**Sydney**: Over 10,000 attendees explored agentic AI at Salesforce’s Agentforce World Tour, where industry leaders discussed leveraging this technology to enhance customer interactions and operational efficiency, with significant interest noted among C-suite executives across Australia and New Zealand.
More than 10,000 attendees gathered for Salesforce’s Agentforce World Tour in Sydney on Wednesday to explore the advancements in artificial intelligence, particularly focusing on what is termed “agentic AI.” The event showcased a growing interest among industry leaders in leveraging AI technology to enhance customer experience and operational efficiency.
Bill Patterson, Salesforce’s executive vice president of customer relations management, highlighted that 69% of C-suite executives from Australia and New Zealand are prioritising agentic AI in their strategies over the next year, with 38% already implementing it within their organisations. This technology is seen as a means to innovate customer interactions, delivering more personalised services while enabling companies to gain a competitive advantage.
Among the 480 executives surveyed, 79% expressed their intention to utilise agentic AI for improving customer experiences, which includes functions such as sales forecasting and analytics (58%), 24/7 customer support across multiple channels (68%), platform management (58%), and the development of marketing strategies and campaigns (57%).
Patterson elaborated on the concept of agentic AI, explaining that while Salesforce has been utilising AI since 2016 through a machine-learning system called Einstein, which made recommendations based on existing data, the shift to generative AI introduced a focus on predicting logical conclusions from incomplete information. This evolution signifies a transition to a new era, where “agents” could automate tasks that traditionally required human intervention.
“The agents are the new era for the future of enterprise AI computing,” Patterson stated, emphasising the acute labour shortages in the current workforce. He contrasted traditional AI capabilities with new agentic AI, which can not only answer basic queries but also facilitate complex tasks, such as product sales and arranging logistics.
The Salesforce event underscored the impact of large language models, which emerged prominently in late 2022. Patterson recalled discussions at Salesforce regarding the need to enhance chatbots and co-pilot functionality to help businesses navigate constraints. “Co-pilots gave rise to agents, and agents is now, we think, the future of enterprise AI computing,” he noted.
As of now, approximately 1,000 out of Salesforce’s 170,000 corporate customers have adopted the Agentforce program since its launch in October, with an additional 4,000 exploring its capabilities. The cost associated with this service is $2 per conversation, defined as 24 hours of interactive engagements.
The event also addressed challenges faced by service organisations, where overwhelming demand often results in repetitive questioning from customers, leading to employee burnout and frequent turnover. Patterson suggested that implementing agentic AI could alleviate the burden of routine inquiries, allowing human employees to focus on more complex and empathetic customer service roles.
Frank Fillmann, Salesforce’s Sydney-based EVP and general manager for the ANZ region, further emphasised the transformative potential of agentic AI, asserting that it could become a key asset for companies overwhelmed by the demands of modern customer interactions.
Source: Noah Wire Services
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