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B2B Customer Service with Agentforce

Agents are the Future of Customer Engagement

Agentic Customer Engagement is Here There was a time when customer service meant going into a brick and mortar building and talking to a person face to face. It was time consuming and did not guarantee a solution. The mail order business brought on the need for the 800 number to contact a merchant. The dot com boom brought customer engagement opportunities directly to our homes. Ios and Android apps brought customer engagement to our fingertips. Yet we still were dependent upon the availability of humans or at least chatbots. Customer service often repressed customer engagement, not enhanced it. Agents, like Salesforce Agentforce, brought 24 7 customer engagement to us no matter where we are, when it is, or how complicated our issue is. And agents improved customer service! What’s next? Robots and drones who deliver our items and answer our questions? Who knows. AI bots are transforming client relationships and customer service. To achieve unparalleled efficiency, these intelligent systems plan and automate difficult activities, make deft decisions, and blend in seamlessly with current workflows. Yes, it’s widely believed that AI agents will play a crucial role in the future of customer engagement, offering personalized, efficient, and consistent experiences across various channels.  Here’s why AI agents are poised to be a key driver in customer engagement: AI agents are becoming smarter every day, using machine learning and natural language processing to predict customer needs, handle complex queries with empathy and offer real-time, personalized assistance. How AI Agents Are Redefining Customer Engagement Marketing is undergoing a seismic transformation. Tectonic shift, if you will. The past decade was dominated by complex tech stacks and data integration—now, AI is shifting the focus back to what truly matters: crafting impactful content and campaigns. Welcome to the era of agentic customer engagement and marketing. The Rise of Marketing Agents Unlike traditional customer service agents handling one-to-one interactions, marketing agents amplify human expertise to engage audiences at scale—whether targeting broad segments or hyper-personalized personas. They ensure consistent, high-quality messaging across every channel while automating the intricate backend work of delivering the right content to the right customer at the right time. This shift is powered by rapid AI advancements: How Agentic Engagement Amplifies Marketing Marketing agents don’t replace human creativity—they extend it. Once strategists set guidelines, approve messaging, and define brand voice, agents execute with precision across channels. At Typeface, for example, AI securely learns brand tones and styles to generate on-brand imagery, text, and videos—ensuring every asset aligns with the company’s identity. Key Capabilities of Marketing Agents The Human-Agent Partnership AI agents don’t replace marketers—they empower them. Humans bring creativity, emotional intelligence, and strategic decision-making; agents handle execution, data processing, and scalability. Marketers will evolve into “agent wranglers”, setting objectives, monitoring performance, and ensuring alignment with business goals. Meanwhile, agents will work in interconnected ecosystems—where a content agent’s blog post triggers a social agent’s promotion, while a performance agent optimizes distribution, and a brand agent tracks reception. Preparing for the Agent Era To stay ahead, businesses should:✅ Start small, think big – Pilot agents in low-risk areas before scaling.✅ Train teams – Ensure marketers understand agent management.✅ Build governance frameworks – Define oversight and intervention protocols.✅ Strengthen data infrastructure – Clean, structured data fuels agent effectiveness.✅ Maintain human oversight – Regularly audit agent outputs for quality and alignment. Work with a Salesforce partner like Tectonic to prepare for the Agent Era. The Future is Agentic The age of AI-driven marketing isn’t coming—it’s here. Companies that embrace agentic engagement will unlock unprecedented efficiency, personalization, and impact. The question isn’t if you’ll adopt AI agents—it’s how soon. Ready to accelerate your strategy? Discover how Agentforce (Salesforce’s agentic layer) can cut deployment time by 16x while boosting accuracy by 70%. The future of marketing isn’t just automated—it’s autonomous, adaptive, and agentic. Are you prepared? The Future of Customer Experience: AI-Driven Efficiency and Innovation Businesses have long understood the connection between operational efficiency and superior customer experience (CX). However, the rapid advancement of AI-powered technologies, including next-generation hardware and virtual agents, is transforming this connection into a measurable driver of value creation. Increasingly well-documented use cases for generative AI (GenAI) demonstrate that companies can simultaneously deliver a vastly superior customer experience at a significantly lower cost-to-serve, resulting in substantial financial gains. From Customer Journeys to Autonomous Customer Missions To achieve this ideal balance, companies are shifting from traditional customer journeys—where users actively manage their own experiences via apps—to a more comprehensive approach driven by trusted autonomous agents. These agents are designed to complete specific tasks with minimal human involvement, creating an entirely new paradigm for customer engagement. While early implementations may be rudimentary, the convergence of hardware and AI will lead to sophisticated, seamless experiences far beyond current capabilities. AI-Enabled Internal and External Transformation AI is already driving transformation both internally and externally. Internally, it streamlines processes, enhances employee experiences, and significantly boosts productivity. In customer service operations, for example, GenAI has driven productivity improvements of 15% to 30%, with some companies targeting up to 80% efficiency gains. Externally, AI is reshaping customer interactions, making them more personalized, efficient, and intuitive. Virtual co-pilots assist customers by answering inquiries, processing returns, and curating tailored offers—freeing human employees to focus on complex issues that require nuanced decision-making. Linking Operational Efficiency to Customer Experience Leading organizations are demonstrating how AI-driven efficiencies translate into enhanced CX. Despite these gains, companies must raise the bar even further to fully capitalize on AI’s potential. The convergence of next-generation hardware with AI-driven automation presents an unprecedented opportunity to redefine customer engagement. From App-Driven Experiences to Autonomous Agents At Dreamforce 2024, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff highlighted that service employees waste over 40% of their time on repetitive, low-value tasks. Similarly, customers face friction in making significant purchases or planning events. Google research indicates that travelers may engage in over 700 digital touchpoints when planning a trip—a fragmented and often frustrating experience. Imagine instead a network of proprietary and third-party agents seamlessly executing customer missions—such as purchasing a car or planning a vacation—without requiring constant user input. These AI agents

