That’s a wrap on Agentforce World Tour Melbourne! With 9 breakout sessions, featuring 8 dynamic customer speakers from Parkable, Intrepid, Urban Rest, South East Water, Xero, HESTA, Funlab and Department of Government Services Victoria — attendees explored how humans with AI agents are better together.
Hot on the heels of Dreamforce 2024, and Agentforce World Tour stops in Sydney and Auckland, Melbourne’s Trailblazers got their first taste of Agentforce. Here’s a quick recap of all the action.
Melbourne, meet Agentforce: What AI was meant to be
When Rowena Westphalen, Senior Vice President of Innovation, AI and Customer Advisory, took the stage, it was clear the AI game had changed forever.
“We’ve always had a single vision — to help you connect with your customers in a whole new way. And now, we’re delivering something no one has before,” said Rowena.
The buzz around Agentforce was palpable. This new suite of tools enables businesses to create AI agents that don’t just assist but think, reason, and act. Agents are what AI was meant to be — augmenting employees, improving customer experiences, and driving revenue.
The crowd also got a peek into some early success stories, including Saks, where Agentforce is helping deliver a high-touch, luxury experience for millions of customers — a feat previously unthinkable. Saks deployed its first AI agent in just one week and is set to give every shopper their own AI stylist and concierge, across any channel.
“Agentforce will free up our people to work in a different way with our clients. It’s not going to replace, it’s going to augment,” said Marc Metrick, CEO of Saks Global.
Agents get their power from Data Cloud
For AI agents to deliver personalised, relevant experiences, they need the right data. Data Cloud is the heart of the Salesforce Platform, seamlessly bringing together structured and unstructured data to activate with Agentforce.
During the Data Cloud keynote, James Caldwell announced the 200 new Data Cloud connectors, enabling seamless data integration from external sources like Google Cloud and AWS, without moving the data — thanks to the new Zero Copy Partner Network. This keeps data secure and makes every agent smarter and more responsive, able to act on customer information in real time.
South East Water joined the Data Cloud keynote to share how it’s transforming operations to deliver smarter, faster customer outcomes in the public sector. By streamlining data management and improving governance, it’s laying the groundwork for AI initiatives, striking the right balance between risk-taking and innovation.
Humans with AI deliver effortless service
Customer service is one of the first areas where agents are making a big impact. While traditional chatbots have been useful for handling simple, repetitive requests, they fall short when a conversation pivots outside of their pre-programmed scope.
This is where Agentforce Service Agents excel — they can engage in complex dialogues, adapt in real-time, and navigate customer requests with empathy and precision.
Michelle Ouw, General Manager, Customer and Sales at Intrepid Travel took the stage to share how Salesforce Service Cloud helped its teams expand their knowledge base from 160 to 6000 articles in just 12 months, reducing response times and saving $400,000 in cost per productive hour. Working together with AI tools, the team has also doubled the number of chats they handle daily while achieving four times the sales target.
Humans with agents is what AI was meant to be, empowering teams to work more efficiently while ensuring, as Ouw emphasised: “the human connection will remain the heartbeat of what we do at Intrepid”.
Agentforce transforms how Australians work, across industries and roles
Every industry faces its unique challenges, and that’s where Agentforce truly shines. Throughout the day, industry theatre sessions showcased Agentforce’s impact across various sectors.
With over 100 new industry-specific AI prompts introduced, Agentforce is designed to tackle the diverse needs of sectors like retail, healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, and the public sector.
Explore the new AI use case library to see the out-of-the-box solutions tailored to your industry.
At the marketing breakout, Tracy Tanti, Head of Customer Relationships and Retention at Funlab shared how Salesforce and Agentforce are helping it turn “serious fun” into seriously great results. With over 2 million active guests across its venues, Funlab’s team has crafted 45+ automated customer journeys in just six months, driving a 140% growth in email performance and boosting guest lifetime value by 28%.
By connecting data across Sales, Service, and Marketing, Funlab is delivering hyper-personalised experiences that keep guests coming back for more. And with AI-powered personalisation now on the horizon, Funlab is gearing up to make its venues even more dynamic and memorable, one guest interaction at a time.
Work in the age of agents
The Slack team made a bold statement in their session: “Work is broken.”
In today’s fast-paced work environment, countless hours are consumed by busy work — endless meetings, email back-and-forths, and navigating a tangle of apps. Workers spend 41% of their time on low-value tasks, 47% struggle to find the information they need, and the average employee switches between 11 or more apps daily.
As a single operating system for work, Slack connects people, data, workflows, and now AI agents, unlocking the potential of Agentforce in the flow of work.
Enter Slack. As a single operating system for work, Slack brings people, data, workflows, and now AI agents together, unlocking the full potential of Agentforce within the flow of work. By eliminating barriers like disjointed communications and fragmented data, teams with Slack can collaborate seamlessly and get back to what matters — delivering results.
And it’s not just talk. Megan Harrigan, Head of Global CX Projects and Readiness at Xero, took the stage to explain how integrating Slack and Service Cloud has transformed its CX operations. By connecting its main service tool with Slack, Xero’s teams have dramatically reduced response times and improved customer satisfaction.
Now, with Slack AI functionality, they’re taking CX productivity to the next level — automating repetitive tasks and helping reps focus on solving customer problems faster than ever before.
Bring Agentforce to life on the Campground
Agentforce World Tour Melbourne wasn’t just about listening — it was about doing.
In the bustling Campground, attendees rolled up their sleeves and got hands-on with Agentforce. Almost 500 attendees rose to the challenge, building their very first agent then and there.
Didn’t get a chance to build your first agent at Agentforce World Tour? Sign up for a virtual workshop to give it a try, with the help of Salesforce experts.
How to maximise success with AI and Agentforce
As the event came to a close and attendees gathered at the Campground, one thing was clear: Agentforce is set to transform how these Australian Trailblazers operate.
To help you on your Agentforce journey, here are four takeaways from the day:
- Align your AI vision – Ensure your AI strategy aligns with your business goals, values, and risk appetite.
- Focus on high-impact use cases – Prioritise use cases based on:
- Desirability: Does it improve the user experience?
- Viability: Will it deliver ROI?
- Feasibility: Is the technology and data in place?
- Tolerance: Do you have governance and risk controls?
- Gain stakeholder alignment – Collaborate early with key stakeholders, communicate benefits, and test high-impact areas to build momentum.
- Prepare your data – Start with high-value datasets, ensuring they’re secure and accessible with the help of your Salesforce partner.
Agentforce World Tour Melbourne was a blast, but now the real fun starts as you welcome Agentforce into your business where it can unlock unlimited potential with your team.
If you’d like to join us next time, be sure to register for one of our upcoming in-person or virtual Agentforce events:
- Slack’s APAC Pioneers of Change: 2024 Customer Showcase
- Exclusive Insights from Forrester and Slack: How to Forge Experiences That Matter With Humans + AI
- Register your interest: Agentforce virtual workshop
What if your workforce had no limits?
It’s possible when humans with agents drive customer success together.
