Salesforce CEO Benioff plans to hire 2,000 for AI sales

Salesforce, a leading cloud software company, has announced plans to hire an additional 2,000 salespeople to focus on selling artificial intelligence (AI) software to clients. This move represents a doubling of the number of salespeople the company had previously indicated it was planning to add. The announcement was made by Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff at a company event in San Francisco on Tuesday.
The company, which caters to sales representatives, marketers, and customer service agents, is among many tech companies looking to drive revenue growth through generative AI features. Benioff mentioned that they had already received 9,000 referrals for the 2,000 new positions, highlighting the strong interest in these roles.
Last month, Salesforce had stated its intention to hire 1,000 salespeople specializing in AI. The company also revealed that the second generation of its Agentforce technology, which powers AI agents, will be available to customers in February 2025. This technology will be able to handle complex queries within Salesforce’s Slack communications app, utilizing all available data.
This expansion of Salesforce’s AI sales team comes nearly two years after the company announced layoffs of over 7,000 employees to align with economic conditions. As of January 31, 2024, the company’s headcount was at 72,682, about 1% lower than two years prior.
Benioff highlighted that Salesforce’s homepage now features an experimental AI agent capable of responding to user inquiries about the company’s products. Customers seeking support can engage with a chat-based help page that currently handles 32,000 conversations weekly, with only 5,000 requiring human intervention.
In response to Salesforce’s AI push, Microsoft, a key competitor, has been offering its own series of Copilot-branded AI tools. However, Benioff pointed out that information about Microsoft’s automation of customer support is not easily accessible on their website. Microsoft’s chief marketing officer for AI at work, Jared Spataro, countered by noting the benefits of Copilot in resolving cases faster and driving higher revenue per seller within their organization.
The rapid growth of AI technologies in the sales and customer service sectors signals a shift towards greater automation and efficiency. Both Salesforce and Microsoft are leveraging AI to enhance their offerings and drive value for customers, highlighting the importance of technological innovation in today’s business landscape.