Salesforce Navigates AI Adoption Gap as Enterprises Cautiously Embrace Agent Technology

Bridging the AI Adoption Gap

At Salesforce’s annual Dreamforce conference, CEO Marc Benioff addressed what analysts suggest is a critical challenge facing the enterprise software industry: the widening gap between rapid AI innovation and slower business adoption. According to reports from the event, Benioff described a “bifurcation” between consumer embrace of AI tools like ChatGPT and the more measured approach taken by corporate customers.

Bridging the AI Adoption Gap
Agentforce Adoption: Mixed Results
Enterprise Use Cases Emerge
New Tools to Accelerate Adoption
Slack as Conversational Gateway
Industry Context and Challenges

“This is the moment where this technology innovation is out-stripping customer adoption,” Benioff stated during a press conference, as reported by Fortune. “Our job is to get those customers into adoption mode.”

Agentforce Adoption: Mixed Results

Salesforce’s bet on “agentic AI” shows both promise and challenges, sources indicate. The company revealed that Agentforce features have experienced the fastest adoption of any product in Salesforce’s history. However, the detailed numbers tell a more nuanced story.

Excluding Slack integrations, approximately 12,500 customers—just over 8% of Salesforce’s customer base—have adopted Agentforce in the past year, according to the report. Only 6,000 of those represent paid engagements, with many customers using free trial versions up to certain usage thresholds. These adoption rates reportedly contributed to Salesforce’s recent tepid revenue growth, though improved future guidance sent company shares up 5% following the announcement.

Enterprise Use Cases Emerge

At the “Agentforce City” exhibition within Dreamforce, several early adopters demonstrated practical applications. Williams & Sonoma showcased an AI agent providing recipe advice and cookware recommendations, while PepsiCo revealed an agent improving customer service for small retailers stocking Pepsi products., according to recent innovations

More significantly, Dell reportedly implemented Salesforce’s AI agents to automate parts of its supply chain, including onboarding new suppliers. The system has allegedly reduced average onboarding time from months to days, demonstrating substantial operational efficiency gains., according to emerging trends

New Tools to Accelerate Adoption

To address adoption challenges, Salesforce unveiled several new Agentforce features, according to conference reports:

Agent Builder: Allows users to describe desired agent functions with minimal manual configuration
Voice Interface: Powered partially by OpenAI‘s voice models for improved interaction
Agent Script: Enables hybrid rule-based and LLM-driven processes
Agentforce Vibes: Natural language tool for developers building sophisticated workflows

Slack as Conversational Gateway

Salesforce is positioning Slack, acquired for $27.7 billion in 2020, as the primary interface for its AI offerings. Slack CEO Denise Dresser explained that users could message AI agents within Slack to execute processes in Salesforce’s Marketing or Service Clouds without needing to learn the underlying software., according to according to reports

“Knowledge agents” within Slack can surface channel information and perform actions like onboarding new hires or installing software, according to the reports. Dresser argued that Slack’s combination of person-to-person, team, and AI interactions creates an ideal environment for enterprise AI adoption.

Industry Context and Challenges

The enterprise AI adoption challenge extends beyond Salesforce, analysts suggest. Adam Evans, Salesforce’s executive vice president of AI, noted that creating scalable, consistent agents that integrate into enterprise processes remains difficult. The company has increased its “forward-deployed engineers” to work directly with customers, recognizing that enterprises need more hand-holding with AI than with traditional SaaS products.

Salesforce forecasts that organic sales growth will accelerate to above 10% year-over-year by 2026, projecting $60 billion in annual sales by 2030—ahead of analyst consensus views. However, the company’s experience over the past year indicates that enterprise AI adoption will likely trail market expectations, despite the technology’s potential.