Dreamforce 2024 Recap: Diving Deeper into Tableau Semantics, Agentforce, and AI

Picking up where we left off in our first Dreamforce recap, let us keep the learning going. There was so much to uncover at this year’s event, so we are diving deeper into some of the most impactful sessions that showcased the incredible potential of AI and cloud technology.

In this follow-up blog, we will explore five standout sessions offering valuable insights into how AI transforms industries and how cloud-based solutions empower businesses to innovate and scale.

Tableau Semantics for Enterprise Insights

This session was presented by Lior Ebel, a principal architect of software engineering at Salesforce, and Ness Ganon, a senior product manager at Salesforce. The presenters discussed how a semantic layer is crucial to modern data management, enabling organizations to make informed decisions and drive business success.

The session began with an overview of the need for a semantic layer. The presenters explained the complexities of the data landscape. The sheer volume and variety of data make it challenging to manage effectively. Users often need help with data quality, which affects their confidence in the accuracy and reliability of data. They also highlighted how extracting insights from data requires specialized skills and time.

The session then moved on to discuss the power of the semantic layer. The semantic layer acts as a bridge, translating complex data into understandable business terms. Standardization ensures everyone speaks the same data language, eliminating ambiguity and improving data quality. Here are some of the key points discussed in the session:

 

• Data Cloud: It is a centralized platform for data storage, preparation, and analysis.
• Connect, Prepare, and Analyze: A streamlined workflow for connecting to data sources, preparing data, and analyzing it using tools like Tableau and Einstein 1.
• Actionable Insights: The ability to turn insights into actions, such as creating flows, journeys, and predictive models.
• Data Governance: Strong data governance practices to ensure data security, privacy, and compliance.
• Integration: The platform seamlessly integrates with the Salesforce Platform, enhancing its business intelligence capabilities and ensuring compatibility with your existing tools.

Agentforce Service Agent: What Is It and How Does It Work?

This session was presented by Jennifer Cellarius, Principal Solution Engineer, and Christina Keohane, Product Marketing Senior Lead, Salesforce.

The session introduced Agentforce Service Agents and Salesforce’s autonomous agents, which are more dynamic and conversational than traditional scripted bots. Using a practical example, the presenters demonstrated how these agents resolve customer issues by combining information with actionable solutions, enhancing the overall customer service experience.

One key advantage of Agentforce Service Agents is their ease of creation and maintenance. With minimal training, businesses can quickly build and deploy these intelligent agents.

The session covered the core components of Agentforce Service Agents:

 

• Topics: Jobs are defined using topics such as order management, repairs, and general FAQs.
• Instructions: Clear instructions for each topic.
• Actions: Agents can take intelligent actions based on instructions and topics, such as looking up order status, generating return labels, and answering customer questions.

The session also highlighted the key benefits of Agentforce Service Agents. There is a 24/7 engagement where customers are engaged around the clock with natural and conversational responses. The cases are resolved quickly and accurately by grounding answers in trusted data.

It is easy to set up with pre-built templates and customizable low-code tools. It is also fully secure with the protocols in place and a system for escalation to human representatives when needed.

Initiate Your AI-Powered Banking Service Journey

This session was presented by Kelley Facas, a product marketing manager for Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce; Aanchal Kanodia, a lead solution engineer for Salesforce; Ryan Tucker, director of CRM solution design at CIBC.

The session addressed the conflicting messages surrounding AI, which can lead to confusion and delay in decision-making. Despite concerns about risk, danger, and fraudulent content, the presenters emphasized that banks should embrace AI now rather than adopting a “wait and see” approach.

They introduced a three-phase approach: Start, Show, and Transform.

• The “Start” phase involves dispelling myths, prioritizing trust, and keeping things simple.
• The “Show” phase focuses on showcasing small AI applications that deliver significant value, differentiating between predictive and Generative AI, and demonstrating capabilities rather than simply talking about them.
• The “Transform” phase emphasizes measuring and expanding AI initiatives, fine-tuning for success and fostering innovation.