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Unlocking Sales Potential with Data Activation

Unlocking Sales Potential with Data Activation

Selling has never been easy — and it’s not getting any simpler. Sales representatives are under constant pressure to research markets, navigate gatekeepers, and craft compelling pitches to win over decision-makers. But in today’s market, that’s not enough. Nearly 90% of business buyers expect personalized, insightful interactions — and delivering on that expectation requires more than persuasive messaging. It demands access to accurate, real-time data. The challenge? Sales reps often struggle to find the information they need. Instead of focusing on closing deals, they waste time chasing down customer data, piecing together fragmented insights, or working off outdated information. In fact: The root cause? Data silos. Data Silos are Crippling Sales Efficiency In most companies, critical customer data is scattered across: This fragmented data structure creates massive blind spots for sales teams. Consider this: The impact is costly — missed opportunities, slower deal cycles, and lost revenue. Without a unified approach to data management, sales teams remain limited by incomplete information, preventing them from delivering personalized, high-impact customer experiences. The Answer: Data Activation The solution isn’t just unifying your data — it’s activating it. Data activation means making your customer data accessible, actionable, and visible within your CRM so your sales team can use it in real-time. It eliminates the need to toggle between systems, request data from other teams, or work from static spreadsheets. Instead, activated data flows directly into the workflows and tools that your sales reps use every day — giving them everything they need to engage, sell, and close deals faster. Here’s what data activation looks like in practice: Data activation ensures that every team member works from the same, real-time, unified view of the customer — eliminating data silos and transforming sales productivity. Why Data Activation is a Game-Changer for Sales By bringing your unified data directly into your CRM, your sales team gains immediate access to valuable insights that drive better outcomes. Here are some powerful data types that become actionable through data activation: 1. Web Engagement Data Understand customer behavior based on their interactions with your website. Track which products or services they’ve browsed, downloaded, or engaged with — allowing your sales team to tailor conversations and offers accordingly. Use case: 2. Marketing Campaign Data Eliminate disjointed outreach by giving your sales team visibility into marketing campaigns. Sales reps can instantly see which emails, ads, or events a prospect engaged with — ensuring their outreach feels relevant, not redundant. Use case: 3. Consumption Data Track product usage, subscriptions, and consumption patterns from your ERP or product database. This data empowers sales reps to identify upsell and cross-sell opportunities or proactively prevent churn. Use case: 4. Unstructured Data (Emails, Call Logs, Chat Transcripts) Unlock insights from past customer interactions by analyzing emails, call center transcripts, chat logs, and even social media comments. Sales teams can use this data to understand sentiment, previous objections, and overall engagement history. Use case: 5. Billing and Subscription Data Integrate billing, purchase, and subscription information directly into your CRM. This allows sales reps to track contract renewals, upcoming billing cycles, or outstanding invoices — enabling more proactive and strategic outreach. Use case: 6. Third-Party Data for Enhanced Lead Scoring Enhance your lead scoring models with third-party data, such as firmographic information, buying intent signals, or demographic insights. This helps your team prioritize high-quality leads and drive faster conversions. Use case: Why Third-Party Data Tools Fall Short Many organizations attempt to solve their data challenges by investing in third-party data platforms like Snowflake, Databricks, or Redshift. While these tools excel at aggregating data, they introduce a new problem — they still create a data silo. The data sits outside of your CRM, meaning: This is why true data activation matters. It doesn’t just unify your data — it embeds it directly into your sales reps’ day-to-day tools, making insights instantly actionable. The Competitive Advantage of Data Activation By embracing data activation, your organization gains three major competitive advantages: ✅ 1. Increased Sales Productivity Sales reps no longer waste time tracking down information or switching between systems. With all customer data at their fingertips, they can spend more time building relationships and closing deals. ✅ 2. Enhanced Personalization at Scale With access to web behavior, campaign engagement, and product usage data, your team can personalize every interaction — at scale. This drives higher conversion rates and better customer experiences. ✅ 3. Smarter Forecasting and Planning By integrating billing, subscription, and past purchase data, sales managers gain accurate revenue forecasting and better visibility into growth opportunities. Activate Your Data. Unlock Your Revenue. The future of sales is not about more tools — it’s about better data accessibility. Data activation eliminates silos, unlocks powerful insights, and delivers real-time, actionable data directly into your CRM. This empowers your sales team to: The result? Faster sales, higher revenue, and exceptional customer experiences. Ready to activate your data and supercharge your sales performance? Start by bringing all your data — web, marketing, subscription, and service — directly into your CRM. Your sales team will thank you — and your revenue will show it. 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 Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Salesforce Enhances Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Engine Data science and analytics are rapidly becoming standard features in enterprise applications, Read more

