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Agentforce Redefines Generative AI

Agentforce Redefines Generative AI

Agentforce: Redefining Generative AI in Salesforce Many Dreamforce attendees who expected to hear about Einstein Copilot were surprised when Salesforce introduced Agentforce just a week before the conference. While it might seem like a rebranding of Copilot, Agentforce marks a significant evolution by enabling more autonomous agents that go beyond summarizing or generating content to perform specific actions. Here’s a breakdown of the transition and what it means for Salesforce users: Key Vocabulary Updates How Agentforce Works Agents take user input, known as an “utterance,” and translate it into actionable steps based on predefined configurations. This allows the system to enhance performance over time while delivering responses tailored to user needs. Understanding Agentforce 1. Topics: Organizing Agent Capabilities Agentforce introduces “Topics,” a new layer of organization that categorizes actions by business function. When a user provides an utterance, the agent identifies the relevant topic first, then determines the best actions to address it. 2. Actions: What Agents Can Do Actions remain largely unchanged from Einstein Copilot. These are tasks agents perform to execute plans. 3. Prompts: The Key to Better Results LLMs rely on prompts to generate outputs, and crafting effective prompts is essential for reducing irrelevant responses and optimizing agent behavior. How Generative AI Enhances Salesforce Agentforce unlocks several benefits across productivity, personalization, standardization, and efficiency: Implementing Agentforce: Tips for Success Getting Started Start by using standard Agent actions. These out-of-the-box tools, such as opportunity summarization or close plan creation, provide a strong foundation. You can make minor adjustments to optimize their performance before diving into more complex custom actions. Testing and Iteration Testing AI agents is different from traditional workflows. Agents must handle various phrasing of the same user request (utterances) while maintaining consistency in responses. The Future of Salesforce with Agentforce As you gain expertise in planning, developing, testing, and deploying Agentforce actions, you’ll unlock new possibilities for transforming your Salesforce experience. With generative AI tools like Agentforce, Salesforce evolves from a traditional point-and-click interface into an intelligent, agent-driven platform with streamlined, conversational workflows. This isn’t just an upgrade — it’s the foundation for reimagining how businesses interact with their CRM in an AI-assisted world. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

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Speed to Launch of Agentforce

