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Dreamforce 2024, the much-awaited tech event of the year just concluded. What an experience it was! From September 17th to 19th, the air in San Francisco buzzed with excitement. Yet another year of Dreamforce, and Salesforce exceeded expectations. Industry leaders, tech enthusiasts, and developers flew from around the globe to witness the world premiere of Agentforce—the all-new autonomous AI agent.
Dreamforce 2024 also unveiled Atlas, the AI engine that powers Agentforce. Among other significant updates, Salesforce made waves with its commitment to upskill the workforce through free AI certifications. They also announced partnerships with tech giants like Google and IBM. Furthermore, the launch of Salesforce Foundations offers an exciting entry point for businesses of all sizes.
Now, let’s break down these key announcements and dive into the details.
1. Agentforce: Agents for Specific Business Needs
Image Source: Salesforce.com
A decade ago, ecommerce leaders could only dream of having personal shopping assistants for every customer, guiding them to the perfect products just like in a physical store. Meanwhile, customer service managers were imagining automated systems that would handle routine queries, leaving only the toughest cases to human experts. Marketing teams, on the other hand, faced constant pressure to pinpoint the right audience, craft personalized content, and deliver messages that would truly resonate with customers.
Salesforce responded, and how! Welcome Agentforce—the all-new easy-to-deploy autonomous AI agent for businesses.
Agentforce brings together humans, data, AI, and actions. These agents aren’t just designed to assist—they’re built to act. They automate processes that require human input. Whether it’s handling customer inquiries, managing workflows, or making data-driven decisions, Agentforce is capable of doing it all.
Here’s a short video that shows how Agentforce Agents can be used:
However, the beauty of Agentforce lies in its simplicity and customizability. Agent Builder enables businesses to create specific AI agents without deep technical expertise. For example, banking agent, healthcare agent, retail agent, operations agent, and so on. Agentforce Agents are fully customizable and come with pre-built templates.
Marc Benioff, Salesforce’s CEO, put it perfectly in his keynote:
We are moving from AI that helps you think to AI that helps you act. With Agentforce, businesses get not just insight but action at scale.
– Marc Benioff
Watch the launch video of Agentforce and hear from Marc directly.
Salesforce’s partnerships with Google and IBM were also highlighted. Agentforce integrates with existing tools like Google Workspace to automate complex tasks.
2. Atlas: The Brain Behind Agentforce
While Agentforce stole the spotlight in Dreamforce 2024, it wouldn’t be nearly as powerful without Atlas. Atlas is Salesforce’s new AI engine that drives it. Atlas acts as the brain behind Agentforce. It pulls in data from Salesforce’s Data Cloud and other sources to make real-time decisions.
Atlas is the central intelligence hub that quickly processes vast amounts of data. This ensures that the AI agents are equipped with the most up-to-date and relevant information. Benioff described it as “AI with purpose”. It means that businesses aren’t just gathering data—they’re generating outcomes. Atlas continuously analyzes data and adjusts to optimize performance.
From automating marketing campaigns to sales follow-ups, this AI engine is a must-have tool for businesses.
3. Data Cloud: Real-Time Data Meets AI
The Salesforce Data Cloud also saw major upgrades this year. Businesses are able to extract insights from multimedia content just as easily as they do from numbers and text.
But perhaps the most exciting update to Data Cloud is its sub-second processing speed. This means instant access to insights. They can act as soon as the data is received.
Salesforce’s expanded library of connectors now allows integration with more data sources. This further enhances the flow of information across departments.
At Dreamforce 2024, Marc Benioff highlighted what it means to combine Data Cloud with Agentforce:
With Data Cloud and Agentforce working together, we’re giving businesses the ability to make decisions and take action faster than ever before.
– Marc Benioff
4. AI for All: Free AI Certifications
Salesforce is doubling down on its mission to democratize AI. During Dreamforce 2024, they announced free AI certifications through Trailhead—Salesforce’s learning platform. These courses will be available to professionals from all industries until the end of 2025.
This move is aimed at upskilling the workforce. Benioff claims that AI isn’t just for data scientists. From marketing executives to sales managers, everyone should be able to use AI effectively.
As Marc Benioff mentioned during his keynote at Dreamforce 2024:
We want to create an AI-powered workforce that is ready to lead businesses into the future.
– Marc Benioff
5. Powering AI Progress: Partnerships with Google and IBM
Salesforce has also strengthened its partnerships with Google and IBM. This enables them to build on the capabilities of their AI ecosystem. It brings advanced functionality to Agentforce and other Salesforce tools.
For example, with Google, Agentforce will be able to automate tasks within Google Workspace. Generating documents, managing email workflows, or coordinating meetings will be much easier and simplified. This opens endless possibilities for businesses to enhance productivity and collaboration without lifting a finger.
6. New Salesforce Foundations: All-in-One AI for Everyone
One of the more understated yet incredibly impactful announcements was the introduction of Salesforce Foundations. This new set of AI-driven tools is now available to all Sales and Service Cloud users. It brings sales, service, marketing, and data management together into one integrated package.
What makes Salesforce Foundations exciting is its accessibility. It is designed for businesses at any stage of their AI journey—whether they’re just getting started or already implementing advanced AI solutions. The platform gives companies a low-risk, high-reward entry point into the world of AI.
It also lays the groundwork for businesses that want to explore advanced solutions like Agentforce. It’s the perfect way to dip a toe into the AI waters before diving in headfirst.
That’s a Wrap
AI is no longer just a vision for the future—it’s the present. Dreamforce 2024 didn’t just introduce new tools—it painted a picture of how AI will shape the future of business. With Agentforce, Atlas, and the updated Data Cloud, Salesforce redefines what’s possible with AI. The focus shifts from data analysis to real-time action. Intelligent action makes businesses faster, more efficient, and better equipped to meet the challenges of tomorrow.
