Salesforce rolls out new Slackbot AI agent as it battles Microsoft and Google in workplace AI

Innovative Update Unveiled by Salesforce

Salesforce has taken a bold step in transforming Slackbot, its workplace assistant tool within the Workplace Suite, into an advanced AI agent capable of performing complex tasks. This new iteration represents what executives at Salesforce claim is not just another copilot or virtual assistant but acts as the forefront to agentic enterprise wherein software agents coexist with human counterparts for multitasking and decision-making processes within workplace environments, giving a glimpse into how AI might shape future office interactions.

In an exclusive conversation with Salesforce's Parker Harris, the company’s chief technology officer emphasized that this rebuilt Slackbot is poised to significantly alter workflow dynamics by enabling employees to delegate tasks and access information seamlessly without interrupting their workday routines.

"Slackbot isn't just another copilot or AI assistant," said Harris. "It's the front door to the agentic enterprise, powered by Salesforce." The new Slackbot has been designed as a robust interface that can not only navigate through years of conversation logs but also connect with external resources like Google Drive and calendar data using sophisticated search capabilities.

Salesforce’s Strategic Shift in AI

The initiative appears to be part of Salesforce's broader strategy aimed at convincing investors that artificial intelligence could enhance, rather than render their products obsolete. Harris elaborated on the distinction between Slackbot generations: "The old Slackbot was a little tricycle and the new one is like Porsche." The enhanced version runs on an entirely different architecture built around a large language model with robust search capabilities that can tap into Salesforce records, Google Drive files, calendar data as well as years of historical conversations in Slack.

Salesforce has chosen to retain the Sl