Speed to Launch of Agentforce

Agentforce isn’t just another AI platform that requires months of customization. At most customers, they quickly saw its power, launching transformative generative AI experiences in just days—no AI engineers needed. For companies with larger admin teams, the benefits can be even greater. Unlike other platforms, Agentforce places a strong emphasis on data privacy, building on the trust that Salesforce is known for, making these virtual assistants invaluable. We began with employee-facing use cases, saving our team several hours per week. Now, with Agentforce, we’re seeing even more opportunities to drive efficiencies and better serve our customers. “We’re excited to leverage Agentforce to completely overhaul recruitment and enrollment at Unity Environmental University. Instead of traditional forms or chatbots, our students will soon engage with an autonomous recruitment agent directly on our website, offering personalized support throughout the college application process.”– Dr. Melik Khoury, President & CEO, Unity Environmental University “For first-generation college students, the 1:385 coach-to-student ratio makes personalized guidance challenging. By integrating Agentforce into our platform, we’re deploying cutting-edge solutions to better support students. These agents enable our coaches to focus on high-touch, personalized experiences while handling vital tasks like sharing deadlines and answering common questions—24/7.”– Siva Kumari, CEO, College Possible “Agentforce offers organizations a unique opportunity to move beyond incremental improvements and achieve exponential ROI. By automating customer interactions, improving outcomes, and reducing costs, it integrates data, flows, and user interfaces to mitigate risks and accelerate value creation. This agent-based platform approach allows businesses to harness AI’s full potential, revolutionizing customer engagement and paving the way for exponential growth.”– Rebecca Wettemann, CEO and Principal Analyst, Valoir “Autonomous agents powered by Salesforce’s Agentforce are revolutionizing customer experiences by providing fast, accurate, and personalized support around the clock. With advanced AI making decisions and taking actions autonomously, businesses can resolve customer issues more efficiently, fostering deeper interactions and enhancing satisfaction. This innovation enables companies to reallocate human resources to more complex tasks, boosting individual productivity and scaling business growth. Agentforce is setting new standards for seamless sales, service, marketing, and commerce interactions, reinforcing its leadership in customer experience.”– Michael Fauscette, CEO and Chief Analyst, Arion Research LLC “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” — Alan Kay, Computer Science Pioneer Technology progresses in what biologists call punctuated equilibrium, with new capabilities slowly emerging from labs and tinkerers until a breakthrough shifts the axis of possibility. These pioneering feats create new paradigms, unleashing waves of innovation—much like the Apple Macintosh, the iPhone, and the Salesforce Platform, which revolutionized the enterprise software-as-a-service (SaaS) model and sparked an entire industry. The Age of Agentforce Begins At Dreamforce 2024, Salesforce Futures reflected on the launch of Agentforce, inspired by visions like the Apple Knowledge Navigator. In 2023, we used this inspiration to craft our Salesforce 2030 film, which showcased the collaboration between humans and autonomous AI agents. Now, with Agentforce, we’re witnessing that vision come to life. Agentforce is a suite of customizable AI agents and tools built on the Salesforce Platform, offering an elegant solution to the complexity of AI deployment. It addresses the challenges of integrating data, models, infrastructure, and applications into a unified system. With powerful tools like Agent Builder and Model Builder, organizations can easily create, customize, and deploy AI agents. Salesforce’s Atlas Reasoning Engine empowers these agents to handle both routine and complex tasks autonomously. A New Era of AI Innovation At Dreamforce 2024, over 10,000 attendees raced to build their own agents using the “Agent Builder” experience, turning verbal instructions into fully functioning agents in under 15 minutes. This wasn’t just another chatbot—it’s a new breed of AI that could transform how businesses operate and deliver superior customer experiences. Companies like Saks, OpenTable, and Wiley have quickly embraced this technology. As Mick Costigan and David Berthy of Salesforce Futures explain, “When we see signals like this, it pushes us toward the future. Soon, we’ll see complex, multi-agent systems solving higher-order challenges, both in the enterprise and in consumer devices.” Shaping the Future Agentforce isn’t just a product—it’s a platform for experimentation. With hundreds of thousands of Salesforce customers soon gaining access, the full potential of these tools will unfold in ways we can’t yet imagine. As with every major technological shift, the real magic will lie in how people use it. Every interaction, every agent deployed, and every problem solved will shape the future in unexpected ways. Platform Evolution Adam Evans, Salesforce SVP of Product, notes that Agentforce builds on the company’s transformation over the past four years, following the pattern of Salesforce’s original disruption of enterprise software. Unlike traditional solutions, Agentforce eliminates the need for customers to build their own AI infrastructure, providing a ready-to-use solution. At the core of Agentforce is the Atlas Reasoning Engine, delivering results that are twice as relevant and 33% more accurate than competing solutions. This engine integrates Salesforce Data Cloud, Flow for automation, and the Einstein Trust Layer for governance. Early Customer Results Early Agentforce deployments highlight how organizations are using autonomous agents to enhance, rather than replace, human workers: George Pokorny, Senior VP of Global Customer Success at OpenTable, shared, “Just saving two minutes on a ten-minute call lets our service reps focus on strengthening customer relationships, thanks to seamless integration with Service Cloud, giving us a unified view of diner preferences and history.” Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

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1 Billion Enterprise AI Agents

