Salesforce World Tour Paris ‘24 - SUMMARY

If you attended the Salesforce World Tour Paris 2024, the key theme was crystal-clear: integrating generative AI into teams, a significant change. Salesforce's AI, Einstein, highlighted the need for trust and easy data access during this shift.
The surge in AI utilization for customer service among organizations is staggering. Since 2020, there has been an 88% increase in the number of service decision makers employing AI, catapulting the figure from 24% to 45%.

Generative AI stands as the latest in a series of technologies reshaping the retail landscape. The advent of digital platforms, whether online or in physical stores, has fundamentally altered retail paradigms over the past two decades, with no signs of abatement.

Despite a post-pandemic resurgence in physical store shopping experiences, digital transactions remain formidable. While digital transactions constituted an estimated 59% of all transactions in 2021, this year saw a decrease to 51%. 

Nevertheless, the pendulum of digital commerce is poised for another swing, with projections indicating digital transactions will surge to 56% of the total by 2025, as consumers navigate seamlessly between digital and physical touchpoints in their shopping journeys. This trend is compelling retailers to invest in unified platforms—60% are currently in the strategy or execution phase—to deliver personalized experiences and foster loyalty across channels.

AI adoption is on the rise, with a staggering 98% of retailers expressing readiness to invest in AI within the next 18 months. Already, 21% of these retailers have initiated implementation efforts in 2024.

The anticipated annual impact of Gen AI in the retail and consumer packaged goods (CPG) sectors is an astounding $660 billion, with the projected value of the retail market for Gen AI reaching $13.4 billion by 2025.

Einstein's Role: Einstein highlighted the importance of data trust by integrating predictive, generative, autonomous, and agent-based AI tools.

Industry Impact: The adoption of this technology spans a range of industries, including retail, distribution, consumer goods, financial services, marketing, and sales, all with a keen focus on utilizing customer data effectively.

We had the opportunity to hear from key speakers from McKinsey, Hugging Face, Accor, and Adecco, who shared insights on the impact of Generative AI across these sectors and outlined their strategies to lead in this transformative era.

Public AI Accessibility: The focus was on simplifying and making AI accessible to the general public, emphasizing user experience (UX) and enabling clients to create their own models.

Trust: Ensuring trust and confidence in AI adoption through features such as Einstein's trust layer.

Democratization: Making AI accessible to all users, including business users and developers, through tools such as Einstein Studio and LLMS (Language Learning Model Service).

Data Challenges: Challenges related to fragmented, unstructured, and poor-quality data were addressed, emphasizing the need for solutions to effectively manage and utilize such data alongside AI integration.

Strategic Approach: Emphasis on quality over the size of AI models, strategic cloud partnerships, focusing on specific use cases, and supporting businesses and employees through AI transformations.

Future Outlook: Anticipation of significant changes in the next two decades, with AI playing a central role in reshaping industries and societal norms.

Einstein GPT

Einstein GPT is a robust AI tool that merges public and private AI models with CRM data, enabling users to pose natural-language prompts directly within Salesforce CRM. This AI-generated content continuously adapted to evolving customer information and needs, saving users significant time by eliminating the need to manually create content. Einstein GPT integrates:

• Salesforce's private AI models: Developed by Salesforce and leveraged by customers using features from the Einstein technology layer.
• OpenAI's ChatGPT: Through the Salesforce and OpenAI partnership, providing out-of-the-box generative AI capabilities via direct access to OpenAI’s enterprise-grade ChatGPT technology.
• Bring your own model (BYOM): As Einstein GPT is open and extensible, users can utilize it alongside their own external model/s.

Data is continuously fed into these models in real-time from Salesforce ‘clouds’ and the Salesforce Data Cloud to ingest, harmonize, and unify all customer data.

Einstein Copilot

Einstein Copilot, is seamlessly integrated into the side panel of any Salesforce application's user interface. It allows both internal users and customers, including those using Experience Cloud portals, to engage with this conversational AI assistant using natural language.

Copilot extends its functionality by providing suggestions akin to the 'next best action' concept, offering multi-step action plans for users to choose or remove follow-up actions.

Many front-end features targeted at Salesforce users and backend features enabling Salesforce professionals to customize GPT functionality are based on Einstein Copilot.

Einstein Copilot Studio

Einstein Copilot Studio comprises three components: 

Prompt Builder, Skills Builder, and Model Builder. It empowers businesses to build and deploy AI-powered applications while maintaining control over the extent of AI's prompt influence and ensuring data security and compliance.

• Prompt Builder in Salesforce allows the creation of prompts to generate personalized content, such as emails, social media posts, or website pages, through natural language questions.
• Skills Builder, a low-code tool in the Einstein 1 platform, enables businesses to create custom AI-driven actions, akin to permission sets for generative AI prompts, without requiring coding.
• Model Builder integrates CRM data with external AI models, enhancing applications with AI predictions and auto-generated content while safeguarding data privacy.

The Einstein Trust Layer

The Trust Layer, part of AI Cloud, sets a new industry standard for trusted enterprise AI, ensuring data privacy and security by preventing large-language models (LLMs) from retaining sensitive customer data. This allows organizations to leverage generative AI while maintaining data governance controls.

