Salesforce will hire 2,000 people to sell AI products, CEO Marc Benioff says
Dec 17, 2024 - cnbc.com
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff announced at the Dreamforce conference that the company plans to hire 2,000 additional salespeople to focus on selling artificial intelligence software, doubling the initial hiring plan from a month ago. This move is part of Salesforce's strategy to boost revenue through generative AI features, targeting sales reps, marketers, and customer service agents. The company has already received 9,000 referrals for these positions. Salesforce's Agentforce technology, which will be available to customers in February 2025, aims to enhance AI capabilities in handling complex queries within its Slack communications app.
The hiring surge comes nearly two years after Salesforce laid off over 7,000 employees to adjust to economic conditions. As of January 31, 2024, the company's headcount was 72,682, a slight decrease from two years prior. Salesforce has also introduced an experimental AI agent on its homepage to assist with product inquiries, reducing the number of escalated customer support cases. In contrast, Benioff criticized Microsoft's lack of visible automation in customer support, despite its Copilot-branded AI tools.
Key takeaways:
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Salesforce plans to hire 2,000 salespeople to sell AI software, doubling its previous hiring target.
The company is launching the second generation of its Agentforce technology, which will be available in February 2025.
Salesforce's AI capabilities have reduced the number of customer support queries escalated to humans from 10,000 to 5,000 per week.
Salesforce's headcount as of January 31, 2024, was 72,682, reflecting a 1% decrease over two years.