Inside Salesforce’s Ambition to Deploy 1 Billion Enterprise AI Agents Salesforce is making a bold play in the enterprise AI space with its recently launched Agentforce platform. Introduced at the annual Dreamforce conference, Agentforce is positioned to revolutionize sales, marketing, commerce, and operations with autonomous AI agents, marking a significant evolution from Salesforce’s previous Einstein AI platform. What Makes Agentforce Different? Agentforce operates as more than just a chatbot platform. It uses real-time data and user-defined business rules to proactively manage tasks, aiming to boost efficiency and enhance customer satisfaction. Built on Salesforce’s Data Cloud, the platform simplifies deployment while maintaining powerful customization capabilities: “Salesforce takes care of 80% of the foundational work, leaving customers to focus on the 20% that truly differentiates their business,” explains Adam Forrest, SVP of Marketing at Salesforce. Forrest highlights how Agentforce enables businesses to build custom agents tailored to specific needs by incorporating their own rules and data sources. This user-centric approach empowers admins, developers, and technology teams to deploy AI without extensive technical resources. Early Adoption Across Industries Major brands have already adopted Agentforce for diverse use cases: These real-world applications illustrate Agentforce’s potential to transform workflows in industries ranging from retail to hospitality and education. AI Agents in Marketing: The New Frontier Salesforce emphasizes that Agentforce isn’t just for operations; it’s poised to redefine marketing. AI agents can automate lead qualification, optimize outreach strategies, and enhance personalization. For example, in account-based marketing, agents can analyze customer data to identify high-value opportunities, craft tailored strategies, and recommend optimal engagement times based on user behavior. “AI agents streamline lead qualification by evaluating intent signals and scoring leads, allowing sales teams to focus on high-priority prospects,” says Jonathan Franchell, CEO of B2B marketing agency Ironpaper. Once campaigns are launched, Agentforce monitors performance in real time, offering suggestions to improve ROI and resource allocation. By integrating seamlessly with CRM platforms, the tool also facilitates better collaboration between marketing and sales teams. Beyond B2C applications, AI agents in B2B contexts can evaluate customer-specific needs and provide tailored product or service recommendations, further enhancing client relationships. Enabling Creativity Through Automation By automating repetitive tasks, Agentforce aims to free marketers to focus on strategy and creativity. Dan Gardner, co-founder of Code and Theory, describes this vision: “Agentic AI eliminates friction and dissolves silos in data, organizational structures, and customer touchpoints. The result? Smarter insights, efficient distribution, and more time for creatives to do what they do best: creating.” Competitive Landscape and Challenges Despite its promise, Salesforce faces stiff competition. Microsoft—backed by its integration with OpenAI’s ChatGPT—has unveiled AI tools like Copilot, and other players such as Google, ServiceNow, and HubSpot are advancing their own AI platforms. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has not shied away from the rivalry. On the Masters of Scale podcast, he criticized Microsoft for overpromising on products like Copilot, asserting that Salesforce delivers tangible value: “Our tools show users exactly what is possible, what is real, and how easy it is to derive huge value from AI.” Salesforce must also demonstrate Agentforce’s scalability across diverse industries to capture a significant share of the enterprise AI market. A Transformative Vision for the Future Agentforce represents Salesforce’s commitment to bringing AI-powered automation to the forefront of enterprise operations. With its focus on seamless deployment, powerful customization, and real-time capabilities, the platform aims to reshape how businesses interact with customers and optimize internal processes. By targeting diverse use cases and emphasizing accessibility for both technical and non-technical users, Salesforce is betting on Agentforce to drive adoption at scale—and position itself as a leader in the increasingly competitive AI market. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

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salesforce agentforce ai powered agentic agents

