AI agents extend beyond merely enhancing productivity; they are fundamentally transforming customer engagement and business practices. Although challenges concerning trust and accuracy remain, we are entering a new technological era that may fulfill the potential portrayed in films such as Minority Report and Iron Man, as noted by Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff.
Benioff differentiates AI agents from generative AI (genAI), referring to agents as “the magical layer” that transforms raw AI potential into tangible business value. He emphasized their ability to handle tasks with context, personality, and deep data awareness — something earlier AI tools lacked.
Benioff mentions a scene from Minority Report, where customers walk into a futuristic Gap store and are greeted by a hologram that recommends products based on their previous purchases by name. He stated that current AI technology is not yet that advanced, but it is heading in that direction.
“I know what the Gap store is going to look like in the future,” Benioff said. “When a lot of people think of [AI] agents, they think of Jarvis in the Iron Man movies, and that’s what we want. We want a personal assistant who can go and do all of these things for us.”
GenAI tools like ChatGPT, Grok, or Gemini “are impressive,” but they still make mistakes. With more data and context, they will continue to improve, he said.
How Benioff’s Company Uses AI
Salesforce has intricately integrated AI into its CRM product suite via the “Einstein 1 Platform.” Additionally, it provides Agentforce, a platform that empowers businesses to develop and implement autonomous AI agents for diverse functions, including sales, service, marketing, and commerce.
Benioff sees AI agents as an invaluable resource, and one that many of the world’s largest companies will soon be utilizing.
“Disney is an amazing company, but let me tell you a secret about Disney that a lot of people don’t really think about, which is that it’s really hard for their employees to understand all their products,” Benioff said. “This idea that an employee has to understand all those products, to talk to the customer, to put together the perfect package, the perfect idea for that customer. That’s pretty complicated.”
AI and the Workforce
One subject that has kept the IT industry on edge in recent years is workforce reduction brought about by AI. As the technology becomes increasingly capable of automating tasks, the fear is that human employees will be replaced.
Benioff once wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, in which he said a Morgan Stanley report showed a 20% to 50% cost savings from AI developments alone.
Further addressing those findings, he says, “I think that we have to deal with reality here,” Benioff said. “So, I think it would be a huge mistake for me not to directly address this issue head-on and to really talk about what is happening. That is that, yes, this is doing some of the roles that are being done by human beings. So, we need to start adjusting. We need to look at what is really going on.”
“I think that it’s all about education that we’re going to need to make sure people are well trained, well educated—they can reskill.”
He stated that companies must invest in reskilling workers instead of merely “making promises” that there won’t be layoffs. Salesforce is investing in reskilling; however, he also emphasized the importance of corporate responsibility in advancing public education.
“You can’t just talk about it; you have to fund it,” he said.
