What is Salesforce?
Salesforce is the global leader in customer relationship management (CRM), empowering companies to connect with customers in a whole new way.
The platform enables organizations of every size and industry to digitally transform around their customers by harnessing the power of data, AI, CRM, and trust. This helps make every customer experience more personal, valuable, and memorable.
Given their unique position in the market, Salesforce leaders are often at the forefront of the latest trends, technologies, and challenges impacting businesses. They leverage their expertise and insights gained from market analysis and direct customer conversations to help reveal what the future might hold.
AI’s Future of Work: 6 Predictions
Desk workers estimate generative AI will save them five hours per week. This presents an exciting new opportunity for companies – tapping into their teams’ creativity, strategic thinking, and innovation like never before. Salesforce experts share their predictions on what this transformation will look like in the workplace.
AI will transform how we think about (and measure) human productivity.
“Sixty percent of executives say they are primarily measuring their team’s productivity by tracking activity metrics, like hours worked or emails sent. But this will change with the widespread use of AI in the workplace, as we start to see AI replace much of the mundane, repetitive work that we have long measured as productivity inputs. In the next year, businesses will need to transform the way they measure performance and productivity to focus on outcomes like products launched or leads generated, instead of inputs. To do this, leaders will need to shift their mindset from measuring activity to measuring impact, and clearly define the results they want to see while supporting their teams in aligning individual efforts against these objectives.” – Christina Janzer, SVP of Research & Analytics, Slack
As AI grows more autonomous, it will free up time for more impactful work.
“A primary objective for AI over the next year is using the technology to achieve full autonomy within enterprises, where standard workflows can be entirely automated. There is massive potential for AI to automate every mundane task, from order processing to financial settlement and post-sales support. By identifying repetitive tasks and leveraging data integrations to make informed predictions and generate automation, AI is well-poised to absorb today’s routine work patterns and free our time for more fulfilling, productive, and profitable work.” – Param Kahlon, EVP and GM, Automation & Integration, Salesforce
AI’s reach will offset something very human: Agent attrition.
“Historically low unemployment rates have exacerbated the problem of retaining customer service employees. Generative AI can help address this challenge, as it drives up levels of self-service and improves agent productivity, leading to reduced recruitment costs.” – Ed Thompson, Market Strategist, Salesforce
Companies will use their data plus AI to get faster and more productive.
“The average desk worker is struggling with information overload, with data silos adding up to over 11 hours wasted a week. In the next year, we’ll start to see the real impact of generative AI on how we work, interact with that data, and think about productivity. This will start with capabilities like AI-powered knowledge retrieval, which I believe can best and most immediately capitalize on getting value from a company’s existing data. Longer term, the productivity outputs will move with more advanced generative AI capabilities like task automation and the ability to proactively surface trends and insights.” – Jackie Rocca, VP of Product, AI & Expansion, Slack
AI will make the workplace smarter.
“Chatbots and virtual assistants will simplify the employee experience by automatically booking the right space for a team’s needs. AI will also provide quick responses to inquiries, guide employees to resources, and facilitate service requests. Additionally, AI will drive proactive employee engagement and experience, predicting the spaces and services employees need to thrive before they even know they need them.” – Relina Bulchandani, EVP, Real Estate and Workplace Services, Salesforce
Companies will adjust and adapt in an AI-driven workplace renaissance.
“Today’s top talent expects more from their company than just a paycheck. To adjust, companies will place a renewed focus on workplace culture and supporting employees both inside and outside of the workplace. These investments will lead to higher employee satisfaction, better retention, and overall business success. Companies that choose to focus on these areas will continue to lead.” – David Ard, Head of Employee Success, Slack and Salesforce
How Generative AI Will Change the Future of Business
Generative AI to Become Fully Operationalized Across the Enterprise
It is expected that this will start with software development, customer service, sales, and marketing, but in reality, AI will ultimately touch every department and workstream. Another big step forward will come when large language models (LLMs) are tapped not just for content generation and analysis, but decision-making and workflow automation. As AI advances and features like AI Agents are deployed more widely, the efficiency will increase, creating a cycle of improvement.
While foundational LLMs will be the backbone of generative AI, companies will also start using a combination of smaller, domain-specific language models for cost, performance, and latency reasons.
Generative AI to Hypercharge Efficiency and Introduce “Semantic Query”
Advancement in semantic query – essentially a question written in a ‘human’ language that then gets translated into machine language – will dramatically change customer service.
Businesses can provide quick and meaningful, hyper-personalized service with AI using text, images, videos, and audio for search. This sets the stage for a more intuitive and responsive digital economy, benefitting both businesses and end users alike.
AI will revolutionize how we search and analyze data in 2024. By understanding the meaning behind words and phrases, AI will help businesses gain valuable insights from both structured and unstructured data. This will lead to more intelligent decision-making and better understanding of customer needs.
Shift from “Cloud First” and “Digital First” to Customer-Centric Strategies
Whether engaging with a device or equipment, a chatbot, a mobile app, or a website, everything today is digital, including generative AI. The value to the customer is the health of the process that they want to carry out, or have carried out on their behalf.
For the business, the goal is better business outcomes. The technology itself is, in the eyes of the customer or employee, the way the process is carried out, and not the end in itself.
Businesses Embracing Generative AI to Lead the Way
Gartner expects that, by 2026, more than 80% of enterprises will have used generative AI and/or deployed generative AI-enabled apps in production environments, up from less than 5% in 2023.
AI platforms will propel the use of AI-driven digital assistants that will permeate every organizational layer, with executives leveraging AI insights for strategic decisions and frontline staff depending on AI for daily tasks. Business verticals, from sales forecasting market shifts to HR optimizing talent acquisition, will experience a profound AI-driven metamorphosis.
Even small to medium enterprises will adopt intuitive AI platforms, igniting a burst of innovation and leveling the competitive landscape. By 2025, AI won’t be an auxiliary tool but the core around which successful businesses revolve, marking an era of unparalleled transformation.
