Salesforce Agentforce is a platform that allows users to build and customize autonomous AI agents to support your employees and customers 24/7. But how well does it actually work, and is it something you should invest time and money into? This Salesforce Agentforce review will discuss the benefits, limitations, and pricing of Agentforce, as well as whether it’s actually worth it.
If it lives up to the hype, it could be a game changer for customer success teams, call centers, and sales reps. If it doesn’t, it’s just a waste of money. The chances are that it will fall somewhere in between, depending on your actual needs and resources.
Let’s dive in and find out.
What Is Salesforce Agentforce?
As mentioned above, Salesforce Agentforce is a platform to build and customize AI agents. An Agentforce agent is a proactive, autonomous application that provides specialized, always-on support to employees or customers. These agents are trained on data for their chosen speciality, giving them the power to autonomously execute tasks according to their role.
In short, Salesforce Agentforce is your key to a digital workforce. As it’s integrated directly with Salesforce, it allows you to keep all your work operations in one easy-to-manage place. These agents also have deep integrations with Slack, minimizing your need for multiple applications.
The global AI agents predictive maintenance market is projected to grow from $5.1 billion in 2024 to $47.1 billion by 2030. So if you’re wondering whether now is a good time to jump on the AI agent bandwagon, the answer would be a resounding yes. And Salesforce Agentforce eases you into the world of AI agents gently.
Three Reasons to Use Salesforce Agentforce
There are plenty of reasons why you might want to use Salesforce Agentforce. We’ve gathered the three primary ones here to boil it down to its core. Here’s why you might consider using Salesforce Agentforce:
- AI-Driven Automation. This can automate workflows, by triggering tasks, follow-ups, or escalations automatically. It can summarize calls, generate responses, and intelligently route cases for maximum efficiency. AI agents for meetings can be super helpful – we should know.
- Agent Productivity Tools. Think real-time AI coaching, comprehensive performance analytics and insights, and the ability to digest relevant data and articles instantly.
- Customer Interaction Management. It enhances customer experience by creating agents that can manage calls, live chat, emails, SMS, WhatsApp, and other social media from one place. Additionally, it can monitor customer sentiment in real-time and tailor customer journeys to the individual. AI agents for customer success are swiftly becoming a big deal.
Who Benefits Most?
Salesforce Agentforce can benefit the vast majority of companies, especially if they have some kind of online presence (which almost all companies do nowadays). From large enterprises and big call centers to sales and customer success teams, AI agents can save so much time. Just look at all the use cases for AI agents in sales teams.
In addition to the actual agents, Agentforce has a deep integration with Salesforce, working seamlessly with Service Cloud, Sales Cloud, and Einstein AI. This offers unmatched CRM synergy that just makes your life easier.
The other great thing about Agentforce is that it’s scalable. It doesn’t matter whether you’re running a small business or a massive enterprise, Agentforce can help all business sizes equally.
Can Salesforce Agentforce Be Used for Free?
Salesforce Agentforce offers a flexible pricing model, designed to accommodate businesses of all sizes and needs. Generally speaking, there are two plans:
- Salesforce Foundations – $0. This is for current Salesforce Enterprise plan users. It provides 1,000 Agentforce conversations and leads, 250,000 Data Cloud credits, as well as Sales, Service, Marketing, and Commerce tools. This is all free so long as you already have an Enterprise plan with regular Salesforce.
- Agentforce – Pay $2 Per Conversation. If you don’t currently have a Salesforce Enterprise plan, or you exceed your Agentforce capacity, you can pay $2 per conversation. Discounts are available for companies with higher volumes. This includes an out-of-the-box service agent, the Agent Builder, and the Prompt Builder.
If you’re already a Salesforce CRM user with an Enterprise plan, the Salesforce Foundations plan is a fantastic way to get started at no additional cost.
If you want the more advanced features, like the Agent and Prompt Builders, and theoretically unlimited agent conversations, the Agentforce plan is probably best. It can work out to be quite expensive as you pay per interaction, but it also provides you with the most freedom. You also don’t need to have a Salesforce Enterprise plan to use it.
For more details, check out their pricing page.
Key Features and Benefits of Salesforce Agentforce
Salesforce Agentforce is designed to enhance agent productivity, automate workflows, and improve customer experiences using AI-driven tools. It wouldn’t be a very good Salesforce Agentforce review without diving into the details here.
