Marc Benioff, the dynamic and outspoken chief executive officer of Salesforce, has expressed a growing concern that the vast majority of companies across industries have yet to fully comprehend or implement effective strategies for adopting artificial intelligence. In his view, despite the world’s intense fascination with the transformative potential of AI, many organizations are still in the early stages of experimentation and are struggling to make sense of how to integrate these technologies into their existing operations. Speaking with CNBC host Jim Cramer on Tuesday, Benioff remarked that customers are only beginning to wrap their minds around the practical realities of deploying AI tools at scale, highlighting how the journey from awareness to application remains slow and uneven.
Earlier that same day, Benioff inaugurated Salesforce’s flagship Dreamforce conference at San Francisco’s Moscone Center, opening the event with a keynote address that underscored the tangible successes of clients who have successfully integrated AI into their workflows. Using examples such as Williams-Sonoma and Dutch jewelry manufacturer Pandora, he illustrated how companies leveraging Salesforce’s AI-driven products are already transforming their business processes, optimizing customer interactions, and generating measurable value. Through these case studies, Benioff intended to show that while some organizations are moving swiftly in the right direction, a significant number still grapple with the complexity of implementation.
During his conversation with Cramer, Benioff emphasized a widening disparity between the pace at which AI technologies are evolving and the speed with which businesses are capable of adopting them. He noted, with a sense of urgency, that the current speed of innovation in artificial intelligence far surpasses the rate of customer implementation. According to him, this imbalance is not due to a lack of interest but rather the immense technical challenge of retrofitting massive enterprise systems—many of which are built on decades-old infrastructure—to accommodate new AI-infused capabilities. Organizations, he explained, must often rethink their entire architectural frameworks, rewriting processes and reconfiguring legacy systems to allow AI applications to operate effectively and securely.
Benioff’s reflections on AI adoption arrive at a time when Salesforce’s own financial performance has come under investor scrutiny. The company’s stock has fallen more than 28% compared to the same period last year and is down roughly 34% from its peak valuation in December 2024. In August, Salesforce announced a major operational shift: it reduced its support workforce from approximately 9,000 employees to around 5,000. This restructuring, according to company statements, was directly enabled by the increased integration of AI-powered agents capable of handling customer queries and routine support tasks. By automating these processes, Salesforce hopes to demonstrate the cost-efficiency and scalability of its own technologies while adapting to a rapidly changing market environment.
When questioned about the recent decline in Salesforce’s share price, Benioff highlighted the rapid growth of the company’s Agentforce platform—a suite of tools designed for deploying autonomous AI agents—since its introduction just over a year ago. Although this platform has expanded quickly and become deeply embedded across Salesforce’s product ecosystem, Benioff suggested that investors and observers may not yet fully grasp the extent of its importance. He stressed that Agentforce is not merely an auxiliary or experimental project but an integral component of Salesforce’s overarching strategy. In his words, Agentforce has become inseparable from the company’s identity: the foundational layer underpinning every new product the firm creates. It represents, he said, the very platform on which Salesforce is now building its future.
The Dreamforce conference itself, one of the most influential gatherings in the technology world, is expected to draw tens of thousands of attendees to San Francisco throughout the week. Benioff aims to use this event not only to showcase the transformative potential of artificial intelligence but also to persuade customers to embrace Salesforce’s expanding suite of AI-empowered software, including industry favorites like Tableau for data visualization and Slack for collaborative communication. These tools, now infused with AI-driven features, are central to Salesforce’s pitch that businesses can achieve greater efficiency, insight, and connectivity through intelligent automation. Tickets for Dreamforce typically range from $999 to $2,299, underscoring its status as a premium event for technology leaders, innovators, and corporate decision-makers.
The conference’s agenda further reinforces Salesforce’s strategic alignment with the AI ecosystem at large. Among its most notable sessions are scheduled discussions between Benioff and some of the field’s most prominent figures, including Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai and Dario Amodei, the co-founder and CEO of Anthropic, one of the leading AI research laboratories. These dialogues are expected to offer valuable perspectives on the evolving role of generative and autonomous AI in business contexts, while the week’s programming will conclude with high-energy musical performances from globally renowned artists Metallica and Benson Boone. Together, these components illustrate how Benioff intends Dreamforce to serve as both a celebration of technological progress and a persuasive demonstration of Salesforce’s central position within the fast-advancing AI economy.
Sourse: https://www.businessinsider.com/salesforce-ceo-says-ai-innovation-is-far-exceeding-customer-adoption-2025-10