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Salesforce Development Services

Salesforce has become one of the leading platforms to change the business-to-customer relationships and experience. Salesforce development services don’t just offer Salesforce solutions and software implementation; they help you adopt a customized functionality that enriches delivery and profit. Salesforce, by definition, is a powerful platform that enables a business to adopt CRM-driven leads and expansion in the industry. At Tectonic, we believe that a decision to opt for Salesforce services is just the beginning of a battle to beat the competition. This is where Tectonic comes in with custom coding and the finest Salesforce development services; we help you figure out everything from configurations and complications to legacy data systems and more. We are made up of a team of Salesforce experts, development professionals, and years of experience in strategic consulting, planning, integration, implementation, deployment, and delivery of business-changing and success-driven services. Why choose Tectonic’s Salesforce Development services? Tectonic, with its years of expertise and experience in technical services and strategic consulting, has the most efficient and organized set of professionals to help your business understand and embed everything-Salesforce. Tectonic understands innovation and change can be overwhelming and sound too complex, and it is our business to handle that for you while delivering a profitable and growing system that expands your reach in the industry. And remains scalable over time. The industry has moved from traditional on-premises CRM to cloud-based CRM to address scalability, change management, and time-to-market needs of businesses. For companies looking for SaaS offerings on the cloud, Salesforce is an undisputed leader. Also, companies looking to build customized business applications can capitalize on Force.com as a platform as a service (PaaS). Implement innovative Salesforce solutions that streamline your operations, boost your productivity, and drive sustainable growth. Work with our team of certified Salesforce developers who bring extensive experience and in-depth knowledge to every project. At Tectonic we focus on industries where we have expertise to help you get the most impactful Salesforce development. Get customized Salesforce development services from Tectonic designed to meet your unique business needs, ensuring seamless integration and enhanced functionality. Build and deploy scalable Salesforce platforms that adapt as your business grows and evolves, keeping you ahead of the competition. Collaborate with Tectonic to unlock the full potential of Salesforce, where development is turning challenges into opportunities for success. 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 Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Salesforce Enhances Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Engine Data science and analytics are rapidly becoming standard features in enterprise applications, Read more

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Shift From AI Agents to AI Agent Tool Use

Building Scalable AI Agents

Building Scalable AI Agents: Infrastructure, Planning, and Security The key building blocks of AI agents—planning, tool integration, and memory—demand sophisticated infrastructure to function effectively in production environments. As the technology advances, several critical components have emerged as essential for successful deployments. Development Frameworks & Architecture The ecosystem for AI agent development has matured, with several key frameworks leading the way: While these frameworks offer unique features, successful agents typically share three core architectural components: Despite these strong foundations, production deployments often require customization to address high-scale workloads, security requirements, and system integrations. Planning & Execution Handling complex tasks requires advanced planning and execution flows, typically structured around: An agent’s effectiveness hinges on its ability to: ✅ Generate structured plans by intelligently combining tools and knowledge (e.g., correctly sequencing API calls for a customer refund request).✅ Validate each task step to prevent errors from compounding.✅ Optimize computational costs in long-running operations.✅ Recover from failures through dynamic replanning.✅ Apply multiple validation strategies, from structural verification to runtime testing.✅ Collaborate with other agents when consensus-based decisions improve accuracy. While multi-agent consensus models improve accuracy, they are computationally expensive. Even OpenAI finds that running parallel model instances for consensus-based responses remains cost-prohibitive, with ChatGPT Pro priced at $200/month. Running majority-vote systems for complex tasks can triple or quintuple costs, making single-agent architectures with robust planning and validation more viable for production use. Memory & Retrieval AI agents require advanced memory management to maintain context and learn from experience. Memory systems typically include: 1. Context Window 2. Working Memory (State Maintained During a Task) Key context management techniques: 3. Long-Term Memory & Knowledge Management AI agents rely on structured storage systems for persistent knowledge: Advanced Memory Capabilities Standardization efforts like Anthropic’s Model Context Protocol (MCP) are emerging to streamline memory integration, but challenges remain in balancing computational efficiency, consistency, and real-time retrieval. Security & Execution As AI agents gain autonomy, security and auditability become critical. Production deployments require multiple layers of protection: 1. Tool Access Control 2. Execution Validation 3. Secure Execution Environments 4. API Governance & Access Control 5. Monitoring & Observability 6. Audit Trails These security measures must balance flexibility, reliability, and operational control to ensure trustworthy AI-driven automation. Conclusion Building production-ready AI agents requires a carefully designed infrastructure that balances:✅ Advanced memory systems for context retention.✅ Sophisticated planning capabilities to break down tasks.✅ Secure execution environments with strong access controls. While AI agents offer immense potential, their adoption remains experimental across industries. Organizations must strategically evaluate where AI agents justify their complexity, ensuring that they provide clear, measurable benefits over traditional AI models. 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 Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Salesforce Enhances Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Engine Data science and analytics are rapidly becoming standard features in enterprise applications, Read more

