Salesforce rolls out new Slackbot AI agent as it battles Microsoft and Google in workplace AI
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 on Tuesday launched an entirely rebuilt version of Slackbot , the company's workplace assistant, transforming it from a simple notification tool into what executives describe as a fully powered AI agent capable of searching enterprise data, drafting documents, and taking action on behalf of employees.
The new Slackbot, now generally available to Business+ and Enterprise+ customers, is Salesforce's most aggressive move yet to position Slack at the center of the emerging "agentic AI" movement - where software agents work alongside humans to complete complex tasks.
- The original Slackbot, which has existed since Slack's early days, performed basic algorithmic tasks - reminding users to add colleagues to documents, suggesting channel archives, and delivering simple notifications.
The new version runs on an entirely different architecture built around a large language model and sophisticated search capabilities that can access Salesforce records, Google Drive files, calendar data, and years of Slack conversations.
- Why Anthropic's Claude powers the new Slackbot - and which AI models could come next The new Slackbot runs on Claude , Anthropic's large language model, a choice driven partly by compliance requirements.
Slack's commercial service operates under FedRAMP Moderate certification to serve U.S. federal government customers, and Harris said Anthropic was "the only provider that could give us a compliant LLM" when Slack began building the new system.
- He added that OpenAI remains a possibility as well.
Harris echoed Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff's view that large language models are becoming commoditized: "You've heard Marc talk about LLMs are commodities, that they're democratized.
- Internal data shows that two-thirds of Salesforce employees have tried the new Slackbot, with 80% of those users continuing to use it regularly.
Stats & Key Facts
- #Salesforce tested it internally with its 80,000 employees, where executives said it became the fastest adopted product in company history.
- #Inside Salesforce's internal experiment: 80,000 employees tested Slackbot with striking results Salesforce has been testing the new Slackbot internally for months , rolling it out to all 80,000 employees.
- #Internal data shows that two-thirds of Salesforce employees have tried the new Slackbot, with 80% of those users continuing to use it regularly.
Salesforce on Tuesday launched an entirely rebuilt version of Slackbot , the company's workplace assistant, transforming it from a simple notification tool into what executives describe as a fully powered AI agent capable of searching enterprise data, drafting documents, and taking action on behalf of employees. The new Slackbot, now generally available to Business+ and Enterprise+ customers, is Salesforce's most aggressive move yet to position Slack at the center of the emerging "agentic AI" movement - where software agents work alongside humans to complete complex tasks. The launch comes as Salesforce attempts to convince investors that artificial intelligence will bolster its products rather than render them obsolete.
"Slackbot isn't just another copilot or AI assistant," said Parker Harris , Salesforce co-founder and Slack's chief technology officer, in an exclusive interview with Salesforce. "It's the front door to the agentic enterprise, powered by Salesforce." From tricycle to Porsche: Salesforce rebuilt Slackbot from the ground up Harris was blunt about what distinguishes the new Slackbot from its predecessor: "The old Slackbot was, you know, a little tricycle, and the new Slackbot is like, you know, a Porsche."
The original Slackbot, which has existed since Slack's early days, performed basic algorithmic tasks - reminding users to add colleagues to documents, suggesting channel archives, and delivering simple notifications. The new version runs on an entirely different architecture built around a large language model and sophisticated search capabilities that can access Salesforce records, Google Drive files, calendar data, and years of Slack conversations. "It's two different things," Harris explained.
For more details please read the original article at VentureBeat AI.
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