Marketing Agents for Campaigns

Marketing Agents: The Next Frontier in Campaign Creation and Optimization For years, content creation and distribution have been key challenges for marketers. According to recent research from the Content Marketing Institute, 54% of B2B marketers lack the resources needed to produce high-quality content at scale. Similarly, B2C marketers often struggle to create consistent, repeatable, and scalable processes. On top of these challenges, they must balance resource management to ensure campaigns are efficient, impactful, and engaging enough to stand out from the competition. The solution to these challenges lies in marketing agents, powered by data and AI. These intelligent tools streamline content creation, optimize campaigns, and make marketing processes more efficient. At this year’s Dreamforce, Salesforce introduced Agentforce, a suite of tools designed to create, customize, and deploy marketing agents across the Customer 360 platform. As part of this launch, Agentforce Campaigns is already gaining attention from customers eager to harness its potential. According to Salesforce’s 9th State of Marketing Report, 71% of marketers plan to integrate generative and predictive AI into their workflows within the next 18 months. This insight explores how marketing agents, like those offered in Agentforce, can transform customer engagement while enhancing internal team productivity and collaboration. Redefining Campaign Delivery with Marketing Agents Marketing agents are part of a broader suite of AI-powered virtual assistants that collaborate with humans to streamline workflows and optimize decision-making. These agents analyze data, interpret requests, and execute tasks such as content generation, campaign optimization, and performance analysis. Salesforce’s AI agents are designed to be partners, taking on time-consuming tasks so marketers can focus on high-value, strategic activities. With marketing agents, teams spend less time gathering and managing data and more time delivering personalized, impactful campaigns. A key mindset shift is required to maximize the value of these tools: instead of asking, “How can agents make business as usual more efficient?”, marketers should think, “How can agents transform the way we deliver exceptional customer experiences?” Streamlining Campaign Creation with Agentforce Campaigns 1. Intelligent Recommendations for Focused Action Einstein, Salesforce’s AI engine, analyzes data and provides contextual recommendations to help marketers achieve their goals. Agentforce Campaigns takes this a step further by turning these static recommendations into actionable steps, such as adjusting an audience segment or creating an entirely new campaign. 2. Rapid Campaign Brief Creation Agentforce Campaigns can draft campaign briefs in seconds using natural language prompts. These briefs incorporate organizational goals and marketing guidelines, making them ready for review and sharing within Salesforce. This saves time and ensures alignment from the start. 3. Contextual Content Creation Once a campaign brief is approved, marketing agents can generate campaign content such as emails and landing pages. Agentforce Campaigns automatically drafts subject lines, body copy, and calls to action within branded templates. Content can be refined using natural language commands or manual adjustments to fit the brand’s tone and strategy. 4. Simplified Audience Segmentation Marketers no longer need SQL expertise to build audience segments. With Agentforce Campaigns, they can describe their target audience in natural language, and the AI translates this into the necessary segment attributes. 5. Journey Activation at Scale Marketing agents simplify the process of activating multi-channel campaigns. Using natural language prompts, Agentforce Campaigns can configure a draft journey, complete with personalized content, ready for refinement and deployment. Unlocking New Opportunities with Marketing Agents 6. Unlimited Content Variations Time and budget constraints often limit the number of content variations marketers can produce. Agentforce Campaigns overcomes this limitation by generating multiple personalized content versions in seconds. This allows teams to deliver highly tailored messages for different audience segments without additional effort. 7. Nuanced Segment Exploration Traditional segmentation often depends on data science teams, which may have limited capacity. Marketing agents empower marketers to build their own nuanced segments using natural language. For example, separate churn segments can be created based on engagement scores, location, or purchase history, enabling more precise targeting. 8. A Culture of Testing and Learning Testing often falls by the wayside due to time constraints. Marketing agents make it easy to embed testing into campaigns by automating journey flows, enabling marketers to adopt a culture of continuous experimentation and improvement without increasing workloads. Transforming Marketing with Agentforce By integrating marketing agents into workflows, businesses can improve productivity, enhance personalization, and scale campaigns like never before. Agentforce Campaigns enables marketers to automate routine tasks, explore untapped opportunities, and deliver exceptional customer experiences. Marketers who embrace this shift will not only increase efficiency but also elevate their strategies, creating campaigns that are more targeted, impactful, and scalable. Note: Some features and services mentioned may not yet be available. Customers should base purchase decisions on currently available features. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

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Autonomous Agents on the Agentforce Platform

Leveraging Agentforce

At Dreamforce 2024, Salesforce customers showcased the power of Agentforce by creating over 10,000 autonomous agents, each designed to address specific business challenges. The message was clear: “If you can describe it, Agentforce can do it.” By leveraging Agentforce, customers are able to create a flexible, on-demand digital workforce that operates without limitations, making it easy to build and deploy agents using familiar Salesforce tools and language. Why This Matters: Recent Salesforce research reveals that U.S. consumers often spend up to nine hours interacting with customer service to resolve a single issue. Moreover, 67% of consumers are frustrated when their issues aren’t resolved immediately and may abandon one-third of customer service interactions. This presents a massive opportunity to enhance the customer experience with AI-powered agents. “Piloting Agentforce made a noticeable difference during our busiest period — back-to-school season. We saw a 40% increase in case resolution, surpassing the performance of our old bot. Agentforce helps manage routine tasks, allowing our service teams to focus on more complex cases.” – Kevin Quigley, Director of Process Improvement, Wiley What’s New: Several new solutions are now available to all customers: Going Deeper: Agentforce is fully integrated into the Salesforce Platform, combining powerful data, AI, and the Salesforce Customer 360 ecosystem. This integration unlocks infinite agent capacity and proactive actions across all roles and channels, with full context on every customer interaction. Industry-Specific Examples: Agentforce’s flexibility allows it to serve various industries with tailored solutions: Customer & Analyst Quotes: “Agentforce is enhancing Saks’ ability to provide personalized customer support, automating routine tasks like order tracking, which allows our teams to focus on delivering a high-touch experience.” – Mike Hite, Chief Technology Officer, Saks Global “With Agentforce, OpenTable is automating routine tasks, saving time for our reps to focus on strengthening customer relationships and providing exceptional service to diners and restaurants worldwide.” – George Pokorny, Senior VP of Global Customer Success, OpenTable “By integrating Agentforce with Data Cloud and MuleSoft, we’re unlocking the full potential of our data, driving faster decisions and reimagining how we serve clients.” – Caroline Basyn, Chief Digital & IT Officer, The Adecco Group “Agentforce will revolutionize ezCater’s food management services, blending AI and human interaction to ensure seamless, personalized experiences for every customer.” – Erin DeCesare, CTO, ezCater Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