Let’s break down its core features and benefits:
AI-Powered Assistance
With AI-driven automation, your reps work smarter, not harder. The AI agents take care of the tedious, repetitive tasks so the human agents can focus on the areas where their skills are necessary.
- Automated Responses. AI analyzes past interactions and optimizes its reply, ensuring fast and accurate communication.
- AI Call Summarization. AI agents can transcribe and summarize calls in real-time, reducing the need for manual note-taking and improving team-wide collaboration and accountability.
- Intelligent Case Routing. With Agentforce, customer inquiries are automatically directed to the most qualified agent. This boosts efficiency tenfold.
- Sentiment Analysis. AI detects customer emotions and suggests appropriate responses to improve interactions. It’s able to interpret facial expressions and tone of voice to understand a customer’s emotional standpoint.
Ultimately, your human agents spend less time on repetitive tasks and more time on complex problem-solving, while AI agents handle routine queries efficiently.
Omnichannel Support
Agentforce enables seamless customer engagement across multiple platforms. This is a great way to unite your customer engagement into one centralized source of truth. Here’s how this works:
- Phone Integration. You can manage voice calls directly within the Agentforce dashboard.
- Live Chat & Chatbots. AI-powered chatbots handle routine queries, escalating complex issues to human agents where necessary.
- Email & SMS Support. You can respond to customer emails and text messages from a single interface.
- Social Media Engagement. Monitor and respond to customer inquiries on Facebook, X, WhatsApp, and other platforms.
This allows businesses to maintain a consistent customer experience across all communication channels. It’s easier for you to manage, oversee, and adjust your strategy as everything comes through the same centralized platform. It’s also fantastic for keeping your team on the same page. This is one of the many reasons that AI agents for project management are becoming a new trend.
Real-Time Analytics and Reporting
Agentforce provides in-depth performance tracking and insights to optimize customer service. It provides a state-of-the-art dashboard to keep on top of everything.
- Performance Dashboards. With Agentforce, you can monitor key metrics such as average handling time, resolution rates, and customer satisfaction scores.
- Customer Interaction Insights. Get AI to analyze your conversations to identify trends, patterns, and areas for improvement. This is particularly useful for sales reps as they can coach themselves with AI tips.
- Productivity Reports. Track your support reps’ performances and identify training needs. This can really take your team to the next level.
- Predictive Analytics. Use historical data to forecast future customer service trends and demand. This can also be used to give you an overview of your predicted revenue.
With Agentforce’s real-time analytics and reporting, businesses can make data-driven decisions to improve customer experience and efficiency. It’s a way to use AI to supplement and improve human worker performance.
Integration with Salesforce CRM
One of the great things about Agentforce is how it seamlessly connects with Salesforce CRM for a unified workflow. By keeping everything in one place, you maximize your efficiency and pave the way to success.
- Customer Data Sync. All your customer profiles are automatically updated with recent interactions and case histories. This might not sound like much on paper, but it’s a life-saver in the long run.
- 360° Customer View. AI agents built with Agentforce will have instant access to past interactions, purchase history, and support tickets. They’re more efficient from the get-go.
- Automated Lead Qualification. AI helps sales teams prioritize and nurture leads based on customer interactions.
- Unified Case Management. With Agentforce, you can ensure your customer issues are tracked and resolved efficiently across all departments.
The best thing about the Salesforce CRM integration is how it eliminates silos between sales and support teams. All in all, it just creates the smoothest customer journey possible. And that’s what we all want at the end of the day.
If you’re already using AI meeting assistants to record and transcribe your meetings, you’ll be pleased to hear that tl;dv integrates seamlessly with Salesforce. Any insights picked up there can be used by your Agentforce AI agents easily.
Automation and Productivity Tools
AI agents reduce manual workload and enhance customer self-service options. The more you can automate this side of business with confidence, the more time, money, and energy you can save, all while simultaneously boosting efficiency.
- Self-Service Portals. Enable your customers to find answers through AI-powered knowledge bases and chatbots. It’s easier than you might think.
- Automated Ticketing System. AI agents can categorize and assign tickets based on urgency and agent availability. This alone can turbocharge your customer success.
- Real-Time AI Coaching. Agentforce empowers you to guide your reps with suggested responses and troubleshooting tips during live interactions. This is great for all customer-facing teams.
- Workflow Automation. Set triggers, follow-ups, reminders, and escalations automatically.