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Salesforce Sales Engagement for Nonprofits

Salesforce Sales Engagement for Nonprofits

Supercharge Your Nonprofit’s Donor Outreach with Salesforce Sales Engagement It’s time for the annual donor campaign. The fundraising team is juggling hundreds—if not thousands—of emails, phone calls, and follow-ups. The budget depends on surpassing last year’s donations, but with limited staff and time, reaching every potential donor feels impossible. The executive director asks, “How can we maximize donor engagement without increasing headcount—or at least focus our resources on the most likely givers?” Sound familiar? Every nonprofit faces the challenge of doing more with less. Fortunately, Salesforce offers a solution to keep your team organized, on task, and working smarter: Salesforce Sales Engagement. What Is Salesforce Sales Engagement? Salesforce Sales Engagement acts as a high-powered assistant for fundraising, membership, or program teams. This productivity hub, embedded within Salesforce, streamlines daily activities through automation, organization, and AI-powered insights. Key benefits include:✅ Cadences & Work Queues – Ensure no email, call, or task slips through the cracks.✅ Centralized Outreach – Keep all donor interactions in one place for seamless engagement.✅ AI-Driven Optimization – Analyze performance and refine strategies based on data. Previously known as High-Velocity Sales, Sales Engagement accelerates development cycles and scales outreach efforts effortlessly. By prioritizing critical tasks and automating others, your team can focus on building meaningful relationships and securing commitments faster. Engagement Cadences: Your Fundraising Playbook in Action Cadences serve as step-by-step roadmaps, guiding teams on how and when to engage with donors, members, or program participants. Whether you’re running a donor drive, promoting event registrations, or managing renewals, cadences ensure consistency and efficiency. Two Types of Cadences: 1️⃣ Standard Cadences – A structured sequence of touchpoints (emails, calls, LinkedIn messages) over time, such as a 30-day donor onboarding journey.2️⃣ Quick Cadences – A single, repeatable action, like automatically sending a thank-you email after a donation. With Cadence Builder, customizing workflows for different donor segments is fast and easy. Actions dynamically adjust based on engagement—so if a donor opens an email, they might receive a follow-up call; if they don’t, a reminder email is sent instead. Best of all, your team doesn’t have to track or remember each step—Sales Engagement assigns tasks automatically to individual work queues, ensuring nothing gets missed. Data-Driven Decision-Making with Built-In Analytics To improve outreach, you need to measure it. Sales Engagement provides powerful dashboards and reports to evaluate performance and optimize your approach. ✅ Track email open rates, call response rates, and donor engagement trends.✅ Identify successful messaging and refine underperforming campaigns.✅ Tie engagement metrics to fundraising goals to measure real impact. Unlike basic email tracking, Sales Engagement helps nonprofits connect data-driven insights with mission outcomes—empowering smarter decision-making without complex process changes. Already Using Salesforce Flows for Outreach? If your nonprofit relies on Salesforce Flow for outreach, you may wonder if Sales Engagement is necessary. The answer? Yes—if you want to do more with less effort. While flows are great for automation, Sales Engagement goes further with built-in call scripts, AI-powered task prioritization, and adaptable cadences. It offers a more intuitive, flexible approach to donor engagement, reducing manual work and boosting efficiency. Ready to Transform Your Fundraising Strategy? Salesforce Sales Engagement isn’t just for corporations—it’s a game-changer for nonprofits, helping teams increase donations, memberships, and event participation with less effort and greater impact. Are you ready to work smarter, engage better, and raise more? Let’s get started. Contact Tectonic today. 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 Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Salesforce Enhances Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Engine Data science and analytics are rapidly becoming standard features in enterprise applications, Read more

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Salesforce Energy and Utilities Cloud Explained

Salesforce Energy and Utilities Cloud Explained

Salesforce Energy and Utilities Cloud is a specialized industry solution built on the Salesforce platform, designed to meet the unique needs of energy and utility companies. It helps these organizations manage customer relationships, streamline operations, and drive digital transformation in an increasingly complex and regulated industry. The cloud solution provides tools for customer engagement, field service management, and regulatory compliance, among other functionalities. Key Features of Salesforce Energy and Utilities Cloud: Benefits of Salesforce Energy and Utilities Cloud: Use Cases: Implementation Considerations: In summary, Salesforce Energy and Utilities Cloud is a comprehensive solution designed to help energy and utility companies enhance customer engagement, streamline operations, and achieve regulatory compliance. By leveraging advanced technologies and industry-specific functionalities, utilities can drive digital transformation and improve overall performance. 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 Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Salesforce Enhances Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Engine Data science and analytics are rapidly becoming standard features in enterprise applications, Read more

