Salesforce AI CEO speaks about the company's generative AI push

CNBC Television
2 Apr 202403:34

TLDRThe video script discusses the impact of AI on businesses, particularly focusing on Salesforce's Einstein AI tools. It highlights the positive customer response and significant productivity gains across various industries, including financial services, healthcare, and the public sector. The conversation emphasizes the shift from pilot to production, driven by tangible business outcomes and customer willingness to invest in AI where they see a return. Salesforce's monetization strategy includes a new Einstein 1 edition and add-on seats for specific AI services. The script also explores how AI enhances efficiency and productivity within Salesforce itself, with service representatives benefiting from reduced drudgery and faster resolution times, leading to improved customer satisfaction.

Takeaways

  • 📉 The tech and AI sectors are currently experiencing a pullback in market performance.
  • 🚀 Customer response to AI products and platforms, such as Slack AI and Einstein, has been tremendous, leading to significant productivity gains.
  • 📈 There is an expectation that spending on AI products will increase in the coming year as businesses recognize the returns on their investments.
  • 🛠️ Salesforce has introduced a new Einstein 1 edition that bundles AI, data cloud, and Slack for sales and service, as well as industry-specific offerings.
  • 💡 AI is being adopted across all industries, not just tech, indicating a broad demand for generative AI tools.
  • 🌟 AI's impact on efficiency is notable, with service representatives able to answer questions faster and improve customer satisfaction scores.
  • 📊 The use of AI within Salesforce itself has helped improve efficiency and profitability, as the company's teams were the first to test and provide feedback on their own AI products.
  • 💼 The potential for generative AI to further improve margins lies in its ability to enhance productivity and reduce the drudgery of mundane tasks.
  • 🔄 Unlocking data silos within companies through AI allows for tremendous possibilities in improving business outcomes.
  • 💬 Customer feedback has been instrumental in refining Salesforce's AI offerings, such as Einstein for Service, Sales, and Platform.
  • 🌐 The widespread adoption of AI tools is expected to broaden the impact on earnings and productivity trends across various sectors.

Q & A

  • What is the current trend observed in the tech industry regarding AI winners?

    -There is a pullback in some of the tech names, particularly among AI winners, as they continue to gain prominence in the market.

  • What does the customer response to Salesforce's AI products and platforms indicate?

    -The customer response has been tremendous, with users across various departments such as service, marketing, and commerce management, experiencing significant productivity gains due to the AI products.

  • How is Salesforce monetizing Einstein Co-Pilot and other generative AI tools?

    -Salesforce offers a new Einstein 1 edition for sales and service that includes AI, data cloud, Slack, and other features. Additionally, they provide add-on seats for specific AI purchases, allowing customers to buy based on their needs.

  • Which industries are quickly adopting generative AI tools according to the transcript?

    -The adoption of generative AI tools is broad and not limited to specific industries. It spans across financial services, healthcare, life sciences, pharma, and the public sector.

  • How does the use of AI impact efficiency in various sectors?

    -AI helps unlock potential by breaking data silos, leading to improved efficiency. For instance, service representatives can answer questions faster due to AI handling routine tasks, resulting in quicker resolution times and increased customer satisfaction.

  • How has Salesforce adapted its own products to improve profitability?

    -Salesforce has encouraged its sellers, customer support, and customer success teams to use their own products, allowing them to provide feedback and adapt features, including Einstein GPT for sales and account summaries, to optimize performance and profitability.

  • What is the potential of AI in enhancing business outcomes?

    -AI has the potential to significantly enhance business outcomes by improving productivity and efficiency. By automating mundane tasks, AI enables employees to focus on more complex and value-added activities, leading to better overall performance.

  • How does the use of AI tools affect customer satisfaction scores?

    -The use of AI tools, such as Einstein Co-Pilot, leads to faster resolution times which in turn increase customer satisfaction scores. This is because AI can quickly provide accurate information, reducing the time customers have to wait for responses.

  • What is the significance of AI in the upcoming earnings season?

    -The significance of AI in the upcoming earnings season is that companies outside of the mega-cap are expected to show better earnings, potentially due to the efficiency and productivity improvements brought about by AI tools.

  • How does the demand for AI tools vary among different customer types?

    -The demand for AI tools is high across the board, with various types of customers expressing different needs. Some prefer an all-inclusive package like the new Einstein 1 edition, while others opt for specific AI add-on seats based on their requirements.

  • What is the role of data in unlocking possibilities with AI?

