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

Overview

Salesforce launched a rebuilt version of Slackbot, turning it from a simple notification tool into an AI agent that can search enterprise data, draft documents, and take action for employees. The new Slackbot is generally available to Business+ and Enterprise+ customers and runs on Anthropic's Claude. Salesforce tested it internally with its 80,000 employees, where executives said it became the fastest adopted product in company history.

Key Takeaways

Salesforce rebuilt Slackbot into an AI agent that searches data, drafts documents, and takes action for employees.
The new Slackbot is generally available to Business+ and Enterprise+ customers.
It runs on Anthropic's Claude, chosen partly because Anthropic was the only provider with a compliant LLM for Slack's FedRAMP Moderate service.
Salesforce plans to add more providers this year, including Google's Gemini, with OpenAI a possibility.
Salesforce says it does not train any models on customer data.
Internal testing across 80,000 employees made it the fastest adopted product in Salesforce history.

Stats & Key Facts

#80,000 Salesforce employees tested the new Slackbot
#Two-thirds of employees tried it
#80% of those users kept using it regularly

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

From notification tool to AI agent

Salesforce rebuilt Slackbot from the ground up.

›The old Slackbot performed basic algorithmic tasks like reminders and channel-archive suggestions.
›The new version runs on a large language model and a search engine that accesses enterprise data.
›It can search Salesforce records, Google Drive files, calendar data, and years of Slack conversations.

Slack CTO and Salesforce co-founder Parker Harris compared the change by saying the old Slackbot was a little tricycle and the new one is like a Porsche. Salesforce kept the Slackbot brand because people already know what it is.

Why the new Slackbot runs on Claude

Compliance drove the initial model choice.

›The new Slackbot runs on Claude, Anthropic's large language model.
›Slack's commercial service operates under FedRAMP Moderate certification to serve U.S. federal customers.
›Harris said Anthropic was the only provider that could give a compliant LLM when Slack began building the system.

Harris said the exclusivity will not last. Salesforce plans to support additional providers this year and intends to use Google's Gemini for some tasks, citing strong performance and cost. He said OpenAI remains a possibility.

Salesforce's view of LLMs

Executives frame models as commodities.

›Harris echoed CEO Marc Benioff's view that large language models are becoming commoditized.
›Harris said he calls LLMs CPUs.
›The architecture connects to third-party search engines and enterprise data.

Customer data and training

Harris was direct about training data.

›Salesforce does not train any models on customer data.
›Harris said models do not have any sort of security once data is trained in.
›He explained there would be no way to limit who sees an answer if confidential conversations were trained into the model.

Internal adoption results

Salesforce tested Slackbot across its workforce for months.

›It was rolled out to all 80,000 Salesforce employees.
›Two-thirds of employees tried the new Slackbot.
›80% of those users continued to use it regularly.

Slack chief marketing officer Ryan Gavin said it is the fastest adopted product in Salesforce history.

Frequently Asked Questions

What can the new Slackbot do?

It can search enterprise data, draft documents, and take action on behalf of employees, accessing Salesforce records, Google Drive files, calendar data, and years of Slack conversations.

Who can use the new Slackbot?

It is generally available to Business+ and Enterprise+ customers.

Which AI model powers the new Slackbot?

It runs on Anthropic's Claude, chosen partly because Anthropic was the only provider that could give a compliant LLM when Slack began building the system under FedRAMP Moderate certification.

Will Salesforce use other AI models?

Yes. Harris said Salesforce will support additional providers this year, including Google's Gemini for some tasks, with OpenAI a possibility.

Does Salesforce train models on customer data?

No. Harris said Salesforce does not train any models on customer data.

Salesforce positions the rebuilt Slackbot as the front door to what it calls the agentic enterprise.