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Financial Services Sector

Future of Financial Services

The Future of Financial Services: AI Agents, Consumer Trust, and Digital Transformation Fewer than half of consumers are fully satisfied with the service they receive from banks, insurance providers, and wealth management advisors. This underscores the urgent need for financial service institutions (FSIs) to prioritize standout customer experiences—both human and digital—leveraging AI agents to enhance personalization, efficiency, and responsiveness. Why Customer Experience is Key Consumer loyalty has long been driven by competitive pricing, fees, and interest rates. However, with declining rates making promotional incentives less feasible, FSIs are refocusing on customer service as a key differentiator. AI-powered digital experiences provide an opportunity to exceed customer expectations, offering speed, convenience, and hyper-personalization at scale. A significant portion of consumers are willing to stay with an institution that offers an exceptional experience, even if it raises its rates or fees. For instance, 46% of consumers—and 55% of high earners in the U.S. (households making over $100,000 per year)—value experience over pricing alone. Digital self-service is a primary component of this enhanced experience, with many consumers preferring to complete tasks online rather than through traditional phone or in-branch interactions. Institutions like Credit Unions are already meeting this demand by deploying self-service tools that provide instant resolutions, 24/7. AI Agents: Transforming the FSI Landscape AI agents represent a major leap forward in customer service, automating interactions and resolving issues without human intervention. However, trust in these AI-driven systems remains a work in progress. Only 41% of wealth management clients report being fully satisfied with their institution’s speed and effectiveness, and satisfaction levels are even lower among banking and insurance customers. Despite some skepticism, AI adoption is accelerating. Half of consumers expect AI to significantly impact their financial relationships, a belief even more pronounced among Millennials and Gen Z. The percentage of customers anticipating AI-driven transaction speed improvements has risen from 46% in 2023 to 65% today. Yet, consumer education on AI’s capabilities remains a challenge. AI agents have the potential to act as financial advisors, enhancing financial literacy, optimizing savings, and even increasing earnings. Salesforce’s Agentforce aims to bridge this gap, offering digital financial assistants that can answer questions like, “Am I saving enough for retirement?” or “Can I afford this vacation?”—delivering expert insights instantly and at scale. Building Trust in AI-Powered Finance Despite AI’s promise, trust issues persist. While 54% of consumers express confidence in AI agents, only 10% fully trust them. This skepticism is fueled by concerns over data privacy, security, and transparency. Many consumers are wary of how FSIs handle their personal information and are seeking greater clarity on AI’s role in financial decision-making. A Salesforce study revealed that 73% of consumers want to know when they’re interacting with AI, highlighting the importance of transparency in AI implementation. “For AI to succeed in financial services, trust and compliance must be built into the foundation,” said Eran Agrios, SVP & GM of Financial Services at Salesforce. “FSIs need to ensure their AI strategies are not only effective but also worthy of customer confidence.” AI in Action: Case Studies in Financial Services Financial institutions leveraging Agentforce are already seeing tangible benefits: Integrating Agentforce with ERP for Maximum Impact To maximize the potential of AI agents, FSIs must integrate them seamlessly into their broader enterprise ecosystems. Best practices for integration include: The Next Two Years: Defining the Future of AI in Finance As AI continues to disrupt the financial sector, FSIs that embrace AI-first strategies will outperform competitors in efficiency, security, and customer experience. Here’s what the future holds: The Takeaway Financial institutions that invest in AI-driven experiences today will define the future of finance. By adopting transparent, compliant, and consumer-centric AI strategies, FSIs can build trust, drive efficiency, and deliver exceptional customer experiences that set them apart in an increasingly AI-powered world. 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 Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Salesforce Enhances Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Engine Data science and analytics are rapidly becoming standard features in enterprise applications, Read more

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ViUniT: A Breakthrough AI Framework for Reliable Visual Unit Testing in AI

ViUniT: A Breakthrough AI Framework for Reliable Visual Unit Testing in AI

Salesforce AI, in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania, has introduced ViUniT (Visual Unit Testing)—a pioneering AI framework designed to improve the reliability of visual programs by automatically generating unit tests. By leveraging large language models (LLMs) and diffusion models, ViUniT enhances the logical correctness of visual reasoning systems, ensuring AI models produce accurate and justifiable results. The Challenge: Ensuring Logical Soundness in Visual Programs Visual programming has gained prominence in AI, particularly in computer vision, object detection, image captioning, and visual question answering (VQA). These systems excel at modularizing complex reasoning tasks, but their correctness remains a critical challenge. Unlike traditional text-based programming, where syntax errors and logic flaws can be easily debugged, visual programs often produce seemingly correct answers for incorrect reasons, making them unreliable. Recent studies highlight this issue: To address these challenges, systematic testing and verification frameworks are essential to ensure visual programs function as intended. Introducing ViUniT: A New Approach to Visual Program Reliability ViUniT is designed to systematically evaluate visual programs by generating unit tests in the form of image-answer pairs. Unlike conventional unit testing, which is primarily used for text-based applications, ViUniT focuses on: How ViUniT Works Key Applications of ViUniT ViUniT introduces four major innovations to improve model reliability: Performance & Key Findings ViUniT was extensively tested on three benchmark datasets: GQA, SugarCREPE, and Winoground, demonstrating significant improvements in model accuracy and reliability. 🔹 ViUniT improved model accuracy by 11.4% on average across datasets.🔹 Reduced logically flawed programs by 40%, ensuring models reason correctly.🔹 Enabled open-source 7B models to outperform GPT-4o-mini by 7.7%.🔹 ViUniT-based re-prompting improved performance by 7.5 percentage points compared to error-based re-prompting.🔹 Reinforcement learning strategies within ViUniT outperformed correctness-based reward strategies by 1.3%.🔹 Successfully identified unreliable programs, enhancing answer refusal strategies and reducing false confidence. Conclusion: A New Standard for Visual AI Testing ViUniT marks a significant step forward in AI-driven unit testing for visual programs, ensuring that AI models not only provide correct answers but also follow logically sound reasoning. By integrating LLMs, diffusion models, and reinforcement learning, this framework enhances trust, accuracy, and reliability in visual AI systems. As AI continues to evolve, ViUniT sets a new standard for validating and refining visual reasoning models, paving the way for more dependable AI-driven applications. 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 Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Salesforce Enhances Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Engine Data science and analytics are rapidly becoming standard features in enterprise applications, Read more