    -Data plays a crucial role in unlocking possibilities with AI by breaking down information silos and making it accessible for analysis and decision-making. This integration of data and AI leads to more informed strategies and improved operational efficiency.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Tech Industry and AI Adoption

The paragraph discusses the current trends in the tech industry, particularly focusing on the pullback in some tech names and the rise of AI winners. It highlights the use of generative AI tools such as Einstein Co-Pilot and the anticipated increase in spending on these products in the coming year. The conversation emphasizes the positive customer response to AI products and platforms, such as Slack AI and Einstein, which have been integrated into various teams including sales, marketing, and commerce, leading to significant productivity gains. The discussion also touches on the monetization strategies for these AI tools, including new editions for sales and service, and add-on seats for specific AI components.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Tech industry

The tech industry refers to the segment of the economy that encompasses all companies related to the production and use of electronic technology, particularly those that create and sell technology products and services. In the script, the tech industry is mentioned as experiencing a pullback, indicating a temporary decline or reduction in the performance of some technology stocks or companies.

💡AI winners

AI winners refer to companies or technologies that are excelling in the field of artificial intelligence, either by creating innovative AI solutions, achieving significant advancements, or outperforming competitors in the market. In the context of the video, AI winners are those entities that are successfully leveraging AI to enhance their products and services.

💡Einstein Co-Pilot

Einstein Co-Pilot is a term used in the script to refer to an AI product or platform, likely developed by Salesforce, that assists users in various tasks, possibly including data analysis, customer service, or sales support. The name 'Einstein' is likely a nod to the intelligence and innovation associated with Albert Einstein, symbolizing the advanced capabilities of the AI system.

💡Generative AI tools

Generative AI tools refer to artificial intelligence systems that are capable of creating new content, such as text, images, or data, based on patterns and inputs they have learned from existing content. These tools can be used for a variety of purposes, including content creation, data enhancement, and automation of certain tasks.

💡Productivity gains

Productivity gains refer to improvements in the efficiency and output of work, often resulting from the implementation of new technologies or processes. In the context of the video, productivity gains are achieved through the use of AI tools, which help employees perform their tasks more effectively and quickly.

💡Business outcomes

Business outcomes refer to the measurable results or achievements that a company aims to accomplish through its operations, strategies, and investments. These outcomes are typically aligned with the company's goals and can include increased revenue, improved customer satisfaction, or enhanced operational efficiency.

💡Monetizing

Monetizing refers to the process of generating revenue from a product, service, or asset. In the context of the video, it involves strategies that companies use to earn money from their AI technologies, such as offering new editions or add-on seats for specific AI functionalities.

💡Industries

Industries refer to specific sectors or categories of economic activity that share similar characteristics in terms of the products or services they provide. In the context of the video, the term is used to describe the various fields in which AI tools are being adopted and utilized.

💡Efficiency

Efficiency refers to the ability to achieve a desired outcome with the least amount of resources or effort. In a business context, improving efficiency often means reducing costs, time, or waste while maintaining or increasing output or quality.

💡Salesforce

Salesforce is a global cloud computing company best known for its customer relationship management (CRM) software. The company provides a range of services and tools that help businesses manage their interactions with customers and partners, as well as their internal operations.

💡Margins

Margins, in a business context, refer to the difference between a company's revenue and the costs associated with producing its goods or services. Higher margins indicate greater profitability, as more of the revenue is left over after covering expenses.

Highlights

The discussion acknowledges a pullback in some tech and AI winners.

There is an observed increase in spending on generative AI tools like Einstein Co-Pilot.

Customer response to AI products and platforms has been tremendous, leading to productivity gains.

AI tools are being utilized by various teams including service users, sales teams, marketers, and commerce managers.

The transition from pilot to production is driven by the inspiration from customer responses.

Investment in AI products is encouraged by visible business outcomes and returns.

Salesforce offers a new Einstein 1 edition for sales and service, catering to industry-specific needs.

Customers can purchase add-on AI seats for specific needs, such as service, sales, or platform.

AI tools are being adopted across every industry, including financial services, health, life sciences, and public sector.

AI and data integration is seen as powerful and beneficial for all organizations.

Data解锁 and integration across companies unlocks tremendous possibilities for efficiency and productivity.

AI assists service representatives in providing faster responses and improving customer satisfaction.

Salesforce itself has improved efficiency and productivity through the use of generative AI.

Salesforce's sellers, support, and success teams are the first to test and adapt their own products.

Generative AI has the potential to further improve margins and profitability within Salesforce.

Einstein GPT is utilized for sales, account summaries, and generating emails.