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Demandbase Brings Intent Data to Salesforce Prospecting Center

Demandbase Brings Intent Data to Salesforce Prospecting Center

Demandbase Brings Intent Data to Salesforce Prospecting Center, Empowering B2B Sales Teams Demandbase, the leading account-based go-to-market (GTM) platform for B2B enterprises, has partnered with Salesforce to integrate its industry-leading intent data into the Salesforce Sales Cloud Prospecting Center. Leveraging insights derived from over one trillion monthly interactions and 36 billion B2B site visits, this integration empowers sales teams to identify and prioritize accounts most likely to be in-market for their products. With Demandbase’s intent data embedded seamlessly into the Salesforce Prospecting Center, users gain access to an intuitive, customizable interface, enabling go-to-market teams to make data-driven decisions with greater precision and efficiency. “We’re thrilled to deepen our partnership with Salesforce and deliver even more value to our shared customers,” said Michael Wilczak, Chief Strategy & Development Officer at Demandbase. “By embedding our intent data directly into the Salesforce Prospecting Center, we’re enabling sales teams to target the most promising leads, boosting their productivity and success rates. This integration helps our customers maintain laser focus on accounts that are actively signaling buying intent, ultimately driving better outcomes—all within their existing Salesforce environment.” Key Features of the Intent Score Integration “By integrating Demandbase’s Intent Score into the Salesforce Prospecting Center, sales teams can take immediate action to identify and prioritize their next best customers,” said Pawan Kumar Adda, Senior Director of Sales Cloud Product Management at Salesforce. “This empowers sellers to focus on accounts with the highest likelihood of conversion, optimizing their efforts and boosting overall productivity.” The Intent Score feature, unveiled at Dreamforce ‘24, became available to Salesforce customers with Unlimited Edition or higher Sales Cloud subscriptions in October 2024. To learn more about how Intent Score can enhance your GTM strategy, visit the Salesforce Sales Engagement product page. Salesforce, Sales Cloud, Data Cloud, Dreamforce, and other marks are trademarks of Salesforce, Inc. About Demandbase Demandbase is the leading account-based GTM platform for B2B enterprises, enabling teams to identify and engage the right customers with precision. Powered by unified intent data, AI-driven insights, and actionable recommendations, Demandbase helps organizations align their GTM efforts, maximize revenue, and streamline technology stacks. Thousands of companies rely on Demandbase to execute scalable, data-driven strategies. Learn more at www.demandbase.com. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

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AI Agents and Digital Transformation