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Salesforce Data Cloud

Maximizing Salesforce Data Cloud

Maximizing Salesforce Data Cloud: Post-Implementation Strategies for Long-Term Success The Fastest-Growing Salesforce Product Salesforce Data Cloud is seeing explosive growth, with a 130% year-over-year increase in paid customers. In just one quarter, it processed an astonishing 2.3 quadrillion records—a 147% jump from the previous year. Businesses leveraging Data Cloud have seen a 165% boost in web engagement, with major brands like The Adecco Group, Aston Martin, and FedEx using it to strengthen customer relationships and drive growth. The Power of Data Cloud: Turning Information into Action What makes Salesforce Data Cloud so impactful is its ability to unify vast amounts of data, creating 360-degree customer profiles and transforming insights into action. But unlocking its full potential doesn’t stop at implementation—it requires ongoing optimization to keep your data clean, your systems efficient, and your AI models accurate. Post-Implementation Best Practices for Salesforce Data Cloud Once your Salesforce Data Cloud is up and running, the next step is ensuring long-term performance and business value. Here’s how to optimize and sustain your Data Cloud investment: 1. Maintain Data Integrity with Ongoing Quality Management 2. Optimize System Performance for Speed and Efficiency 3. Drive User Adoption with Tailored Training 4. Strengthen Data Governance and Compliance 5. Proactively Manage and Optimize Integrations 6. Refine Customer Segmentation for More Personalization 7. Keep AI and Predictive Models Up to Date 8. Measure ROI and Optimize for Business Impact 9. Foster a Data-Driven Culture Through Clear Communication 10. Stay Agile with Continuous Innovation and Community Engagement Conclusion: The Real Value of Data Cloud Begins After Implementation Salesforce Data Cloud is at the heart of next-gen customer engagement, but its true impact lies in how well you maintain and optimize it. Success depends on:✅ Involving key stakeholders in ongoing improvements✅ Enforcing strong data governance for security and accuracy✅ Continuously refining processes to adapt to changing business needs By committing to post-implementation optimization, your organization can stay agile, data-driven, and ahead of the competition—ensuring that Salesforce Data Cloud delivers maximum value now and in the future. 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 Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Salesforce Enhances Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Engine Data science and analytics are rapidly becoming standard features in enterprise applications, Read more

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The Top Sales Software Tools to Power Your Team in 2025

For seasoned sales professionals, hitting ambitious targets is just part of the job. But in today’s hyper-competitive market, raw skill alone isn’t enough—you need the right sales software to maximize productivity, streamline lead management, and strengthen customer relationships. The difference between a good sales year and a record-breaking one often comes down to the tools your team uses. In this guide, we’ll break down the best sales software of 2025, highlighting key features that can transform your daily workflow. What Is Sales Software? Sales software automates and optimizes the sales process, helping businesses reduce costs, accelerate deals, and improve customer outcomes. From CRMs to AI-powered analytics, these tools empower sales leaders to:✔ Track rep performance & identify training gaps✔ Forecast revenue with greater accuracy✔ Manage leads efficiently across the pipeline✔ Automate repetitive tasks so teams focus on selling Core Functions of Sales Software Beyond CRMs, sales software includes conversation intelligence, incentive compensation management, and pipeline optimization platforms—each playing a critical role in a high-performing sales stack. Key Features to Look for in Sales Software Before choosing a solution, assess your team’s needs and budget. Here’s what to prioritize: ✅ Seamless Integrations – Must work with your existing CRM, HR, payroll, and ERP systems.✅ Advanced Analytics – Real-time dashboards and AI-driven insights for smarter decisions.✅ User-Friendly Design – If it’s hard to use, reps won’t adopt it.✅ Workflow Automation – AI-powered tools that cut manual tasks, giving reps 30%+ more selling time.✅ Robust Security – Protects sensitive customer and company data in a remote-work era.✅ Lead Tracking & Scoring – Identifies high-intent prospects to boost conversions. The 9 Best Sales Software Tools in 2025 Based on G2 & Capterra ratings (4+ stars), these platforms lead the pack: 1. Salesforce Sales Cloud Best for: AI-driven sales management✔ Lead prioritization with smart scoring✔ Autonomous AI agents for follow-ups✔ Real-time dashboards for performance tracking 2. Pipedrive Best for: Small businesses scaling fast✔ AI-generated email prompts✔ Pipeline visualization for deal tracking✔ Sales forecasting tools 3. Outreach Best for: Sales execution & engagement✔ AI-powered prospecting workflows✔ Win-loss analytics✔ Multi-channel sync (Email, LinkedIn, CRM) 4. HubSpot Sales Hub Best for: All-in-one CRM & automation✔ Customizable workflows✔ Built-in email tracking✔ User-friendly interface 5. SAP Sales Cloud Best for: Enterprise sales teams✔ Generative AI for forecasting✔ Mobile-friendly for field reps✔ Embedded analytics 6. Monday CRM Best for: Customizable workflows✔ AI auto-categorizes leads✔ Collaboration with marketing teams✔ Visual sales pipeline 7. Freshsales Best for: High-volume lead management✔ AI lead scoring✔ Email engagement tracking✔ Highly customizable 8. Apptivo Best for: SMBs needing flexibility✔ No-code automation✔ Duplicate lead prevention✔ Strong customer support 9. Zendesk Best for: Sales + customer service alignment✔ AI-assisted live chat✔ Omnichannel support✔ Seamless Salesforce integration How to Choose the Right Sales Software Before committing, ask:🔹 Does it integrate with our current stack?🔹 Will reps actually use it? (Ease of adoption is critical.)🔹 Can it scale with our growth?🔹 What’s the customer support like? Pro Tip: Get feedback from your sales team—what features would make their jobs easier? Final Thoughts The right sales software doesn’t just manage leads—it accelerates revenue, boosts rep productivity, and turns data into actionable insights. Whether you’re a startup or an enterprise, investing in the best tools ensures your team closes more deals, faster. Ready to upgrade your sales stack? Contact Tectonic today. 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 Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Salesforce Enhances Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Engine Data science and analytics are rapidly becoming standard features in enterprise applications, Read more

