Salesforce has launched a game-changing AI solution, Industries AI, offering over 100 tailored, pre-built capabilities to address industry-specific challenges across 15 sectors. Integrated within Salesforce’s industry clouds, these AI tools are designed to tackle unique business tasks like optimizing inventory management in consumer goods or improving patient services in healthcare, all while providing actionable insights backed by the Einstein Trust Layer and Data Cloud.
The launch marks a pivotal moment in the AI landscape, as the urgency to adopt AI continues to surge. More than three-quarters of business leaders believe that failing to deploy AI soon could leave their companies behind, with AI implementation priorities increasing by 700% over the last six months alone. However, organizations are finding it difficult to build and train AI models in-house due to the significant costs involved, sometimes running upwards of $100 million. Salesforce’s Industries AI seeks to bridge this gap by offering a customizable, industry-focused solution that can be deployed rapidly.
AI Tailored for Specific Sectors
Salesforce's deep expertise in various industries is reflected in the detailed, sector-specific AI functionalities now embedded in its 15 industry clouds. Some of the notable industry-specific features include:
- Healthcare: Patient Services & Benefits Verification helps streamline administrative workflows, reducing the time spent on pre-visit recaps and benefits checks. This enhancement allows healthcare providers to reduce delays in patient care by efficiently handling insurance validations and approvals.
- Financial Services: The Complaint Summaries feature uses generative AI to transcribe customer interactions and generate case summaries for faster resolution. For example, in cases of disputed charges, this AI tool automates case analysis, helping agents quickly identify solutions and close complaints faster.
- Automotive: The Vehicle Telemetry Summary monitors real-time vehicle performance data and alerts service agents to potential issues, allowing them to recommend preventive maintenance before major breakdowns occur. This proactive approach enhances safety and customer satisfaction while reducing vehicle downtime.
- Life Sciences: Candidate Auto-Matching accelerates clinical trial recruitment by automatically reviewing patient data against trial criteria. By using structured and unstructured data, this tool reduces the time to identify eligible candidates, helping researchers match patients to trials more efficiently.
A Foundation for Industry-Specific Automation
Salesforce's AI solution isn't just about addressing current challenges; it also lays the groundwork for Agentforce, an AI-driven workforce automation platform that will soon be available across all industries. Agentforce agents can autonomously perform complex tasks in various sectors, from matching patients with clinical trials to monitoring vehicle telemetry, and are expected to streamline workflows on an unprecedented scale.
This development is underpinned by Salesforce's Data Cloud, which leverages CRM data, external sources, and metadata while adhering to strict privacy guidelines via the Einstein Trust Layer. Agentforce agents can also collaborate with human workers, seamlessly transferring complex cases with full context to human agents for resolution.
Addressing the Growing Demand for AI
The introduction of Industries AI comes at a critical juncture. Organizations across sectors are increasingly feeling the pressure to adopt AI as part of their digital transformation strategies. In healthcare, for example, the use of AI to verify benefits can speed up patient care, while in manufacturing, AI tools can proactively flag maintenance issues, minimizing operational downtime. Public sector agencies like the United States Transportation Security Administration (TSA) have also expressed interest in using AI to enhance security protocols and improve passenger experience.
Jeff Amann, EVP & GM of Salesforce Industries, underscores this urgency: “Our mission is to put powerful and practical AI in the hands of every worker in every industry so organizations can start seeing tangible value from AI right now.”
Driving Value for Every Organization
Salesforce’s vision extends beyond large enterprises to smaller organizations that may lack the resources to develop in-house AI solutions. Industries AI offers scalable, out-of-the-box capabilities that can be customized to meet specific needs without the prohibitive costs associated with training AI models from scratch.
From nonprofits like Boys & Girls Clubs of America, which are using AI to enhance safety practices and streamline program metrics, to automotive giants like Toyota Canada, which is leveraging AI to improve customer engagement and vehicle servicing, Salesforce is helping organizations realize value across the board.
AI for the Future: What’s Next?
Industries AI will be available in beta and general release stages, with significant updates planned through February 2025. For example, the Vehicle Telemetry Summary for Automotive Cloud and Inventory Check for Consumer Goods Cloud are expected to launch by February 2025, while features like Complaint Summaries for Financial Services Cloud will be generally available in October 2024.
Pricing will vary based on specific implementations, and organizations can already access some of the newly announced AI tools, such as ESG Disclosure Report Generation for Net Zero Cloud, available today.
This rollout is just the beginning. As Salesforce continues to expand its industry-focused AI capabilities, the tech giant aims to ensure that companies of all sizes can easily integrate AI into their operations, driving efficiency, innovation, and, ultimately, customer satisfaction.