Inventing the Future of Agents

“The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” – Alan Kay, Computer Science PioneerOr, to channel Buzz Lightyear: “To infinity and beyond.” Inventing the Future of Agents The history of computing has always advanced in fits and starts, a pattern biologists call punctuated equilibrium. Revolutionary technologies emerge slowly—nurtured in research labs, garages, and the minds of visionaries—until the moment comes when a breakthrough shifts the axis of possibility. From there, a new paradigm takes shape, unleashing waves of innovation. Think of the Apple Macintosh, the iPhone, and Salesforce’s own Platform, which pioneered enterprise software-as-a-service (SaaS) and sparked an entirely new industry. Each of these milestones reshaped the way we live and work, setting the stage for even greater advances to come. Alan Kay: A Visionary for Computing’s Future One such paradigm-shifter was Alan Kay. In 1971, while working at Xerox PARC, Kay was immersed in an era when computers were room-sized behemoths. At the time, only four of these machines were connected to the fledgling ARPAnet, a precursor to today’s internet. Kay, a skilled musician with a deep appreciation for human-centered design, brought an empathetic and humanistic approach to innovation. In 1972, he introduced the Dynabook—a radical vision for personal computing that was decades ahead of its time. The Dynabook concept featured a battery-powered laptop with a touchscreen, wireless access to global information, and an interface so simple even children could use it. Kay and his team at PARC went on to develop many of the foundational elements of modern personal computing: overlapping windows, graphical user interfaces, and object-oriented programming. Later, while at Apple, Kay helped shape the vision for the groundbreaking 1987 Apple Knowledge Navigator video, which anticipated today’s iPad and iPhone. Agents and Humans: Driving Success Together Fast-forward to today, and we are on the cusp of another technological leap forward: AI agents. Much like Kay’s vision of personal computing, the emergence of intelligent, autonomous agents signals a new chapter in how humans and technology work together. Agentforce: Bringing the Future to the Present This interplay between visionary ideas and emerging technologies was on full display with the launch of Agentforce at Dreamforce 2024. A year earlier, at Dreamforce 2023, Salesforce Futures debuted its Salesforce 2030 film, drawing inspiration from Apple’s Knowledge Navigator. The film offered a glimpse into a world where humans collaborate seamlessly with autonomous AI agents—an aspirational vision of business transformed. Since then, the imagination gap between fiction and reality has narrowed. Salesforce’s work in Agentforce and publications like Personal AI Agents and Agents at Work have explored how agents are already changing business as we know it. These tools are bringing science fiction to life, enabling businesses to achieve unprecedented levels of efficiency, creativity, and success. A New Paradigm in Progress Like the Macintosh, the iPhone, or the Salesforce Platform, the rise of AI agents represents another transformative moment in computing history. By combining vision with technological breakthroughs, we are witnessing the dawn of a new era—one where humans and AI agents work together to push the boundaries of what’s possible. Alan Kay’s timeless wisdom rings true: the future isn’t something we wait for—it’s something we invent. With Agentforce, that future is already here. Inventing the Future of Agents. Are you ready to start Inventing the Future of Agents? Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

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Agentforce to the Team

Salesforce has officially launched Agentforce

Agentforce goes beyond traditional chatbots and copilots, leveraging advanced reasoning to perform tasks like resolving customer issues, qualifying leads, and optimizing marketing campaigns—all without human intervention. Triggered by data changes, business rules, automations, or API signals, Agentforce executes actions independently. Companies like OpenTable, Saks, and Wiley are already harnessing Agentforce to enhance employee productivity, expand their workforce, and elevate customer experiences.

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Ready or Not Here AI Agents Come

