Salesforce artificial intelligence features and functionality are poised to have a great impact on how much value you can get out of your Salesforce org.
Salesforce AI is already delivering over 80 billion predictions daily for its millions of users, and that number is only set to skyrocket from here!
What is Salesforce AI?
Salesforce AI (also known as Salesforce Einstein) is another level of intelligence within the Salesforce platform that enables users to harness the power of strong artificial intelligence technologies to improve their day-to-day business operational functions.
These tools can be utilized out-of-the-box for more common predictions, and they are also fully customizable to meet unique business use cases.
Here are some Salesforce AI use case examples:
Use custom-built bots trained on your organization’s flow of data to refine your business processes.
Receive AI-driven insights and recommendations based on patterns within your data.
Predict lifetime values or business outcomes with the Prediction Builder.
Categorize incoming communications to differentiate customer intent or sentiment.
The Salesforce platform integrates flawlessly with Salesforce AI tools, and implementing the tools can greatly improve your company's business performance.
If you’re still not understanding how you might use Salesforce AI in your business, Salesforce created a fun visualization tool to make everything click, and it’s called Einstein’s Guide to AI Use Cases.
When did Salesforce start using AI?
In 2015, Salesforce set their sights on using AI to empower their users. The software, under the working name Optimus Prime, was conceptualized and realized in the basement of a furniture store in Palo Alto.
Announced to the public as Salesforce Einstein, it was made available to all Salesforce users in 2017. “AI for everyone” was released and the next era of technology was introduced to the Salesforce community. That same year, Salesforce introduced the Partner Innovation Award for Analytics Cloud, and CRM Science was the first Salesforce consultancy to win that award!
How does Salesforce use AI predictions?
Salesforce Einstein tools work by deeply analyzing a company’s data.
Discovering patterns within data is only one part of the puzzle, with other parts predicting the future based on those patterns and knowing when to adjust prediction models based on new, changed data.
What differentiates Salesforce AI from competitors is that it includes robust out-of-the-box functionality within Salesforce.
You don’t have to spend countless hours designing your artificial intelligence tools to fit with your business needs. All you need is a couple clicks (well, maybe more than a couple) and you’re off to the races!
Six Salesforce AI Facts to Know
Salesforce technology is constantly evolving to meet changing customer needs and to optimize existing processes. Here are six facts to keep your eye on as Salesforce AI grows:
1. Exceeding expectations despite 2020 challenges
Artificial Intelligence technology is predicted to have a massive impact on the CRM industry by the end of 2021.
A 2017 IDC whitepaper sponsored by Salesforce estimated the impact AI innovations will have on CRM can increase global business revenues by $1.1 trillion and create 800,000 net-new jobs that will surpass jobs that were lost to technology automation.
This immense growth is expected to continue, which further emphasizes the importance of Salesforce AI innovations.
Salesforce is projected to generate $21.1 billion in revenue in 2021 and $25.55 billion in revenue in 2022. In addition, a 2019 IDC whitepaper sponsored by Salesforce projects the Salesforce platform will enable the creation of 4.2 million new jobs and generate $1.2 trillion in new business revenue worldwide by 2025.
2. Einstein Automate Rollout
Salesforce launched Einstein Automate at Dreamforce 2020, which combines MuleSoft tools and robotic process automation to create a lightning-fast workflow development solution. Salesforce customers across industries can access Einstein Automate tools to automate just about anything in Salesforce using AI bots and flows.
The Flow Orchestrator in Einstein Automate harnesses Salesforce AI capabilities to create simplified processes and approvals with an intuitive interface.
Another tool in the Einstein Automate arsenal is MuleSoft Composer, which allows connections between multiple apps and data flows while utilizing a collection of connectors and templates to automate your workflows.
These tools are available now for your organization to utilize!
3. Einstein Analytics New Name — Tableau CRM
Salesforce introduced Einstein Analytics in 2017 to enable CRM users to explore data using AI-powered advanced analytics. This was a big deal at the time because it added automation to the daunting task of analyzing massive amounts of data, and it meant Salesforce customers no longer have to build mathematical models or write algorithms to understand their data.
Salesforce acquired Tableau CRM for $15.7 billion in June 2019, and in Oct. 2020 the company announced plans to combine the best of Tableau and Einstein Analytics under the new name Tableau CRM.
All of these changes are great news for Salesforce users who will benefit from the easy-to-use Tableau interface with new Einstein Analytics predictions and integrations to be added in subsequent Salesforce releases.
4. Voice + AI
Senior VP of Product Management for Automation at Salesforce John Kucera recently said voice integration with Salesforce AI is a frontier he is looking to explore. Voice integration with Service Cloud allows for real-time voice transcription.
Artificial intelligence on top of voice commands will allow the software to return results based on what it believes to be the intent behind the prompt. He aims for the future of the software to be able to spin up reports without the user having to understand query language or even how to build reports.
Salesforce Research, a division of Salesforce AI for research and development, created a program that is able to review call center calls and coach the representative on specific moments in the call. It’s even able to prefill fields based on the contents of the call and helps to streamline work for people in customer-facing roles.
5. Deduplication via Artificial Intelligence
Preventing or deleting duplicate records in Salesforce is great for keeping your Salesforce org clean. In the past, Salesforce customers relied on manual deletion of duplicate records, or they automated the process using rules. These deduplication efforts are common in Salesforce org cleanup projects CRM Science completes for consulting clients.
Salesforce AI is making the process more efficient by using a new method to deduplicate Salesforce records.
Instead of using rule-based deduplication, you can try a machine-learning approach to cleanse your data. With the machine-learning approach, whenever you label two records as duplicates the software will learn why they are duplicates, and then apply that logic to records when questioning in the future.
As you continue to mark records as duplicates, you train the machine to learn from your thought process. It takes into account fields on the records that have more weight when it comes to flagging duplicates, so a repeated phone number value will hold more weight than a repeated first name value.
As your data evolves and matures, so does the machine learning behind it to effectively clean your data as you go.
6. Patient Care
The human brain is pretty amazing, but it certainly has limitations.
Doctors use their eyes to analyze x-rays, CT scans, and MRI scans, but AI-powered predictive healthcare models may see important details doctors’ eyes can miss.
Using anonymized data from medical care providers, Salesforce is working to develop and train predictive healthcare models. The goal for this project is to eventually be able to personalize therapies and provide precision medicine depending on each patient’s unique case.
Using Salesforce AI, they want to be able to determine what the patient’s health future would look like and better inform which treatments a patient should receive.
Salesforce researchers developed the open-source ReceptorNet, which is a machine learning program that can determine warning signs for oncologists when determining treatment plans. The researchers found that ReceptorNet achieved 92% accuracy when deciding the appropriate treatment for breast cancer patients!
Salesforce AI Resources
Contact CRM Science Salesforce Consultants
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff is committed to AI as a revenue driver, which has been illustrated time and again through Salesforce acquisitions and product announcements. With so much emphasis on Salesforce AI, it’s a really exciting time to be a Salesforce customer with these next-level tools at the helm.
The CRM Science Salesforce consulting team meticulously studies the latest Salesforce products and enhancements so clients can maximize the value of Salesforce using cutting-edge CRM technology.
Contact us to chat or learn more about what Salesforce AI technology can do for you.
