A Roadmap for AI Maturity: From Chatbots to Autonomous Agents

Salesforce has introduced a new Agentic Maturity Model, providing businesses with a structured framework to evolve from basic AI chatbots to fully autonomous, collaborative AI agents.

With 84% of CIOs believing AI will be as transformative as the internet—yet struggling with deployment—this model offers a clear pathway to scale AI effectively.

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The Four Stages of Agentic AI Maturity

Salesforce’s model defines four progressive stages of AI agent sophistication:

1️⃣ Chatbots & Co-Pilots (Stage 0 → 1)

• Current State: Rule-based chatbots handling simple queries.
• Next Step: Introduce reasoning capabilities to improve responses.

2️⃣ Information Retrieval Agents (Stage 1 → 2)

• Current State: AI fetches data but lacks autonomy.
• Next Step: Implement governance frameworks and allow agents to execute tasks independently.

3️⃣ Simple Orchestration (Single Domain) → Complex Orchestration (Multiple Domains) (Stage 2 → 3)

• Current State: AI automates workflows within one domain (e.g., sales).
• Next Step: Expand AI coordination across departments (e.g., sales + service + marketing).

4️⃣ Multi-Agent Orchestration (Stage 3 → 4)

• End Goal: AI agents collaborate seamlessly across systems, data, and human teams.

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Why This Model Matters

Many businesses deploy AI quickly but struggle to scale due to:
🔹 Unclear governance
🔹 Data silos
🔹 Security concerns
🔹 Lack of human-AI collaboration strategies

Shibani Ahuja, SVP of Enterprise IT Strategy at Salesforce, emphasizes:

“Scaling AI effectively requires a phased approach. This framework helps organizations progress toward higher maturity—balancing innovation with security and operational readiness.”

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Key Recommendations for Advancement

✅ Start with high-impact use cases where chatbots fall short.
✅ Build governance early—define testing, security, and accountability.
✅ Prepare data ecosystems for AI interoperability.
✅ Foster human-AI collaboration—agents should augment, not replace, teams.

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The Future: AI That Works Like a Well-Oiled Team

The ultimate vision? AI agents that:

• Operate autonomously
• Share insights across departments
• Continuously learn and adapt

Salesforce’s model provides the playbook to get there—helping businesses move from experimentation to enterprise-wide AI transformation.

Next Step: Assess where your organization stands—and start climbing the maturity ladder. Contact Tectonic today.

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