Much of the corporate excitement around artificial intelligence is hyper-focused on the idea of enhanced productivity. Salesforce (CRM), the tech company that provides customer management software to businesses, is only the latest to launch a suite of AI-powered products.
The cost, though, is steep.
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Salesforce AI to Enhance Productivity, Efficiency
Salesforce launched AI Cloud June 12, a generative AI system for CRM platforms. The goal of this platform, something mentioned several times in the press release, is to enhance productivity and efficiency across every aspect of a company, from sales to commerce to service and marketing.
The bulk of the suite revolves around quick auto-generation of content.
That could mean the quick, AI-assisted generation of personal emails to clients from a sales team, or personalized replies from service teams. It also has applications in marketing, allowing ad teams to quickly generate customized advertising content.
The platform is also meant to assist commerce teams and developers, allowing the simple generation of buyer insights in addition to the generation and analysis of code.
Salesforce also said that, incorporated into the product, is a new security measure called Einstein GPT Trust Layer. The layer will largely prevent Salesforce's models from "retaining sensitive customer data." This is to address Salesforce's own research that 73% of employees think AI poses security risks.
"It's going to let us anonymize the data," Salesforce's CEO, Marc Benioff, said on "Mad Money." "You're going to get the productivity without giving up this privacy that's so critical."
Part of the AI Cloud is that it's open -- Salesforce said that the product is designed for the use of third-party models, Salesforce's own models, or a client's own, personalized model.
The starter version of the AI Cloud pack will set businesses back some $360,000 per year. And it will feature generative AI integrated into every product offered by Salesforce.
Salesforce's Small Business, Sales and Service starter packs, in comparison, start at $25 per month.
“AI is reshaping our world and transforming business in ways we never imagined, and every company needs to become AI-first,” Benioff said in a statement. “AI Cloud is the fastest and easiest way for our customers to unleash the incredible power of AI. AI Cloud will unlock incredible innovation, productivity, and efficiency for every company.”
Many of these new AI-powered products will be generally available in June 2023, though several -- such as Marketing GPT, Slack GPT and Flow GPT -- won't be available until later in the year.
Salesforce said that AI will give the GDP a 26% boost -- powering more than $15 trillion in economic growth around the world -- by 2030.
The announcement comes just a few weeks after a new report that found that 3,900 people were laid off in May due to AI.
Salesforce's stock, which jumped to $220 in response to the announcement, has since fallen to $209.
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