As a seasoned consultant with a background in machine learning and extensive experience with Salesforce, I am intrigued by Salesforce’s recent venture into generative AI with their GPT suite of products. In this article, we will delve into the implications, potential impact, and challenges surrounding this new wave of AI for businesses.
The Interesting Branding and Salesforce’s AI Journey
At first glance, the branding choice of GPT by Salesforce seems peculiar, considering the strong brand recognition built around OpenAI and the ChatGPT engine. Moreover, as OpenAI is now partnered with Microsoft, this inadvertently reinforces the branding of one of Salesforce’s major competitors. Nonetheless, it is crucial to examine Salesforce’s previous attempts to capture the AI wave with the Einstein brand in the 2014-2016 timeframe. Despite their efforts in lead and opportunity scoring, the impact was limited due to the prevalence of dirty data within customer CRM environments. The age-old adage “garbage in – garbage out” has held true, causing a disconnect between the hype surrounding the feature set and the inability to deliver substantial results. Still, the vision to deploy machine learning models for all customers, without the need to employ data scientists has now set Salesforce up to capitalize on the AI 2.0 wave.
The Potential Failures of Generative AI Initiatives
To gain a better understanding of the potential pitfalls of the generative AI wave, several factors must be considered. Firstly, the lack of a clear vision for success and long-term plans can hinder the effective implementation of generative AI initiatives. Without quantifying the value that a specific use case will bring and without a broader strategy, organizations may struggle to achieve the desired outcomes. Additionally, an incomplete vision of how business roles will operate in the future can impede successful adoption. Moreover, the vulnerability of business data poses a major risk. Copying and pasting sensitive content into models, such as ChatGPT and Bard, without appropriate IT policies can potentially expose confidential information if captured and fed back into the models for public consumption.
Salesforce’s Dominance in the Market
Salesforce is undeniably the market leader for Sales, Service, and Marketing users, with a vast customer base of over 150,000 organizations and likely over 10 million business users interacting with their best-of-breed applications daily. However, the current process of accessing analytics requires users to switch to another tab or system to view reports or dashboards, rather than providing them with the information they need directly within the application. This additional step, coupled with the private information stored in the CRM, necessitates Salesforce’s commitment to maintaining data privacy while simultaneously delivering on the promise of sales and service use cases for the majority of their user base.
Assessing Salesforce’s Generative AI Feature Set
The features for SalesGPT include GPT-powered email, call summaries, and a sales assistant for Sales, and super-powered chatbots, auto-generating knowledge articles, and fast-tracking case swarming for Service. Many sales and service teams can readily take advantage of these features with minimal setup and configuration. They offer a low-risk and low-investment opportunity to experience the potential impact that generative AI can have on sales and service organizations.
Embracing the Potential with AllCloud
As a leading player in the industry, AllCloud encourages its customers to explore the new capabilities offered by Salesforce’s generative AI and assess their potential impact on their respective businesses. Unlike other system integrators, AllCloud stands out with its unique combination of resources, including academic and industry expertise in advanced analytics, and deep knowledge of the Salesforce ecosystem. While some partners may announce similar AI-focused initiatives, they often lack the necessary center of excellence and best practices required to successfully deliver advanced analytics features to end-user bases.
Conclusion
Salesforce’s journey into generative AI with the GPT suite of products presents an exciting new era for AI in sales and service. However, it is crucial to critically evaluate the potential impact and challenges associated with this wave. Businesses must consider their unique needs, quantify the value of these features, and develop a clear strategy for long-term success. By partnering with experienced experts like AllCloud, organizations can navigate the landscape effectively and leverage the power of generative AI to supercharge productivity, deepen customer relationships, and drive personalized experiences in the realm of customer service.
Ready to assess your Generative AI strategy for your organization? Get started with AllCloud’s Generative AI & ML Readiness Assessment.