Salesforce plans to hire 2,000 new sales representatives dedicated to artificial intelligence (AI) solutions, CEO Marc Benioff announced on Tuesday. This figure doubles the initial estimate shared just a month ago.

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The cloud software giant, which primarily serves sales teams, marketers, and customer service agents, is among the growing number of tech companies leveraging generative AI to drive revenue growth.

“We’re adding another couple of thousand salespeople to help sell these products,” Benioff stated at a company event in San Francisco. “We’ve already received 9,000 referrals for the 2,000 roles we’re filling. It’s incredible.”

In September, Benioff had informed Bloomberg of plans to onboard 1,000 AI-focused sales personnel.

AI Developments and Agentforce Rollout

Salesforce also unveiled updates to its AI capabilities, including the second generation of its Agentforce technology. Scheduled for release in February 2025, this advanced AI system will support complex queries in Salesforce’s Slack communications app by utilizing comprehensive data analysis.

This expansion in AI personnel comes nearly two years after Salesforce announced a significant workforce reduction of over 7,000 employees due to economic challenges. As of January 31, 2024, Salesforce’s total workforce stood at 72,682, reflecting a slight 1% decrease from two years prior, according to official filings.

AI in Customer Service and Sales

Benioff highlighted Salesforce’s progress in integrating AI into customer interactions. The company’s homepage now features an experimental AI agent capable of answering questions about its products.

Additionally, a chat-based help page facilitates around 32,000 weekly customer interactions, with only 5,000 escalated to human agents—a significant drop from the previous 10,000, thanks to improved AI capabilities.

Comparisons to Microsoft’s AI Strategy

Benioff contrasted Salesforce’s advancements with Microsoft’s AI initiatives, particularly its Copilot-branded tools. While he claimed that customer support automation information was challenging to locate on Microsoft’s website, Microsoft's platforms, including Azure and Copilot, do host AI agents.

Jared Spataro, Microsoft’s Chief Marketing Officer for AI at Work, responded to Benioff’s remarks, emphasizing Microsoft’s substantial progress in AI-powered customer support. “Copilot has been transformative for customer service, enabling 11.5% faster case resolutions. In sales, it has increased revenue per seller by 9.4% while allowing teams to focus on strategic, high-value activities,” Spataro noted.

With both Salesforce and Microsoft intensifying their focus on AI-driven solutions, the competition in the tech industry’s AI space continues to accelerate.