In a revealing interview with CNBC personality Jim Cramer, Marc Benioff made his strongest statements yet about the centrality of artificial intelligence to Salesforce‘s future. The Salesforce CEO declared that the company’s AI program Agentforce has evolved from an add-on feature to becoming “part and parcel” of the entire organization. This announcement comes at a critical juncture for the cloud software giant, which has seen its stock decline significantly throughout the year as investors seek accelerated growth.
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Agentforce: The Beating Heart of Salesforce’s Platform
Benioff left no ambiguity about Agentforce’s importance during his conversation from Salesforce’s annual Dreamforce conference in San Francisco. “People don’t understand that Agentforce is part and parcel of Salesforce,” he emphasized. “It is the core of every product we make now, it is the platform.” This represents a significant evolution from when the company first introduced the AI program just over a year ago.
The Agentforce platform enables businesses to deploy autonomous bots that handle various operational tasks, driving efficiency through automation. Benioff revealed impressive adoption metrics, noting that Agentforce has “10s of 1000s of deployments, and those customers are all ready to get to another level of execution.” This widespread implementation suggests that Salesforce customers are increasingly embracing AI-driven automation across their operations.
Addressing Investor Concerns and Stock Performance
Salesforce’s stock performance has presented challenges throughout 2025, with shares down more than 28% year-to-date as investors express concerns about revenue growth acceleration. This decline occurs despite significant technological advancements like Agentforce and comes amid broader market volatility that has affected numerous technology companies. The situation mirrors concerns seen in other sectors, where innovations sometimes face investor skepticism until they demonstrate clear revenue impact.
Recent market indicators suggest broader economic concerns may be influencing investor sentiment toward technology stocks. The climbing fear gauge on Wall Street reflects ongoing uncertainty in global markets, potentially affecting companies across the technology sector regardless of their individual performance or innovation.
Countering the “AI is Eating Software” Narrative
Cramer directly addressed growing industry concerns that “AI is eating software” – the notion that generative AI technologies might enable companies to build their own tools rather than purchasing enterprise software solutions. Benioff firmly rejected this perspective, arguing instead that enterprise and AI are converging to create what he termed “agentic enterprises.”
“Now’s the time that enterprise and AI are coming together to transform, to become new agentic enterprises,” Benioff stated, positioning Salesforce at the forefront of this transformation rather than as a potential victim of AI disruption. This vision aligns with broader technological trends where AI integration is becoming essential rather than optional for business operations.
Major Customers and Real-World Implementation
To substantiate his claims about Agentforce’s success and importance, Benioff highlighted several major Salesforce customers including Dell, Williams-Sonoma, and PepsiCo. These enterprise deployments demonstrate that large, sophisticated organizations are embracing Salesforce’s AI capabilities at scale.
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The success of Agentforce reflects a broader trend toward AI integration across industries, similar to how other technologies are evolving. Just as Windows 11 updates represent Microsoft’s ongoing platform evolution, Salesforce’s Agentforce development shows how established software companies are adapting to the AI era through continuous innovation and enhancement of their core offerings.
The Future of Agentic Enterprises
Benioff’s vision extends beyond current implementations to what he describes as the emergence of “agentic enterprises” – organizations where AI agents work alongside human employees to enhance productivity and decision-making. This concept represents the next phase of digital transformation, building upon earlier automation and cloud computing initiatives.
The development of sophisticated AI platforms like Agentforce parallels advances in other technological domains. Similar to how scientists are developing new methods for material creation and researchers are pushing boundaries in particle acceleration, Salesforce’s work on Agentforce represents cutting-edge innovation in enterprise software. These parallel developments across different technological fields highlight how broadly AI and advanced computing are transforming multiple industries simultaneously.
Strategic Implications for the Software Industry
Benioff’s strong endorsement of Agentforce as central to Salesforce’s identity signals a strategic shift for one of the enterprise software industry’s most influential companies. By making AI “part and parcel” of their platform, Salesforce is positioning itself as an AI-first company rather than a traditional software provider that has added AI capabilities.
This approach reflects broader industry trends where established companies are integrating AI deeply into their offerings. Just as streaming platforms are forming strategic partnerships to enhance their content offerings, Salesforce is leveraging its AI capabilities to strengthen its competitive position and deliver increased value to enterprise customers seeking digital transformation.
Looking Ahead: Salesforce’s AI-Driven Future
As Salesforce continues to develop and expand Agentforce, the company faces both significant opportunities and challenges. The widespread deployment Benioff mentioned suggests strong customer adoption, but translating this technological success into improved financial performance remains crucial for addressing investor concerns.
The coming months will reveal whether Benioff’s vision of AI as fundamental to Salesforce’s identity will resonate with both customers and investors. As the enterprise software landscape continues to evolve rapidly, Salesforce’s bet on Agentforce as a core platform component represents one of the most significant strategic moves in the industry’s ongoing adaptation to the AI era.