Overall, AI automation enhances efficiency and customer satisfaction by ensuring faster issue resolution. It streamlines workflows so that you can focus your energy on bringing the human touch.
Limitations of Salesforce Agentforce
To give a fair Salesforce Agentforce review, we need to take a look at the drawbacks. It’s a powerful AI-driven solution, but it’s not perfect. There are some limitations to be aware of when considering whether you want to invest in Agentforce. Let’s explore them.
Pricing – Is It Too Expensive for Small Businesses?
One of the biggest concerns with Agentforce is its cost, particularly for small and mid-sized businesses. The two plans both tend to be tiered towards businesses with more cash to spare. The first is for Enterprise users only, while the second is $2 per conversation which can stack up quickly.
- Enterprise-Focused Pricing. Agentforce is designed for larger contact centers and enterprises, making it less budget-friendly for startups or small teams. This is a shame as the use of AI agents in smaller businesses could really catapult them to the next level.
- No Free Plan. Agentforce requires a paid subscription which means you won’t get to try before you buy. This is another hindrance for smaller teams.
- Paid AI Features. Some advanced AI capabilities like predictive analytics and AI-driven coaching may require add-ons that increase costs.
Small businesses may struggle with affordability. There aren’t many competitors to Agentforce on the market either, so if you’re priced out, you’re priced out.
Learning Curve – Do You Need Advanced Salesforce Knowledge?
Agentforce’s deep integration with the Salesforce ecosystem may prove to be more of a hindrance than a benefit if you’ve never used Salesforce before. It’s somewhat of a double-edged sword. It can be incredibly useful for those who have already set up shop within Salesforce’s ecosystem, but it can be a massive drawback for newcomers.
- Complex Setup. Businesses unfamiliar with Salesforce may require extensive onboarding and admin support. It’s not an easy tool to learn.
- Steep Learning Curve. Human agents and managers need to learn Salesforce’s UI, automation tools, and analytics dashboards, which can be overwhelming at first.
- Dependence on Salesforce Infrastructure. If a business isn’t already using Salesforce Service Cloud or Sales Cloud, adopting Agentforce may require a major shift in workflow. This is like switching from Android to Apple; it’s not a simple task.
Ultimately, Agentforce is best suited for existing Salesforce users. If you’re new to Salesforce, expect a much longer onboarding process. It might still be worth it, but you’ll need to put in the effort to learn faster.
AI Skill Gap – Is It Too Difficult to Use?
If professionals aren’t equipped with the knowledge of how to prompt AI, the tool won’t be as effective. While it’s billed as being super easy to use, the truth is prompting is a skill. If you use weak prompts, you’ll create weak AI agents. Nobody wants that.
- Upskilling May Be Necessary. There might be a pressure to upskill in AI technologies like machine learning and predictive analytics in order to stay competitive.
- Underutilizing Agentforce. If users struggle to utilize Agentforce correctly, they may end up paying for something they don’t really use.
AI is advancing so quickly that a lot of what’s happening right now is flying over most people’s heads. You can get ahead of the crowd by creating AI agents, but you can also get lost down rabbit holes that don’t actually lead you anywhere. While prompting has enabled almost anybody to build a custom AI agent, it’s still a skill that needs to be refined, and for more advanced AI agents, you’ll need more advanced technological capabilities.
Real-Life Feedback on Salesforce Agentforce
Users are out in full force, leaving Salesforce Agentforce reviews on platforms like Reddit, G2, and various other blogs and forums. We’ve browsed the lot to share with you some of the most powerful or common reviews.
G2 Reviews
While not too large, the G2 crowd has a lot to say about Salesforce Agentforce. Here are the most common praises and complaints.
Common Praises
Many Agentforce users find it easy to use and simple to customize, while highlighting the AI-driven support as a key feature.
- Easy to Use. Many users report that it’s intuitive to use with one saying, “It just works.”
- Customizability. Several users praise Agentforce’s AI agent builder for being highly adaptable to your needs.
- AI Automation. There is positive feedback on the AI’s ability to assist with routine tasks. Users claim this makes their work life easier.
Common Complaints
- Complexity. Some non-technical users mention that it’s quite a complex tool to understand and it’s not easy to get started with. One user commented, “[it’s] not as intuitive as I’d like.”
- Pricing. The only one star review, and a few of the others, mentioned the price being too high to justify for what you get.
- Resource Intensive. Some users report that Agentforce makes their computer slow down.