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AI Agents

AI Agents in Action: Real-World Applications

The true potential of AI agents lies in their practical use across industries. Let’s explore how different sectors are leveraging AI agents to solve real challenges. Software Development The shift from simple code completion to autonomous software development highlights AI’s expanding role in engineering. While GitHub Copilot introduced real-time coding assistance in 2021, today’s AI agents—like Devin—can manage end-to-end development, from setting up environments to deployment. Multi-agent frameworks, such as MetaGPT, showcase how specialized AI agents collaborate effectively: While AI agents lack human limitations, this shift raises fundamental questions about development practices shaped over decades. AI excels at tasks like prototyping and automated testing, but the true opportunity lies in rethinking software development itself—not just making existing processes faster. This transformation is already affecting hiring trends. Salesforce, for example, announced it will not hire new software engineers in 2025, citing a 30% productivity increase from AI-driven development. Meanwhile, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg predicts that by 2025, AI will reach the level of mid-level software engineers, capable of generating production-ready code. However, real-world tests highlight limitations. While Devin performs well on isolated tasks like API integrations, it struggles with complex development projects. In one evaluation, Devin successfully completed only 3 out of 20 full-stack tasks. In contrast, developer-driven workflows using tools like Cursor have proven more reliable, suggesting that AI agents are best used as collaborators rather than full replacements. Customer Service The evolution from basic chatbots to sophisticated AI service agents marks one of the most successful AI deployments to date. Research by Sierra shows that modern AI agents can handle complex tasks—such as flight rebookings and multi-step refunds—previously requiring multiple human agents, all while maintaining natural conversation flow. Key capabilities include: However, challenges remain, particularly in handling policy exceptions and emotionally sensitive situations. Many companies address this by limiting AI agents to approved knowledge sources and implementing clear escalation protocols. The most effective approach in production environments has been a hybrid model, where AI agents handle routine tasks and escalate complex cases to human staff. Sales & Marketing AI agents are now playing a critical role in structured sales and marketing workflows, such as lead qualification, meeting scheduling, and campaign analytics. These agents integrate seamlessly with CRM platforms and communication tools while adhering to business rules. For example, Salesforce’s Agentforce processes customer interactions, maintains conversation history, and escalates complex inquiries when necessary. 1. Sales Development 2. Marketing Operations Core capabilities: However, implementing AI in sales and marketing presents challenges: A hybrid approach—where AI manages routine tasks and data-driven decisions while humans focus on relationship-building and strategy—has proven most effective. Legal Services AI agents are also transforming the legal industry by processing complex documents and maintaining compliance across jurisdictions. Systems like Harvey can break down multi-month projects, such as S-1 filings, into structured workflows while ensuring regulatory compliance. Key capabilities: However, AI-assisted legal work faces significant challenges. Validation and liability remain critical concerns—AI-generated outputs require human review, and the legal responsibility for AI-assisted decisions is still unresolved. While AI excels at document processing and legal research, strategic decisions remain firmly in human hands. Final Thoughts Across industries, AI agents are proving their value in automation, efficiency, and data-driven decision-making. However, fully autonomous systems are not yet replacing human expertise—instead, the most successful implementations involve AI-human collaboration, where agents handle repetitive tasks while humans oversee complex decision-making. As AI technology continues to evolve, businesses must strike the right balance between automation, control, and human oversight to maximize its potential. 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 Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Salesforce Enhances Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Engine Data science and analytics are rapidly becoming standard features in enterprise applications, Read more

