According to Salesforce, the deployment and use of AI agents is growing very rapidly.
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A new Salesforce report shows that since January, the use of AI agents for customer service tasks has exploded with a combined annual growth rate of 2,199%. The number of available agents has more than doubled over the same period, and 94% of customers currently choose to talk to AI agents when given the option.
“Agent Enterprises will come to fruition,” said Joe Inzerillo, Chief Digital Officer at Salesforce, earlier this week. “We're beginning to hit a tipping point where people assume they're capable.”
The AI agent is now white foaming. Dozens of companies launch them weekly, and both the amount and quality of work they can complete is becoming more and more rapid. A new Salesforce report based on the use of agents on the company's own platform is an attempt to provide union status as to where agents in the workplace are.
Since January this year,
- 119% increase in agents created/deployed
- 80% monthly growth for agent actions across use cases
- A 22x increase in average customer service conversations led by AI agents
- 65% monthly growth in employee-agent interactions
- 76% monthly growth in employee-triggered agent actions
- 35% growth in employee and previous conversations
The key to all of these statistics is that starting from scratch can easily show a large percentage of growth. The counterpoint of that warning is seeing the hockeytic growth of agent deployment and use in the middle of the prevalent AI ecosystem that is already tinling.
According to Inzerillo, the new index is not an attempt to sell AI agents. Instead, it aims to ground conversations about what is actually happening.
Data shows that sales, services and internal operations are key use cases. Sales teams rely on agents to draft and send emails, create to-dos, and schedule meetings. Service organizations are increasingly solving customer inquiries themselves by viewing agent query records, answering questions, and case summary.
Travel and hospitality companies are driving all vertical growth with a monthly 133% growth in AI Agent Action, while retailers have grown over a few months at 128% and finance at 105%.
“AI agents allow a digital touchpoint that is always on-hand to help customers with everything from purchasing process to product questions and post-purchase support,” said Calvin Anderson, VP of Sharkninja. “The ultimate goal is to combine the power of Agent AI with the team's expertise to provide a truly world-class retail experience.”
It's not just the companies driving this. According to the report, consumers are actively opting for it.
In retail, consumers using agents are 200% more likely to say their experience has improved, and given the option, 94% in the US choose to deal with agents rather than talking to humans.
It's just a modern reality, says Inzelilo. We often don't want to report any issues that sound stupid or embarrassing to people, but we reveal it to AI agents.
“I don't want to pick up the phone and talk to a customer service representative,” he told me. “That's not what I want to do. I would prefer textbooks, right?”
The employees are also enthusiastic about AI agents, according to a survey. Since January, there has not only been a 65% monthly growth in employee-municipal interactions, but there has also been a 76% increase in agent action caused by employees. This all coincides with a 233% increase in global AI worker recruitment since fall 2024, a workforce for the future, the Hybrid Human-AI.
Of course, that makes you wonder about human employment.
Hybrid is better, according to Salesforce, with Inzerillo saying that escalation from AI agents to human staff increased from 22% in the first quarter to 32% in the second quarter. It may seem like a problem, he pointed out, but it actually reflects AI agents working on more difficult topics and people working well together with AI.
Salesforce says AI agents are better at identifying humans when they need them and routeing customers to the right experts.
“AI agents are already beginning to act as an incredible multiplier of forces for business.
Inzerillo said in a statement. “The index indicates that there is an agent.
The more companies use and expand these agents, the more efficient and value can be unlocked. ”
