Dreamforce 2024, Salesforce’s flagship event, once again proved why it’s one of the most anticipated conferences in the business and tech world. With over 45,000 attendees from 140 countries gathering in person in San Francisco and millions more tuning in via Salesforce+, this year’s event was packed with exciting announcements and innovations that promise to reshape the future of AI and business operations. As a Salesforce partner agency, we’re here to break down the key highlights and how they can benefit your business.
1. Agentforce: A New Era of Autonomous AI Agents
The biggest headline from Dreamforce 2024? The launch of Agentforce, a suite of autonomous AI agents set to revolutionize how businesses operate. Agentforce allows companies to scale their workforce with AI agents that can handle tasks across service, sales, marketing, and commerce. These agents go beyond basic chatbots, analyzing data, making decisions, and taking action in real-time.
What makes Agentforce so exciting is its customization and ease of deployment. With Agent Builder, businesses can create their own AI agents with low-code or no-code tools, allowing for rapid development and deployment. The Atlas Reasoning Engine, the AI “brain” behind Agentforce, powers these agents, enabling them to process complex tasks autonomously.
Agentforce in Action:
- Service Agent can handle customer inquiries, offering quick resolutions without needing human intervention.
- Sales Development Representative (SDR) Agent engages prospects 24/7, answering questions and managing objections while scheduling meetings directly from your CRM.
- Merchandiser Agent assists eCommerce businesses with product recommendations and personalized promotions.
Agentforce is designed to make businesses more efficient, giving employees the freedom to focus on high-value tasks. For those ready to dive in, Dreamforce attendees could prototype their own agents on-site in the Agentforce Launch Zone.
2. Atlas: The AI Brain Driving the Future
At the heart of Salesforce’s AI evolution is Atlas, the upgraded AI copilot that powers Agentforce. Atlas is capable of autonomously generating, evaluating, and refining plans based on business goals and real-time data insights. This AI innovation sets a new standard for efficiency, making smarter, faster decisions in customer engagement, sales processes, and marketing campaigns.
The combination of Atlas and Salesforce’s Data Cloud ensures that your AI-driven decisions are backed by high-quality, real-time data, allowing your teams to move quickly and confidently.
3. $1 Billion Investment in AI and Workforce Development
Salesforce is doubling down on AI, committing a staggering $1 billion toward advancing its AI capabilities. This investment will be used to fund AI development and to help train the workforce of tomorrow. One notable initiative is the opening of AI Centers in key cities like London, Chicago, Tokyo, and Sydney. These centers will not only foster AI innovation but also provide in-person AI courses to help upskill employees.
Additionally, Salesforce has pledged $50 million to Salesforce Ventures to invest in companies that are pushing the boundaries of AI in an ethical and impactful way. This includes partnerships with companies like Cohere, Hugging Face, and Together.ai.
4. Data Cloud Enhancements: Fueling AI With Real-Time Data
Salesforce’s Data Cloud continues to be the backbone of its AI strategy, and Dreamforce 2024 saw several exciting updates that will give businesses even more power to harness data effectively. New capabilities include:
- Unstructured Data Processing: Now, businesses can analyze video and audio content—like calls and webinars—unlocking deeper insights from these interactions.
- 50 New Connectors: With over 200 pre-built connectors, Data Cloud makes it easier to integrate data from various sources, creating a unified, seamless flow of information.
- Sub-Second Processing: Data is now processed and ready for activation in under a second, making real-time decision-making faster than ever before.
These enhancements are crucial for businesses looking to stay agile in a fast-paced market, giving them the tools to act on real-time insights across customer touchpoints.
5. Slack Innovations Powered by Agentforce
Slack, Salesforce’s collaboration platform, got a significant upgrade at Dreamforce 2024 with new Agentforce-powered features. These AI enhancements allow users to interact with Salesforce data using natural language, meaning team members can simply ask Slack agents for updates or insights without needing to dig into reports manually.
The integration of third-party AI agents, such as those from Adobe and Anthropic, further extends Slack’s capabilities, enabling more sophisticated workflows. Additionally, Salesforce-linked channels offer a unified space where CRM data and Slack conversations come together, creating a seamless environment for teams to collaborate on key accounts.
6. Free AI Certifications and Training
Salesforce is committed to ensuring that AI is accessible to everyone, which is why they announced free AI certifications and instructor-led courses through Trailhead (Salesforce’s learning platform) until the end of 2025. This initiative aims to upskill professionals at all levels, ensuring that businesses are equipped to leverage AI for growth. For our clients, this is a great opportunity to get trained on AI tools and maximize the value of your Salesforce investment.
7. Customer 360 Innovations: Personalization at Scale
Salesforce’s Customer 360 platform, which unifies sales, marketing, service, and commerce, received major upgrades aimed at delivering more personalized, AI-driven customer experiences. Notably, Tableau Einstein now enables businesses to embed powerful analytics directly into everyday workflows, giving teams real-time insights and recommendations based on their Customer 360 data.
By integrating Agentforce, Slack, and Tableau within Customer 360, businesses can now offer seamless, personalized interactions at every customer touchpoint, from initial marketing outreach to post-sale support.
8. Commerce Cloud and Industries AI: Tailored for Every Business
Salesforce also unveiled the next generation of Commerce Cloud, which unifies B2C, DTC, and B2B commerce operations on a single platform. Three new Agentforce-powered agents—Merchant, Buyer, and Personal Shopper—help manage tasks like product recommendations and order lookups autonomously, without human supervision.
In addition, Salesforce launched Industries AI, which provides over 100 pre-built AI models designed for specific industry challenges. From optimizing inventory in consumer goods to enhancing student recruitment in education, these models are tailored to make industry-specific AI adoption faster and more effective.
9. Salesforce’s Commitment to Giving Back
Dreamforce isn’t just about business—it’s about making a difference. Salesforce announced $23 million in new grants to support U.S. school districts and global education nonprofits. This funding aims to equip students with the skills they need for future success, including training in AI and STEM fields. Salesforce also continued its philanthropic work with an additional $3 million donation to support public education in Hawai’i.
Conclusion: A Bright Future with Salesforce AI
Dreamforce 2024 demonstrated that Salesforce is not only pushing the boundaries of AI but also leading the charge in making this technology accessible and impactful for businesses of all sizes. As a Salesforce partner agency, we are excited to help our clients implement these cutting-edge tools and ensure they are ready to harness the power of AI for growth.
Whether it’s deploying autonomous agents with Agentforce, leveraging real-time data insights through Data Cloud, or scaling customer interactions with AI-powered Slack, Salesforce is ushering in a new era of business efficiency and personalization. Ready to take your Salesforce experience to the next level? Let’s talk about how we can help you make the most of these innovations.