Ready or Not Here AI Agents Come

As organizations embrace the growing presence of AI agents, leaders must address concerns about allowing autonomous systems to operate in sensitive environments. AI agents, often viewed as the future of how enterprises deploy large language models, raise important questions around security and identity management. The rise of agentic AI has been notable in 2024, with Google launching its Vertex AI Agents, Salesforce introducing Agentforce, and AWS rolling out the re Agent for Amazon Bedrock. These agents promise to deliver significant value by executing tasks using natural language commands, reasoning through the best solutions, and taking action without human intervention. However, as Katie Norton, research manager for DevSecOps & Software Supply Chain Security at IDC, highlighted at Venafi’s Machine Identity Conference, AI agents present unique security challenges. Unlike robotic process automation (RPA), AI agents act autonomously, creating a need for secure machine identities, especially as they access sensitive data across multiple systems. Matt McLarty, CTO at Boomi, added that the complexity of managing agentic AI revolves around ensuring proper authentication and authorization. He pointed out scenarios where agents dynamically interact with systems, such as opening support tickets, which require secure verification of agent access rights. While these agents offer significant potential, businesses are not yet prepared to issue credentials for autonomous agents, according to McLarty. The current reliance on existing authentication and authorization systems needs to evolve to support these new AI capabilities. He also emphasized the importance of pairing agents with human oversight, ensuring that access and actions are traceable. As AI advances into its third wave, characterized by autonomous agents capable of reasoning and action, companies need to rethink their approaches to workforce collaboration. These agents will handle low-value, time-consuming tasks, while human workers focus on strategic initiatives. In sales, for example, AI agents will manage customer interactions, schedule meetings, and resolve basic issues, allowing salespeople to build deeper relationships. At Dreamforce 2024, Salesforce unveiled Agentforce, a platform that empowers organizations to build and deploy customized AI agents across service, sales, marketing, and commerce. This suite aims to increase efficiency, productivity, and customer satisfaction. However, for AI agents to succeed, they must complement human skills and operate within established guardrails. Organizations need to implement audit trails to ensure accountability and develop training programs for employees to effectively collaborate with AI. Ultimately, the future of work will feature a hybrid workforce where humans and AI agents work together to drive innovation and success. As companies move forward, they must ensure AI agents understand their limits and recognize when human intervention is necessary. This balance between AI-driven efficiency and human oversight will enable businesses to thrive in an ever-evolving landscape. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

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AI Agent Rivalry

AI Agent Rivalry

Microsoft and Salesforce’s AI Agent Rivalry Heats Up The battle for dominance in the AI agent space has escalated, with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff intensifying his criticism of Microsoft’s AI solutions. Following remarks at Dreamforce 2024, Benioff took to X (formerly Twitter) to call out Microsoft for what he called “rebranding Copilot as ‘agents’ in panic mode.” The AI Agent rivalry winner may be determined not by flashy features but by delivering tangible, transformative outcomes for businesses navigating the complexities of AI adoption. AI Agent Rivalry. Benioff didn’t hold back, labeling Microsoft’s Copilot as “a flop”, citing issues like data leaks, inaccuracies, and requiring customers to build their own large language models (LLMs). In contrast, he touted Salesforce’s Agentforce as a solution that autonomously drives sales, service, marketing, analytics, and commerce without the complications he attributes to Microsoft’s offerings. Microsoft’s Copilot: A New UI for AI Microsoft recently unveiled new autonomous agent capabilities for Copilot Studio and Dynamics 365, positioning these agents as tools to enhance productivity across teams and functions. CEO Satya Nadella described Copilot as “the UI for AI” and emphasized its flexibility, allowing businesses to create, manage, and integrate agents seamlessly. Despite the fanfare, Benioff dismissed Copilot’s updates, likening it to “Clippy 2.0” and claiming it fails to deliver accuracy or transformational impact. Salesforce Expands Agentforce with Strategic Partnerships At Dreamforce 2024, Salesforce unveiled its Agentforce Partner Network, a global ecosystem featuring collaborators like AWS, Google Cloud, IBM, and Workday. The move aims to bolster the capabilities of Agentforce, Salesforce’s AI-driven platform that delivers tailored, autonomous business solutions. Agentforce allows businesses to deploy customizable agents without complex coding. With features like the Agent Builder, users can craft workflows and instructions in natural language, making the platform accessible to both technical and non-technical teams. Flexibility and Customization: Salesforce vs. Microsoft Both Salesforce and Microsoft emphasize AI’s transformative potential, but their approaches differ: Generative AI vs. Predictive AI Salesforce has doubled down on generative AI, with Einstein GPT producing personalized content using CRM data while also providing predictive analytics to forecast customer behavior and sales outcomes. Microsoft, on the other hand, combines generative and predictive AI across its ecosystem. Copilot not only generates content but also performs autonomous decision-making in Dynamics 365 and Azure, positioning itself as a comprehensive enterprise solution. The Rise of Multi-Agent AI Systems The competition between Microsoft and Salesforce reflects a broader trend in AI-driven automation. Companies like OpenAI are experimenting with frameworks like Swarm, which simplifies the creation of interconnected AI agents for tasks such as lead generation and marketing campaign development. Similarly, startups like DevRev are introducing conversational AI builders to design custom agents, offering enterprises up to 95% task accuracy without the need for coding. What Lies Ahead in the AI Agent Landscape? As Salesforce and Microsoft push the boundaries of AI integration, businesses are evaluating these tools for their flexibility, customization, and impact on operations. While Salesforce leads in CRM-focused AI, Microsoft’s integrated approach appeals to enterprises seeking cross-functional AI solutions. In the end, the winner may be determined not by flashy features but by delivering tangible, transformative outcomes for businesses navigating the complexities of AI adoption. AI Agent Rivalry. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