Einstein for Sales

Sales Cloud Einstein is a powerful tool aimed at assisting sales teams in crafting personalized and captivating content. It facilitates the generation of tailored content for specific customers or target audiences, as well as content relevant to current trends and news.

Key features of Sales Cloud Einstein include:

• Sales Assistant: This tool provides a comprehensive summary of every stage of the sales cycle within a side panel. It covers account research, meeting preparation, and drafting contract clauses. Additionally, it automatically updates the CRM system, ensuring that sales data remains accurate and current.
• Sales Emails: Sales Cloud Einstein can automatically generate personalized emails for each customer interaction by leveraging data from the CRM system. This enables users to send emails that cater to the individual needs and interests of customers.
• Call Summaries: The tool transcribes and summarizes calls automatically, then suggests follow-up actions based on the transcription. This functionality enhances seller productivity by saving time otherwise spent on manual transcription and follow-up action setting.

Einstein for Service 

Salesforce Einstein for Service is a versatile AI tool that enhances customer service and field service operations, leading to improved customer satisfaction, cost reduction, increased productivity, and better decision-making.

Key features include:

• Service Replies: Automatically generates personalized responses using real-time data sources like CRM data, ensuring tailored responses to customer needs and interests.
• Work Summaries: Creates concise summaries of service cases and customer engagements based on case details and customer history.
• Call Summaries: Automatically transcribes and summarizes calls, suggesting follow-up actions based on the transcription, thus improving seller productivity.
• Knowledge Articles: Automatically generates and updates articles based on real-time data from support interactions, ensuring articles are always up-to-date with the latest information and best practices.
• Mobile Work Briefings: Summarizes critical information about each appointment before field service teams arrive, improving efficiency by providing necessary information.

Einstein for Marketing

Salesforce aims to revolutionize marketing with Einstein for Marketing, providing marketers with an AI-connected interface for campaign conception, audience discovery, and content creation.

Features include:

• Segment Creation: Quickly create audience segments and improve targeting using natural language prompts to query Data Cloud.
• Email Content Creation: Build email body content and subject lines automatically.
• Segment Intelligence: Understand campaign performance relative to audience segments.

Einstein for e-Commerce

Salesforce Commerce Cloud Einstein provides personalized commerce experiences throughout the buyer's journey.

Features include:

• Goals-Based Commerce: Set targets and goals, and receive actionable insights and recommendations to meet them.
• Dynamic Product Descriptions: Automatically generate product descriptions tailored to every buyer, speeding up storefront creation and enhancing customer experience.

Commerce Concierge: Deliver a 1:1 shopper experience on any messaging channel using bot technology and generative technology.

Slack AI

Slack AI integrates trusted generative AI into the Slack platform, enhancing collaboration and communication.

Features include:

• AI-ready platform: Integrate and automate with partner-built apps or build custom integrations.
• AI features in Slack: Conversation summaries and writing assistance.
• Einstein GPT app: Surface AI-powered customer insights from trusted Salesforce Customer 360 data and Data Cloud.

This year, we've had the privilege of witnessing and engaging in showcases and demonstrations centered around Data Cloud, the latest addition to Salesforce's portfolio . 

As you're likely aware, Data Cloud is revolutionizing CRM by bridging the gap between the extensive enterprise data collected and its application in enhancing customer experiences. It goes beyond mere data accumulation, focusing on harnessing this data to benefit the customer. By providing unified access to data across the entire Salesforce ecosystem, Data Cloud facilitates automation, optimizes business processes, and fuels AI with deeper insights.

Yet another promising Salesforce World Tour where the #1 CRM Company showcased an unwavering commitment to being a catalyst for change and elevating client solutions beyond mere expectations. At Baybridge Digital, we firmly believe that AI is not a luxury but a necessity to thrive and expand in the world of tomorrow. 

Companies must act swiftly to establish a robust data strategy to prepare for the imminent AI and GenAI wave. It's evident that Salesforce shares this viewpoint, as evidenced by their Salesforce World Tour Paris 2024 oriented towards data, notably with Data Cloud, and AI with Einstein stepping up its game thanks to GenAI. 

Einstein's proposing suites for Sales, Marketing, Service, and E-commerce signify a comprehensive approach towards CRM innovation, promising tailored solutions for diverse business needs.

These features highlight several key aspects that resonate deeply with our values and objectives:

• Beta and Pilot Focus: Embracing Salesforce's Beta and Pilot initiatives, we prioritize user-centric development, valuing precise feedback for the creation of superior solutions.
• Co-Creation Ethos: Aligned with Salesforce's collaborative spirit, we actively engage with clients and the broader Salesforce community to drive continuous innovation.
• Data and AI Commitment: With a spotlight on Salesforce Data Cloud and Einstein Copilot, we are dedicated to harnessing the power of data and AI to personalize and enrich customer experiences.
• Strategic Shift: The developments unveiled at the event signify a strategic shift towards forging deeper customer connections—a vision we are proud to champion and advance within the CRM landscape.

This World Tour has undoubtedly set new benchmarks for leveraging technology in customer engagement, and BayBridgeDigital is thrilled to be at the forefront of this transformative journey alongside Salesforce. For further information or to initiate discussions, we welcome you to reach out to us at kjerusalmi@baybridgedigital.com and kalaouisosse@baybridgedigital.com. 

Let's pioneer the future of CRM together.

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