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The Rise of AI Agents

The Rise of AI Agents

The Rise of AI Agents: Salesforce’s Vision for a New Era of Business In just three months, more than 1,000 companies have deployed Salesforce AI agents, unlocking capabilities “they’ve never seen before” and setting the stage for game-changing business outcomes, according to CEO Marc Benioff. That’s a bold prediction—even for a visionary like Benioff, whose track record speaks for itself. But throughout our recent 25-minute conversation for the Cloud Wars CEO Outlook 2025 series, Benioff remained unwavering in his optimism about the AI-powered future. Agentic AI: The Force Driving Business Transformation According to Benioff, AI agents represent the next wave of business transformation, redefining how companies operate, innovate, and compete. “I’ve never been more excited about technology—this is an incredible moment in time,” Benioff said. He described AI agents as the bridge to a future where businesses engage with customers in ways previously thought possible only in science fiction. These AI-driven systems will help organizations operate at lower costs while improving customer relationships and key performance metrics. But Salesforce isn’t just selling this vision to customers—it’s living it. Benioff shared firsthand insights into how the company is leveraging AI to optimize its own operations, revealing lessons that could reshape how enterprises think about productivity and workforce planning. Digital Labor: A Multi-Trillion-Dollar Opportunity One of the most striking takeaways from our conversation was Salesforce’s approach to what Benioff calls “digital labor.” “For 25 years, Salesforce has helped businesses manage data. Now, we’re creating digital workers—AI agents that unlock entirely new ways to operate,” he said. This shift is already making an impact. Salesforce’s Agentforce AI now handles the bulk of the company’s customer support, transforming how its 9,000 service agents manage 36,000 weekly support inquiries: As a result, Salesforce is reallocating 2,000 support professionals to other roles—just one example of how AI is reshaping workforce dynamics. A Radical Rethink: No New Developers in 2025 Perhaps the most surprising revelation? Salesforce is pausing hiring for software engineers in 2025. Benioff explained that despite doubling its engineering team over the past five years, AI has driven a 30% increase in productivity. Rather than hiring more developers, Salesforce is leaning into AI-powered automation to accelerate software development. This shift raises fundamental questions about the future of work: Salesforce vs. Microsoft: Competing Visions for AI Agents AI agents are reshaping enterprise technology, but vendors have differing approaches. Benioff made it clear that Salesforce is taking a unique path—one he believes will ultimately lead the industry. Unlike Microsoft, which is deeply integrating AI within its core applications, Salesforce sees agents as an evolution of its CRM foundation, leveraging the vast 230-petabyte data ecosystem it manages for customers. “The businesses that are closest to their data will win,” Benioff said. “And we’re going to deliver capabilities that our customers have never seen before—ones that will thrill them out of their minds.” The Future: A Billion AI Agents As enterprises race to adopt AI, Benioff predicts an explosion in AI agent deployment. “In the next 12 months, we’ll see thousands of companies deploying up to a billion AI agents. And Salesforce will be the absolute leader in agentic technology for the enterprise,” he said. Benioff’s vision is clear: AI agents aren’t just an enhancement—they are the next frontier of business. And companies that embrace them will lead the way into a new era of efficiency, innovation, and growth. 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 Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Salesforce Enhances Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Engine Data science and analytics are rapidly becoming standard features in enterprise applications, Read more

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Cloud-Based Housing Repairs with Salesforce

Bernicia Leads the Way in Cloud-Based Housing Repairs with Salesforce Bernicia has become the first housing association in the UK to deliver end-to-end repairs services through Salesforce’s cloud-based, nonprofit solution—setting a new industry benchmark for streamlined, automated housing repairs. Transforming Repairs with Salesforce Field Services All electrical repairs at tenants’ homes are now managed through Salesforce Field Services, enhancing the customer experience with seamless, automated processes. By this summer, all responsive repairs will transition into the system, delivering key benefits such as: A Customer-Centric Digital Transformation In 2023, Bernicia reinforced its commitment to tenants by launching a multi-year cultural development program, supported by a £4 million investment in world-class technology. By listening to customer feedback and leveraging data-driven insights, Bernicia has aligned its new digital repairs service with tenant expectations and evolving habits. Andrea Malcolm, Deputy Chief Executive at Bernicia and project sponsor, stated: “The introduction of Field Services marks a major milestone in our journey to customer service excellence. The dedication and expertise of our team have been outstanding, creating an incredible momentum across the business. We’re excited to see the real difference this will make for both customers and colleagues.” Jude Comber, Account Executive at Salesforce Nonprofits, praised the project team, saying: “The level of skill and attention to detail in this project is outstanding. Bernicia’s customer-first approach is a model for how to successfully implement a digital transformation.” Strategic Collaboration with Alscient Achieving this milestone was made possible through Bernicia’s partnership with Alscient, a multi-cloud specialist. Their expertise in Salesforce integration and digital transformation played a key role in designing and implementing the Field Services solution. Salesforce: A Game-Changer for Housing Associations Salesforce offers housing associations a single, integrated platform to streamline operations, enhance tenant relationships, and eliminate inefficiencies caused by data silos. By embracing cloud-based, automated solutions, housing providers can transform service delivery and drive long-term tenant satisfaction. 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 Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Salesforce Enhances Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Engine Data science and analytics are rapidly becoming standard features in enterprise applications, Read more

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