The session also highlighted the specifics of case resolution. In the current state, users manually review cases and fill out forms. With the integration of OpenAI, case managers can select a button to have AI generate a statement of facts and a case resolution summary. This demonstrates how AI can significantly improve efficiency, agent productivity, and customer satisfaction.

The key takeaway from the session was that banks are encouraged to leverage AI to meet their customers’ evolving needs and drive business success.

Nonprofit: Amplify your Work and Mission with AI

Kimberly Bradberry, Lori Freeman, Kristopher Gibbon-Walsh, Susan Mahon, Cori O’Brien, Andrea Schiller, and Norah Stevens-Kittner presented this session.

The session explored how AI can significantly enhance nonprofit operations, particularly fundraising and program management. Here are some of the highlights from the session.

• Predictive AI can increase contact rates by 140%.
• AI can be effectively used for fundraising and program management.
• The session clarified different types of AI, including LLM, prompt, predictive AI, generative AI, and Agentforce.
• Agentforce offers augmented staff, elevated donor and client experiences, increased fundraising, and improved client satisfaction.
• Einstein Scores help identify high-potential donors, allowing for more focused engagement. Einstein creates Major Donor Summaries and proposals, analyzes donor attrition rates, and summarizes case notes, phone calls, and client engagements.
• Salesforce offers purpose-built solutions for nonprofits, including Tableau Pulse, Data Cloud for Nonprofits, MuleSoft, Nonprofit Cloud, and Marketing Cloud.

Tableau Einstein for Fundraising and a Purpose-built AI for Grantmakers beta will be available in October 2024. Salesforce also intends to develop Volunteer Management for Nonprofits.

A Path to Success with Salesforce 

Jim, Usman Nasir, Sanjeev Balakrishnan, Mark Wakelin, Fauve Castagna, Jim Steele, Kirsten Rhodes, and Leah McGowen-Hare presented this session.

Salesforce offers a comprehensive suite of tools and resources to help organizations achieve success. Businesses can optimize their Salesforce investments by leveraging the Customer Success Score, Agentforce, expert guidance, and AI training to drive positive outcomes.

There are four primary pathways to success with Salesforce: Insights, Agentforce, Experts, and Learning.

Insights: Insights is supported by the Customer Success Score, a comprehensive assessment that provides a blueprint for organizational success. This score evaluates product usage, implementation health, and engagement with learning resources. By leveraging the Customer Success Score, organizations can identify areas for improvement, reduce technical debt, and enhance overall productivity.

Agentforce: Leaders are particularly interested in using AI to reduce costs through automation and exceed customer expectations. Agentforce, a powerful AI solution, offers several advantages in this regard. It is easy to deploy, trusted, scalable, customizable and has an open ecosystem. Agentforce service agents can provide step-by-step instructions to customers, and future developments may include human-assisted interactions for even more personalized support.

 Experts: Experts can help organizations develop a roadmap that aligns with their corporate strategy and supports an AI and Agentforce-led operating model. This expert guidance is crucial for the successful implementation and optimization of these solutions.

Learning: The session highlighted the significant training gap in AI usage, with 85% of respondents feeling underprepared. To address this, Salesforce offers free AI training to anyone through Trailhead. This initiative aims to equip individuals and organizations with the necessary skills to leverage AI and drive business success.

That’s a Wrap on Dreamforce 2024!

Dreamforce 2024 was an exhilarating event that showcased the innovative ways Salesforce is empowering businesses. The conference highlighted the platform’s cutting-edge solutions, from Agentforce Service Agents to semantic layers and AI in banking.

As a trusted Salesforce Summit partner, LevelShift offers a comprehensive suite of Salesforce services to help organizations maximize their investment. We are also a preferred Agentforce implementation partner, providing expert guidance for implementing this powerful AI solution.

Dreamforce 2024 was an absolute blast, watch all these sessions and more on Salesforce+. We will see you at the next one Agentblazers!