Salesforce has always been the OG in the CRM industry, always spotting where the CRM world is heading and right now, they are painting a picture of a future that looks quite different from where we are today.
Interestingly, we are seeing many clients move away from Salesforce at the moment, but they aren’t just sitting back. With their summer 2025 product release and recent commentary from the CEO, Marc Benioff, they are trying to meet the demands of what he calls “the agentic age”.
So what exactly is the agentic age? Think of it as more… “intelligence”. CRM systems that don’t just store data or run reports, but actually think, learn, and essentially take action for you, the really smart assistant that never sleeps.
Let’s break it down.
From Relationship Management to Relationship Intelligence
The Summer ’25 release is bringing some exciting updates to Einstein Copilot, Salesforce’s AI assistant that’s now working better across Sales, Service, Marketing, and Commerce Clouds. What’s really cool is that it’s moving beyond just answering questions to actually helping you take action.
This feels like we’re heading toward a future where your CRM system becomes your smartest team member, one that doesn’t just track what happened with customers, but actually helps you figure out what to do next. I mean, think about it… a system that can spot opportunities, suggest the perfect customer journey or even help with your outreach.
A New Kind of CRM User
Marc Benioff’s comments at the recent Diginomica interview highlighted something interesting… they are designing Salesforce for ANYONE who interacts with customers and the customer experience (no matter what their role is).
This means anyone, technical or not, can use the platform through simple drag and drop tools, conversations in plain English and more built-in AI helpers. I mean it’s great as it means basics can be dealt with and the technical folks get to spend their time on the fun, creative stuff instead of just keeping things running. It’s very much like they are breaking down the walls that used to make Salesforce feel like it was only for certain people; now everyone can jump in and make a great customer experience happen.
Salesforce AI Workforce Vision
Marc Benioff’s Bloomberg interview revealed that AI now handles 30-50% of Salesforce’s operations. This statement represents a deliberate strategic positioning that aligns with Salesforce’s broader transformation.
“By the end of this year for my organization, it’s radically re-shaped. At the end of the year, it’ll look a lot different than it did at the beginning of the year.” – Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce
So, what does this mean for CRM teams around the world?
What This Means for CRM Teams
Are you team Salesforce or just keeping an eye on where it’s heading? Either way, these developments are shaping the future of how CRM teams work.
For CRM Teams = Already Using Salesforce
You might already be noticing some of the shifts within the big, wide world of the Salesforce ecosystem; if not, you will soon! Salesforce Summer ‘25 release and the broader move towards AI-first capabilities (like Agentforce and RAG 2.0) are making CRM work more intelligent and enjoyable than ever before.
Tasks like data entry, campaign setup, and reporting are being handled more by AI agents, freeing up time for strategic thinking, relationship management, and optimisation.
Tools like Agentforce for Sales Coaching now offer reps real-time, context-aware coaching throughout the CRM experience, essentially now acting like an intelligent assistant that makes your sales team better, not redundant.
With RAG 2.0 enhancing the accuracy of AI agents by validating the data they use, everyone’s CRM’s success now depends even more on clean, well-structured, and reliable data. Clean data = happy AI.
For CRM Teams = Not Yet Using Salesforce
Even if you’re working with a different CRM platform, these trends are still super relevant to you all. Salesforce usually has a knack for spotting what’s coming next in the CRM world, and when they make big moves toward AI-powered automation, we can almost put money on it that other platforms will follow. From working in the industry for years, we have seen this as a trend.
The next wave of CRM tools from Salesforce and beyond will prioritise AI agents that reduce friction and manual effort across sales, marketing, and service.
AI is only as smart as the data it works with. Even if you’re not ready to adopt Salesforce, investing in data quality and infrastructure now will pay off later, regardless of your CRM stack. The future isn’t about AI replacing CRM teams; it’s about empowering them.
How to Navigate Salesforce’s New Releases
With AI now handling 30-50% of the work at companies like Salesforce and tools like Agentforce transforming how teams are operating, there are so many opportunities coming, though we know the implementation side can feel overwhelming.
When it comes to data, it is usually the challenge we see most often. Data chaos from years of entry makes AI tools less reliable than they should be. If your data is clean and accurate, then AI is like its best friend and will work spot on.
We’ve worked alongside businesses recently that wanted to embrace AI, but were not sure where to start or how to make it work practically. Our approach is pretty straightforward and focuses on three things that matter most…
So we start with your data foundation because let’s face it, AI is only as good as what you feed it. We help you clean up and organise your data so the AI tools can actually give you reliable insights. This is where simple governance frameworks come in handy so things stay clean going forward.
We look at specific ways AI can help your business right now. It might be better lead scoring, better forecasting or automation, focus on the quickest wins and clearest value.
Most importantly, we make sure your team feels confident and excited about these changes. We provide training that helps people transition from manual tasks to more strategic work, so they can use AI tools effectively while still bringing that human insight that makes relationships work. Customer relationship management… It’s what we do.
Let’s Talk About Your CRM Plans
We’ve been helping teams figure this stuff out in a way that actually makes sense for them, and honestly, we love these conversations. Book a call with us, we can review your current CRM set up (what’s working, what isnt), look at the best opportunities for AI integration or answer any questions you may have about CRM strategies.
Chat to us. We are looking forward to hearing from you!