SalesforceBen Review
SalesforceBen is the biggest independent media platform in the Salesforce ecosystem. It aims to empower Salesforce professionals to have a more fulfilling and impactful career. They released an unfiltered Salesforce Agentforce review, covering what professionals really think about it. We’ll break it down here.
Common Praises
Based on the feedback gathered, Agentforce is thought to accelerate development and effectively reduce manual labor. It’s also mentioned that the future looks optimistic.
- Effective AI Tool. Many users appreciate Agentforce’s AI capabilities, particularly for improving efficiency and reducing manual work.
- Helpful for Developers: The platform accelerates development, fast-tracking build-time. This is especially the case with the AI plugins.
- Positive Long-Term Outlook: There’s optimism about future improvements as Salesforce continues to refine the product.
Common Complaints
Some users are not satisfied with the pricing. They say that it can be quite confusing to be billed on a per-conversation basis. It’s difficult to track and may not be all it’s cracked up to be in terms of ROI. Others have skepticism over its actual impact, while some refer to its steep learning curve as a big drawback.
- Confusing Pricing Model: The $2 per conversation cost remains a point of confusion, and there are concerns regarding ROI.
- Skepticism Over Actual Impact: Some professionals doubt its practical benefits and worry it’s more about marketing than real enhancement.
- Steep Learning Curve: There’s a consensus that more practical implementation examples are needed to better understand its potential.
Reddit Feedback
In a Reddit thread titled “Is Agentforce really the future of Salesforce?“, users speculate that Agentforce is just the flavor of the week for Salesforce. The top comment highlights several big marketing pushes by Salesforce over the past decade and a half, all of which fizzled into nothing.
"I've been on the platform for 14+ years at this point. Web 3.0, Chatter, Salesforce1, Salesforce + FB = Like, IoT, Google Glass integrations, Salesforce Offline, Salesforce Mobile...err Heroku integrations, Einstein EVERYTHING. Salesforce is really really big on promoting novel concepts that rarely if ever significantly impact the pipeline or builds."
Other commenters believe that Agentforce may have a bright future, especially as the demand increases for automation and AI-driven support. There’s also excitement growing around the integration of AI into Salesforce workflows.
However, many commenters claim Agentforce is overhyped, expensive, and impractical.
Overall, there are mixed feelings in Reddit regarding Salesforce Agentforce. The majority of users tend to criticize Salesforce for regularly pushing innovations with low user adoption and uncertain value. They’ve mastered the art of upselling, but sacrificed some brand trust to do it.
Is Salesforce Agentforce Worth Using?
If you’ve been looking for a Salesforce Agentforce review to figure out whether you should actually be using it, it really depends on a number of factors. Let’s look at who will benefit most.
Who Gets the Most Out of Agentforce?
There are two distinct groups that benefit a lot from using Salesforce Agentforce: mid-to-large businesses and enterprises. Unfortunately, if you’re a small business (or new to Salesforce), it might not provide the most value for money.
- Mid-to-Large Businesses: The more a business has complex customer service or sales needs, the better. These require automation and AI-driven tools, like the ones that Agentforce provides, to scale operations.
- Salesforce Enterprise Users: Businesses already integrated into Salesforce will benefit from seamless integration. Enterprise users can already use Agentforce at no additional cost!
Agentforce shows promise for automating customer interactions and improving team productivity. It’s definitely worth considering if your business is already in the Salesforce ecosystem.
If, however, you’re a smaller company, you might need to assess if the investment fits your needs. It’s a potentially large investment if you don’t need a new CRM, and if you’re using another CRM then the integration benefits of Agentforce will be lost on your business.
Salesforce Agentforce Review: Is It Worth It for Your Business?
Salesforce Agentforce is most beneficial for mid-to-large-sized enterprises that already use Salesforce’s suite of products. Those businesses in need of customer service automation are especially in luck because it helps organizations handle a high volume of customer interactions with ease. Businesses looking to scale are going to find it a massive help.
However, smaller businesses may find the cost prohibitive. The platform’s reliance on existing Salesforce infrastructure and pricing model might make it less accessible for startups or companies with limited budgets. Not to mention, there’s a steep learning curve for newbies, so organizations without experienced Salesforce users may struggle to implement it effectively.
For those seeking more affordable alternatives, or those not fully embedded in the Salesforce ecosystem, Agentforce may not be the best choice. Ultimately, whether or not it’s a good investment comes down to your business and your current circumstances.
