By Carla Thomas
This week, Salesforce took over the Moscone Center, Yerba Buerna Center and neighboring hotels with the annual Dreamforce Convention.
Day One of Dreamforce kicked off on Tuesday, September 17 with a traditional day of keynotes led by Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. In an unprecedented move, Benioff explained how AI will be deployed in every area of industry with their new product, “agents.”
Through agents, Salesforce and all of its partners will create a new workforce, new CRM, an entirely new and upgraded way to engage clients, customers, and potentials.
Through several speeches, talks, and demos, Benioff spoke of how AI has been integrated at Disneyland. His colleague provided a live demo with luxury retailer Saks Fifth Avenue. The demo showed how chat bots have been replaced by meta data algorithms that can simultaneously orchestrate customer service at a level like no other.
Through one customer call, an AI agent answered a voice call, understood the customer’s complex request and was able to conversationally identify the said product for a return with not only explicit item details, but the return policy, inventory of the better-sized product, along with a timeline of options for a three-day delivery or pick up at a store location in San Francisco, all in one conversation.
The level of knowledge, accuracy, and efficiency is unlike any other on an automated format. Benioff, his engineers, platform, along with other companies he has absorbed have pulled off this amazing feat.
Benioff, just like a youngster with a brand-new car, was elated to share the latest and greatest in the world of AI. The technology is sure to set the world on fire with automated tasks.
Benioff said this moment in time is as amazing as Waymo, where his technology is integrated in the self-driving cars that traverse the streets of downtown San Francisco.
“I encourage everyone to download the Waymo App and take a ride while you’re in town,” he said. Benioff expressed that not only will humans be able work smarter and faster, but the AI will in many cases, enhance an employee’s performance as AI prompts quantum leaps of info.
Other highlights of the week included a concert with artist Pink and presentations and sessions with celebrities like Black Eyed Peas musician and tech investor Will.i.am, actress Kerry Washington, entrepreneur Ayesha Curry, and businessman Mark Cuban. The Dreamforce series will continue next week.