping is fantastic also.

All native salesforce, easy to use, easy to install/update and the team at ClosePlan are fantastic.

Great insights into the engagement with prospects and customer, all automatic and powerful Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Backstory?

Nothing really. We have a few items on the roadmap but right now even sales people are enjoying using it! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Response from Mark Gallant of Backstory

edit

Really appreciate your review. Having best-in-class tools native within salesforce where you already work, is just so powerful and increases your efficiency. Join us next month to learn about all the new enhancements coming to a CRM near you soon!

See how Backstory improved

Verified User in Computer Software

Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

7/5/2022

"Great addition to make me successful"

4/5

What do you like best about Backstory?

It is giving me structure and insight info that is crucial for me to execute. Even though it is not my only tool, it is a day-to-day one. Focus, structure, insight are key elements Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Backstory?

For me, it was a little hard to get used to at first and how to implement it in my routine. In general, it has a great feel and when getting used to it is something you don't want to lose. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Recommendations to others considering Backstory:

When you want a clear way of work with the benefit of organization, team and even individual level insights I think you are at the right address with People.ai. It helps to put your strategy and way of work form in great structure Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is Backstory solving and how is that benefiting you?

It is giving me to find a balance on which type of deals I need to focus on to reach my target. Therefore it makes me more productive than any other tool that I would have. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Response from Rick Reid of Backstory

edit

Thanks for the review! Happy to be a part of your day-to-day! We are constantly working on our UX - if you have specific comments we'd love to hear them at support@people.ai.

Joshua M.

Senior Renewal Manager

Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

5/17/2022

"PeopleGlass Works!"

5/5

What do you like best about Backstory?

The ability to update notes and fields in one place without having to navigate to different screens, reports, and tabs. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Backstory?

I don't think I can think of anything I dislike currently. I did run into an issue when I did a test to mass update my RM notes. The notes I put in replaced all of the previous notes that were in there. Luckily I had back up report where I could replace all of the deleted notes. Maybe a feature that does an archive or a warning that everything will be deleted would be helpful. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Response from Rick Reid of Backstory

edit

Thank you for the great feedback. Good idea about warning about overwriting.