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copilots and agentic ai

Copilots and Agentic AI

Agentic AI vs. Copilots: Defining the Future of Generative AI Artificial Intelligence has rapidly evolved, progressing from simple automation to generative models, to copilots. But now, a new player—Agentic AI—has emerged, promising to redefine the AI landscape. Is Agentic AI the next logical step, or will it coexist alongside copilots, each serving distinct roles? Copilots and Agentic AI. Generative AI: Creativity with a Human Touch Since the launch of ChatGPT, generative AI has dominated tech priorities, offering businesses the ability to generate content—text, images, videos, and more—from pre-defined data. However, while revolutionary, generative AI still relies heavily on human input to guide its output, making it a powerful collaborator rather than an autonomous actor. Enter Agentic AI: Autonomy Redefined Agentic AI represents a leap forward, offering systems that possess autonomy and the ability to act independently to achieve pre-defined goals. Unlike generative AI copilots that respond to human prompts, Agentic AI makes decisions, plans actions, and learns from experience. Think of it as Siri or Alexa—enhanced with autonomy and learning capabilities. Gartner recently spotlighted Agentic AI as its top technology trend for 2025, predicting that by 2028, at least 15% of day-to-day work decisions will be made autonomously, up from virtually none today. Agentforce and the Third Wave of AI Salesforce’s “Agentforce,” unveiled at Dreamforce, is a prime example of Agentic AI’s potential. These autonomous agents are designed to augment employees by handling tasks across sales, service, marketing, and commerce. Salesforce CEO Mark Benioff described it as the “Third Wave of AI,” going beyond copilots to deliver intelligent agents deeply embedded into customer workflows. Salesforce aims to empower one billion AI agents by 2025, integrating Agentforce into every aspect of customer success. Benioff took a swipe at competitors’ bolt-on generative AI solutions, emphasizing that Agentforce is deeply embedded for maximum value. The Role of Copilots: Collaboration First While Agentic AI gains traction, copilots like Microsoft’s Copilot Studio and SAP’s Joule remain critical for businesses focused on intelligent augmentation. Copilots act as productivity boosters, working alongside humans to optimize processes, enhance creativity, and provide decision-making support. SAP’s Joule, for example, integrates seamlessly into existing systems to optimize operations while leaving strategic decision-making in human hands. This collaborative model aligns well with businesses prioritizing agility and human oversight. Agentic AI: Opportunities and Challenges Agentic AI’s autonomy offers significant potential for streamlining complex processes, reducing human intervention, and driving productivity. However, it also comes with risks. Eleanor Watson, AI ethics engineer at Singularity University, warns that Agentic AI systems require careful alignment of values and goals to avoid unintended consequences like dangerous shortcuts or boundary violations. In contrast, copilots retain human agency, making them particularly suited for creative and knowledge-based roles where human oversight remains essential. Copilots and Agentic AI The choice between Agentic AI and copilots hinges on an organization’s priorities and risk tolerance. For simpler, task-specific applications, copilots excel by providing assistance without removing human input. Agentic AI, on the other hand, shines in complex, multi-task scenarios where autonomy is key. Dom Couldwell, head of field engineering EMEA at DataStax, emphasizes the importance of understanding when to deploy each model. “Use a copilot for specific, focused tasks. Use Agentic AI for complex, goal-oriented processes involving multiple tasks. And leverage Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) in both to provide context to LLMs.” The Road Ahead: Coexistence or Dominance? As AI evolves, Agentic AI and copilots may coexist, serving complementary roles. Businesses seeking full automation and scalability may gravitate toward Agentic AI, while those prioritizing augmented intelligence and human collaboration will continue to rely on copilots. Ultimately, the future of AI will be defined not by one model overtaking the other, but by how well each aligns with the specific needs, goals, and challenges of the organizations adopting them. Like1 Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more

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