Finding the right tech partner shouldn't feel like a shot in the dark. But for companies investing in new technology, that's often exactly what it is—sifting through endless agencies, hoping to land the right fit. Will they get your vision? Can they deliver on time?
That's why Umbraco—a powerhouse CMS running over 750,000 websites—makes it easier for businesses to connect with the right experts. With a trusted network of implementation partners, Umbraco ensures customers get the support they need to launch and scale smoothly. With businesses having unique goals and partners offering specialized expertise, finding the perfect match is crucial for long-term success.
That's where AI matchmaking changed everything. Thanks to Lead Skywalker, an AI-powered assistant built by Niels Christian Laursen, and a complementary AI-driven system led by Lars Skjold Iversen, businesses no longer have to gamble on the right agency. Together, these innovations use Zapier and AI to enhance efficiency, fairness, and speed in the matchmaking process.
Umbraco's results, by the numbers
From hours to minutes: AI automation has slashed the time sales reps spend on matchmaking from 3+ hours to 15-30 minutes, allowing them to respond to customers in 24 hours compared to previously 3-4 days.
115+ leads processed: Since launching in April 2024, Lead Skywalker has streamlined the partner-matching process, handling over 115 leads with AI-powered efficiency.
Real-time data updates: Automated workflows ensure partner profiles stay accurate by syncing website updates and CRM records instantly.
About Umbraco
Company size: 51-200 employees
Industry: Content Management System (CMS)
Location: Odense, Denmark
Meet Lead Skywalker: Umbraco's AI matchmaker
Niels Christian Laursen, Digital Marketing Manager at Umbraco, built Lead Skywalker—an AI-driven assistant that automates partner matchmaking using Zapier, OpenAI, and Zoho CRM.
Previously, sales managers had to manually sift through hundreds of agencies, a process that took hours. Now, Lead Skywalker does it in minutes. Since its launch in April 2024, Lead Skywalker has processed 115 leads, significantly reducing the workload on the sales team.
Here's how the system works:
A potential customer fills out an Umbraco form, detailing their project, budget, region, and tech stack.
Zoho CRM stores this data and triggers a Zapier automation to process the request.
Partner profiles—including skills, certifications, and past projects—are continuously updated via Zapier, ensuring real-time accuracy.
A Zap triggers OpenAI, which analyzes customer needs and shortlists 3-5 best-fit partners based on expertise and location.
Recommendations appear in Zoho CRM, where the sales team can review, refine, and send them to the customer.
If automation issues arise, Slack alerts notify the team to ensure no lead is missed.
"This process used to take sales managers hours—they either had to rely on memory or just go with whoever was top of mind. Now, the system handles it in minutes."
Niels Christian Laursen
Umbraco maintains real-time accuracy in its partner database through automated updates, ensuring businesses receive the most up-to-date matchmaking recommendations. Here's how they do that:
Website updates: When a partner updates their profile, the Umbraco integration syncs the database instantly, ensuring that any new skills, certifications, or services are reflected in matchmaking recommendations.
CRM integration: Any updates to a partner's CRM account are pushed directly to the spreadsheet, maintaining consistency across systems and allowing for better internal tracking of partner expertise.
Enhanced data collection: Most required partner data was already available on public profiles, but Umbraco added additional private fields for partners to complete, which are then pushed into the CRM for use in Lead Skywalker's AI-powered recommendations.
By automating agency matchmaking, Lead Skywalker ensures businesses receive fast, relevant, and data-driven partner recommendations with minimal manual effort.
Automating agency matchmaking with AI
The video above is a walkthrough that Lars did for the Zapier's Wizard's Guild.
Before automation, agency matchmaking could take days due to the sales team's workload and the complexity of finding the right partner. With Zapier's workflow in place, the response time has dropped to just 15-30 minutes in many cases.
"Now, our sales team can focus on building relationships instead of manually filtering partners. The AI does the heavy lifting, and we just validate the results," says Lars.
The improved efficiency benefits both sides—businesses get faster responses, and partner agencies receive high-quality leads tailored to their expertise. Beyond improving matchmaking, Umbraco's automated workflows have unlocked valuable business intelligence. By analyzing trends from both Lead Skywalker and the AI-powered matchmaking system, the team can identify:
Gaps in the partner network: If no agency matches a lead's request, Umbraco can proactively recruit partners in that region or specialty.
Emerging market trends: Patterns in agency requests help inform marketing and partnership strategies.
Better lead distribution: Automation ensures that recommendations are balanced, preventing bias toward recently contacted partners.
This data-driven approach allows Umbraco to refine its partner program and optimize business development efforts.
Before AI automation, sales reps spent up to three hours manually finding the right partners, often leaving customers waiting 3-4 days for recommendations.
Lars Skjold Iversen
What's next: Pushing AI-powered matchmaking even further
What started as a slow, manual process is now an intelligent matchmaking engine connecting businesses with the right partners in minutes—helping them scale faster, reduce inefficiencies, and make smarter decisions. But Umbraco isn't stopping here.
With the success of AI-driven matchmaking, the team is doubling down on automation to enhance efficiency and personalization even further.
Here's what's next:
Automating lead follow-ups: AI-generated email recommendations could provide instant responses to leads, ensuring businesses get the support they need without delay.
Boosting partner visibility: Dynamic partner rankings will highlight agencies based on recent performance, customer feedback, and project success—bringing the best options to the forefront.
AI-driven content marketing: Intelligent insights will help tailor messaging for different industries, making outreach more relevant and impactful.
AI and Zapier are game-changers for us. We're not just speeding up processes—we're making smarter decisions and creating better experiences for our customers and partners.
Lars Skjold Iversen
By blending automation with human expertise, Umbraco has redefined how businesses find the right partners—turning a frustrating guessing game into a seamless, AI-powered experience.
