Salesforce Introduces New Einstein Services, Empowering Every Admin and Developer to Build Custom AI for Their Business

Now with just clicks or a single line of code, any admin or developer will be able to build trusted AI and embed it into Salesforce or any external app

SAN FRANCISCO —April 17, 2019—Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), the global leader in CRM, today announced new Einstein services that enable admins and developers to build custom artificial intelligence — all with just a few clicks or a single line of code.

The use of AI has become increasingly prominent in business. More than six billion predictions are generated every day by Einstein AI capabilities embedded across Salesforce, putting the power of machine learning at the fingertips of millions of sales, service, marketing and commerce professionals. Einstein enables business users to be smarter and more productive, so they can spend time and resources on what matters most — their customers.

Companies must continue to accelerate and expand their use of AI to remain competitive, but each has unique processes, data and use cases that require customized AI. With a global shortage of data scientists necessary to build these tailored AI solutions, Salesforce has been bridging the skills gap by empowering Salesforce developers and admins with “point and click” solutions and low-code services in the Einstein platform.

Today the company expands its mission to democratize AI development with new Einstein Services for admins and developers — enabling them to harness their knowledge, bridge the skills gap and bring new levels of customized AI to their business.

Deploy custom AI with clicks or code

Einstein Platform Services bring a wide variety of machine learning capabilities — such as image recognition, sentiment, intent and more — directly into Salesforce’s trusted and secure infrastructure. Using just a single line of code — no model setup, training or data science skills required — developers can deploy these services into any Salesforce page or build a reusable AI-powered Lightning Web Component, which admins can then deploy to end users with just a few clicks. The latest Einstein Platform Services include:

• Einstein Translation enables developers and admins to set up automatic language translation of any Salesforce object or field. For example, admins can use Einstein Translation to translate inbound customer queries to instantly match the native language of the service agents, allowing for a more seamless experience.
• Einstein Optical Character Recognition (OCR) leverages computer vision to analyze documents and extract the relevant information, making repetitive tasks like data entry more efficient. For example, a developer can build OCR into a Lightning Web Component to enable sales reps to easily upload a business card from a prospect and automatically analyze the unstructured data from the image file, translate that data into text and extract information that can then be updated in the corresponding Salesforce record.

Embed AI-powered predictions anywhere

Every company wants to transform their data into AI-powered forecasts to be more predictive about business and customer outcomes. The Einstein platform makes it possible for admins and developers to apply AI to build AI models to predict any outcome in Salesforce — at scale. Now, intelligent predictions are embedded at the point of decision making – whether that’s inside Salesforce with Einstein Prediction Builder and Einstein Discovery, or in an external system with Einstein Predictions Service — so that every employee can be smarter, more predictive and productive.

• Einstein Prediction Builder allows admins and developers to build AI models to predict the outcome of any Salesforce field or object with a few clicks of the declarative setup tool. Custom predictions can then be directly embedded into the corresponding Salesforce record to enable business users to make more predictive, impactful decisions.
• Einstein Predictions Service enables admins to embed AI-powered analytics from Einstein Discovery into any third-party system, such as ERP or HR apps. For example, a developer can build a custom prediction score to help companies identify which employees are most likely to resign. Using the Einstein Predictions API, they can then embed that score into their HR system in order to kickstart a retention plan and better engage with that employee. By doing so, companies can drive more intelligent and consistent decisions across third party systems.

Democratize trusted AI

The implications of AI are unlike those posed by other technologies because of the pace of disruption it will bring and the levels of uncertainty around its potential impact. Salesforce recognizes that it is not enough to just make AI accessible; every developer, admin and end user of AI must also be empowered to use AI in a transparent, responsible and accountable way. As AI technology continues to change and evolve, Salesforce commits to upholding its number one value of trust and delivering the tools and understanding necessary to identify and mitigate harmful AI bias:

• Transparent: Predictive Factors across Einstein provide end users with explanations of the “why” behind each prediction, allowing them to understand which predictive factors are influencing the prediction.
• Responsible: Protected Fields warn of potential harmful bias in datasets via a pop-up alert. For example, if an admin wants to avoid race or gender bias in the model they’re building but includes zip code without realizing that it correlates to race, they will be alerted to the potential racial bias this can cause.
• Accountable: Model Metrics help gauge the accuracy and performance of AI models, allowing admins to better understand any previously unforeseen outcomes that could be harmful.

“The promise of AI is no longer reserved for data scientists. With Einstein, we are empowering developers and admins — the lifeblood of every Salesforce deployment — to make customizable AI a reality for their business,” said John Ball, EVP and General Manager, Salesforce Einstein. “But our mission goes beyond just making the technology more accessible, we are committed to democratizing AI that people can trust and use appropriately.”

“At DuPont, we’re implementing a broad cultural change focused on data and agility. With Einstein, our employees are seeing the benefits of looking ahead with predictions and sparking new dialogue with forward-looking insights,” said DuPont IT Director, Digital Innovation, Andi Le. “Ultimately, Einstein has the potential to fundamentally change how we plan our days, weeks and overall strategies.”

Adventure awaits at TrailheaDX: Dedicated to clicks, code and people who create

TrailheaDX, Salesforce’s fourth annual developer conference, takes place May 29-30 in San Francisco, with 200+ technical sessions, 20+ topics covered in hands-on workshops and 8 bootcamp tracks for Salesforce developers, administrators and architects. The event is designed to empower a new generation of developers to create connected experiences, build apps fast and skill up. For more information, please visit: https://www.salesforce.com/trailheadx/

Additional Information

• Become an AI Trailblazer with the Trailhead
• Learn more about how Einstein Discovery brings AI-driven predictions to non-Salesforce users: https://www.salesforce.com/blog/2019/04/einstein-discovery-ai-outside-salesforce.html
• Find out how diversity helps some of the minds behind Einstein address AI bias: https://www.salesforce.com/blog/2019/04/bias-in-ai-einstein-interview.html
• Learn how to set up your developer environment and create your first Lightning Web Component with Trailhead.
• Product images can be downloaded from the Salesforce Newsroom: https://salesforce.com/news

Availability and Pricing

• Einstein Prediction Builder and Einstein Discovery are generally available and included in Einstein Predictions and Einstein Analytics Plus.
• Einstein Platform Services for Intent, Sentiment, Object Detection and Image Classification are generally available as part of Einstein Vision and Language and on the Salesforce AppExchange.
• Predictive Factors and Model Metrics are generally available in various Einstein products.
• Einstein Translation, Einstein OCR, Einstein Predictions Service, and Protected Fields are in pilot.