Salesforce has unveiled a new initiative, and is also bringing Oracle and Microsoft on board as partners. The project, which Salesforce is calling the Agentforce Partner Network.
Earlier this year there were a flurry of devices claimed to be able to launch AI agents – semi-autonomous and eventually autonomous agents that would perform tasks or make decisions autonomously, using artificial intelligence. One of many that made a big splash with its demos was the Rabbit R1. The CEO and founder of that company went viral with demonstrations of how the device could plan and book a vacation for a family of four based on a single voice command, and it’s existing knowledge of their preferences.
Like many over-hyped early developments, these devices were often much better in the demo than in real life with all of its complexities. And many of the consumer devices, after their initial splash of excitement have gone back to work to try to make these complex consumer applications work in the real world.
But despite these early setbacks the idea of autonomous agents is captivating – and it is how many of the benefits of AI will be transferred into the modern workforce. And now, Salesforce, the CRM giant known for its marketplace of business functions, is leveraging this concept in its attempt to be a leader in the AI enabled workplace.
Business functions may not have the sex appeal of the consumer oriented first efforts in this area. But they have an enormous potential in business. Early models of agents are already making inroads into the workforce in customer support, marketing and other areas.
But the potential for industrial strength agents is endless particularly when they can bring expert analysis and execution to business processes. Financial analysis, supply chain management, human resources, contract management, cybersecurity and fraud detection and even making general robotic process optimization (RPA) available are just some of the many possibilities. And these can further be subdivided into specific industries. The potential is enormous.
It’s a perfect strategy for Salesforce who has played in the AI enabled space, but by no means is seen to be a leader in the development of major AI systems. Google, OpenAI, Anthropic and others are moving at full speed to bring autonomous AI agents to the workplace.
Salesforce believes it can enter this area in a big way, leveraging its massive client base and delivery network to become a real player in the leading AI into corporate use. And cleverly, it plans to leverage partnerships to do this. Microsoft’s work with OpenAI, Oracle’s announcement of over 50 agents in it’s Fusion Cloud Applications Suite, and even chipmaker Nvidia has joined the group to bring its specialised hardware capabilities
While the exact details of the collaboration remain unclear, this partnership brings together major players in the tech industry and a large number of applications.
Again, with any emerging technology, particularly in the rapidly evolving field of AI, we have to distinguish between current capabilities and future projections. The practical applications and implications of this “Agentforce Partner Network. ” will likely become clearer as the initiative progresses.
But one thing is certain. This is an idea that won’t go away. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been quoted as saying there could be more AI agents in the world than humans.
Industry observers will be watching closely to see how this collaboration develops and what concrete advancements it might bring to AI integration in business settings.
