At Dreamforce 2024, Marc Benioff took a forceful stance as Salesforce launched its ambitious initiative designed to counteract the growing trend of extensive Generative AI co-pilot solutions, particularly those associated with Microsoft and other competitors.
This initiative, dubbed “Agentforce,” is characterized as a revolutionary suite of autonomous AI agents that enhance employee capabilities and manage tasks across service, sales, marketing, and commerce, aiming to deliver remarkable efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Benioff, Salesforce’s chair and CEO, expressed his belief that Generative AI used in a “bolt-on, DIY” fashion has not generated meaningful business value for organizations. He champions an integrated platform approach that incorporates artificial intelligence into applications, leveraging a robust network of virtual agents in collaboration with human workers. During a post-keynote session with media and analysts, he likened his argument to a legal case: “We believe this is a superior model, but you are the judge and jury. I presented my case in the keynote, and now it’s your turn to decide.”
He emphasized that regardless of how impressive GenAI “science projects” may seem, they hold no value if they do not deliver tangible business benefits. He stated: “There’s a lot of narrative from vendors that is misleading. You need to engage with customers at this event, examine the code, and clear the fog created by vendors. Real customers here are implementing impactful AI. Yet, billions are being spent on co-pilots yielding what level of productivity? Is there a better approach? That’s our challenge.”
In the main event announcement, Benioff remarked, “Agentforce signifies the Third Wave of AI—progressing beyond simple copilots to a new era of precise, low-hallucination intelligent agents that proactively enhance customer success. Unlike other platforms, Agentforce seamlessly integrates AI throughout workflows, embedding itself deeply within the customer journey, anticipating needs, building relationships, driving growth, and facilitating proactive engagement at every touchpoint.”
He further asserted that while other vendors require a DIY approach to AI, Agentforce provides a fully customized, enterprise-ready platform that ensures immediate effectiveness and scalability. With advanced security features, industry-standard compliance, and exceptional flexibility, Salesforce’s bold vision aims to empower one billion agents through Agentforce by the end of 2025. “This is the true potential of AI,” he claimed.
Despite this corporate ambition, there seems to be an inconsistency in criticizing DIY Generative AI while simultaneously encouraging customers to develop millions of their own agents. Benioff aims for “thousands of customers to be live on Agentforce and billions of consumers to interact with agents” by the next Dreamforce.
So, what is the level of interest in virtual agent creation and deployment among IT professionals in enterprises?
Research recently conducted by TechTarget’s Enterprise Strategy Group indicates that AI agents are gaining significant traction among corporate IT users. In the study, 20% of respondents reported intentions to extensively integrate AI agents into their operations, while 47% are considering them for specific applications. However, the sentiment towards AI agents remains cautious; 41% described their feelings as “cautious optimism,” while 35% expressed concerns regarding ethics and privacy, and the same number viewed them as primarily experimental technology. A notable 14% remained skeptical about their reliability.
Moreover, the study highlighted that 47% of organizations are utilizing multiple large language models (LLMs), and 43% plan to leverage a mix of open-source and proprietary models to support their Generative AI initiatives in the coming years, showcasing a genuine interest in exploration and innovation among enterprises.
At the same time, the survey revealed that suppliers who integrate AI into their offerings—aligning with Salesforce’s strategy—are drawing considerable interest, with 54% of respondents more inclined to consider suppliers adopting an embedded AI approach.
The survey encompassed 832 global participants, with 32% from North America, 29% from EMEA, 35% from the Asia-Pacific region, and 4% from Latin America.
Further TechTarget research indicated a substantial global increase in interest in Generative AI over the past six months, with 47% growth among those focused on customer service and support, 28% within marketing automation, and a 21% increase among readers interested in sales software.
At Dreamforce, Salesforce showcased customers already utilizing Agentforce, including Heathrow Airport, OpenTable, Saks, and Wiley. Peter Burns, director of marketing and digital at Heathrow, remarked, “We’ve been thoroughly impressed with how Salesforce’s AI platform has enhanced our service operations, elevated customer satisfaction, and boosted our digital revenue by over 30%. As the busiest airport in Europe, we are dedicated to delivering exceptional service to the 80 million passengers passing through our terminals each year. We look forward to leveraging Salesforce’s new AI features to further enhance the travel experience and maintain Heathrow’s leading edge.”
With high-profile customers like these backing Salesforce’s ambitions, Benioff’s strategy may just prove successful. As the saying goes, only time will tell.
Brian McKenna is a senior analyst at TechTarget’s Enterprise Strategy Group, focusing on business applications. He previously served as the Business Applications Editor at ComputerWeekly.com. The Enterprise Strategy Group is a division of TechTarget, and its analysts maintain business relationships with vendors.