At the Salesforce World Tour Minneapolis last week, all eyes were on Agentforce and its new marketplace, AgentExchange. Together, they signal Salesforce’s boldest move yet into the world of autonomous AI agents.
The demos were slick and the use cases shared on stage were compelling. All pointing to a future that will soon be “Agentified.” But here’s the truth no one said out loud: it’s not that easy.
AI agents aren’t plug-and-play. Without the right groundwork, the promises of Agentforce will stay stuck in the demo environment. Here’s what brand and CX leaders need to know before jumping in.
How Salesforce Agentforce and AgentExchange Are Transforming AI-Driven Customer Experience
Let’s give credit where it’s due—Agentforce is the real deal. Salesforce’s vision for AI agents goes beyond chatbots or copilots. These are autonomous tools that can:
- Interpret intent
- Pull relevant business data
- Take real action—like updating records, launching journeys or booking appointments
Paired with AgentExchange, a marketplace for prebuilt templates, actions and “skills,” the goal is to make AI adoption fast, scalable and accessible.
It’s a powerful vision — and yes, it will be a game changer.
The Hidden Challenges Brands Face with Salesforce Agentforce
Brands are rightfully excited about the potential of AI agents and what they could unlock for both customers and internal teams. But here’s the catch: most brands aren’t set up to win quite yet.
- Your data is probably too disconnected: Agentic AI thrives on real-time context—but for many brands, that context is locked inside disconnected systems. Think: customer profiles in CRM, orders in Commerce platforms, case data in Service Cloud and product content in DAMs or PDFs. Salesforce’s own stats say “71% of enterprise apps are disconnected.” That’s a problem—and not one a marketplace template will fix.
- Past tech choices could hold you back: We see this all the time: brands excited about AI, but sitting on half-configured Marketing, Sales, Service or Commerce Cloud instances or integrations that only sort-of work. Before you add a new AI layer, you need a solid foundation. Otherwise, agents will either underdeliver or break things.
- AI won’t fix a broken customer journey: An agent that runs a task faster isn’t automatically improving customer experience. Without an end-to-end CX strategy, AI runs the risk of creating siloed, even conflicting interactions. That’s not a good look, especially in industries like financial services or healthcare where trust is critical.
How to Prepare Your Brand for AI Agents
Pick a real customer problem to solve
Start with outcomes, not technology. Look for moments where responsiveness, personalization or task automation could move the needle for customers or teams.
Audit your data
Inventory what data agents would need access to (like CRM data, help docs, knowledge bases, metadata) and how that data is stored, tagged and connected. Build toward a unified, trustworthy data layer.
Align across teams
AI cannot succeed in silos and works best when sales, service, marketing and IT are in sync. Get the right stakeholders in the room early.
Pilot smart, measure clearly
Don’t go enterprise-wide on day one. Start with a single use case. Define success metrics up front (response time, case deflection, lead conversion) and test intentionally.
What Brands Need to Know About AgentExchange’s Marketplace Potential
Salesforce’s new AgentExchange marketplace offers 200+ partner-built components designed to drastically reduce time-to-value for brands adopting Salesforce autonomous agents.
But like any early-stage marketplace, success depends on how ready your organization is to plug in—and how clearly you define what these agents need to deliver.
Things to keep in mind:
- Templates will need customization to fit your brand, data and workflows
- Not all partner-built agents will be enterprise-ready
- Marketplace innovation will take time to mature
For now, think of it like Salesforce’s AppExchange—it’s a great start, but the real value comes when it’s paired with the right strategy and integration.
But that said, if you’ve already done the hard work of connecting systems, aligning teams and mapping journeys—the timing is right. With AgentExchange offering a growing library of prebuilt agents and components, leveling up might be easier (and faster) than ever.
Action Plan for CX and Marketing Leaders Exploring Agentforce
If you’re exploring Agentforce, here’s where to start:
- Start by “agentifying” your knowledge:
Make your FAQ, docs and content accessible to agents. It’s the foundation.
- Build reactive automation:
Look for tasks agents can handle after a customer takes action—like answering support questions or triggering follow-ups.
- Enable proactive automation:
Once your data and logic are in place, agents can start anticipating—surfacing insights, nudging action and adding value.
- Align cross-functional teams:
Success with agents takes coordination across marketing, service, IT and ops.
- Pilot smart, measure clearly:
Start small, set KPIs and scale what works.
Why CX Strategy Must Come Before Agentforce AI Adoption
Agentforce and AgentExchange signal a clear direction for Salesforce—and for the future of customer engagement: AI that acts, not just chats.
But getting there will require brands to do the work. Clean up your data, align your teams and build CX strategies that are ready to support it.
The brands that win in this next chapter won’t be the ones that move fastest. They’ll be the ones who move smartest.
Not sure where to start with Agentforce or AgentExchange? Let’s build a CX-first strategy that turns autonomous AI into real business impact. Get in touch →