News from the AI & ML world
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The modern workplace is undergoing a significant transformation with the integration of AI agents into daily operations. Organizations are increasingly adopting autonomous AI systems capable of automating entire workflows across various industries. This shift marks the beginning of the "agentic AI era," where intelligent systems can perform complex tasks, make decisions, and interact with systems with minimal human oversight. This evolution requires organizational leaders to strategically plan for AI agent integration and implementation to maximize efficiency and productivity.
This new collaborative workforce sees humans and AI agents working together, fundamentally changing roles, workflows, and strategies. The contact center is a prime example, moving away from a "bot vs. human" approach to a "bot with human" model. In this landscape, human agents become orchestrators of complex customer journeys, while AI agents act as autonomous copilots, taking initiative on routine tasks and deferring to humans when emotional intelligence or nuanced understanding is required. This collaborative approach aims to improve speed, operational throughput, and decision quality. Companies such as Cisco are building the infrastructure to support this AI-driven future, where potentially billions of AI agents will work together globally and continuously. This includes developing systems where AI agents can independently handle tasks such as identity verification, multi-step backend actions, and even proactive customer engagement. However, successful integration requires careful consideration of data integration, system compatibility, governance, compliance, and change management to ensure AI agents operate within predefined boundaries and judgment frameworks. Recommended read:
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Salesforce has officially announced its plan to acquire Informatica in a deal valued at $8 billion. This move signifies Salesforce's continued investment in Artificial Intelligence (AI), specifically to bolster its Agentforce service and enhance data management and governance capabilities. The acquisition will provide Salesforce with a broader pool of metadata and improve data transparency, allowing it to train and inform its AI agents more effectively. Salesforce's Agentforce service, launched in September of last year, provides users with autonomous AI agents for various sectors such as customer service, HR, and recruitment.
The acquisition of Informatica is expected to provide a unified architecture for agentic AI, enabling AI agents to operate safely, responsibly, and at scale across enterprises. By integrating Informatica’s data catalog, data integration, governance, quality, privacy, metadata management, and Master Data Management (MDM) services, Salesforce aims to create a more complete and agent-ready data platform. CEO of Salesforce, Marc Benioff, stated that the combination of Informatica's capabilities with Salesforce's Data Cloud, MuleSoft, and Tableau will empower autonomous agents to deliver smarter, safer, and more scalable outcomes, strengthening Salesforce's position in the $150 billion-plus enterprise data market. Informatica's CEO, Amit Walia, added that joining forces with Salesforce represents a significant leap forward in bringing data and AI to life, empowering businesses with the transformative power of their data. The deal, which has been in the works for over a year, is expected to close early in Salesforce’s next fiscal year and is anticipated to boost operating margins from the second year onwards. Under the agreement, Informatica shareholders will receive $25 per share, reflecting a premium of approximately 11% from the previous closing price. This acquisition follows Salesforce's earlier purchase of Slack Technologies for $28 billion in 2021 and acquisitions of Tableau and MuleSoft in previous years, demonstrating the company's history of strategic acquisitions to expand its capabilities and market presence. Analysts believe that Informatica's data management tools will add crucial data governance and orchestration capabilities to Salesforce, essential for effectively running AI agents with data from outside CRM systems. Recommended read:
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Salesforce is placing significant emphasis on data security as it rolls out its AI agent implementations. According to recent research, a strong data foundation and robust governance capabilities are critical for businesses to securely implement agentic AI. While IT security leaders are largely optimistic about the potential benefits of AI agents, a majority acknowledge that there are significant readiness gaps in deploying the necessary security safeguards. This highlights the importance of prioritizing security measures as AI adoption accelerates across various industries.
As AI becomes more prevalent and cyber threats continue to evolve, a considerable number of IT security leaders recognize the need to transform their security practices. In fact, nearly 8 in 10 acknowledge that their security protocols require upgrades to address the challenges posed by AI. This transformation includes building AI fluency within organizations, redesigning workflows to incorporate AI agents effectively, and ensuring adequate human supervision to mitigate risks and maintain ethical standards. It's also worth noting that Salesforce's own data indicates unanimous optimism among IT leaders regarding the potential of AI agents. Salesforce is actively developing and acquiring technologies to enhance its Agentforce platform and empower developers to build secure and effective AI agents. The acquisition of Convergence, an AI automation startup, will integrate advanced AI agent design and automation capabilities into Agentforce. Furthermore, the launch of the Salesforce Developer Edition, which includes access to Agentforce and Data Cloud, provides developers with the tools to create, customize, and deploy autonomous AI agents with appropriate guardrails. By emphasizing secure data handling and governance, Salesforce aims to enable businesses to leverage the benefits of AI agents while minimizing potential security risks. Recommended read:
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@devops.com
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Agentic Process Automation (APA) is rapidly transforming the landscape of software development, signaling a shift from Robotic Process Automation (RPA) towards more intelligent and adaptable automation solutions. This transition, highlighted at Automation Anywhere's Imagine conference in Orlando, indicates a future where businesses will leverage automation in unprecedented ways. APA, powered by agentic AI, overcomes the limitations of traditional RPA by enabling automation agents to understand context, learn from experiences, and dynamically adapt workflows. This advancement promises to redefine development, particularly for low-code/no-code and citizen developers.
The rise of APA means individuals with limited coding experience can now navigate complexities more easily, as APA-driven tools offer unprecedented flexibility and intelligence. Automation Anywhere is going "all in" on APA, which utilizes a Process Reasoning Engine developed with generative AI technologies. This allows APA agents to analyze, adapt, and respond to situations without constant human intervention, enhancing performance by integrating true intelligence into automation workflows. This intelligent automation is especially beneficial in software development environments dominated by low-code/no-code tools. However, the adoption of agentic AI also requires a focus on building AI fluency within organizations, redesigning workflows to accommodate AI agents, and ensuring proper supervision. While AI agents can act as competent virtual assistants, sifting through data, working across platforms, and producing real-time insights, they also demand testing, training, and guidance. Humans will need to occupy a supervisory role, ensuring adherence to central governance frameworks, maintaining ethical and security standards, and aligning decisions with broader company strategic goals, fostering a symbiotic relationship between humans and machines to balance autonomy with risk mitigation. Recommended read:
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Salesforce is aggressively expanding its Agentforce platform to capitalize on the growing demand for AI-powered digital labor. A key component of this strategy is the acquisition of UK-based AI automation startup, Convergence.ai. This acquisition will bring Convergence's team and technology, including their expertise in AI agent design, autonomous task execution, and adaptive systems, into the Agentforce platform. The move is intended to accelerate the development of sophisticated AI agents capable of handling complex digital workflows within enterprise environments.
Convergence.ai, founded in 2024 by machine learning scientists Marvin Purtorab and Andy Toulis, has developed innovative AI agents, including "Proxy," designed to learn, evolve, and collaborate with humans. Their technology enables AI agents to navigate and execute tasks within dynamic digital systems, adapting to challenges such as pop-ups, system errors, and user interface changes. According to Salesforce, this acquisition will enable Agentforce to deliver AI that truly transforms how work gets done, allowing for AI assistants that can intelligently manage intricate tasks with human-like ingenuity. To further drive adoption of Agentforce, Salesforce has introduced new flexible pricing. The new ‘Flex Credits’ pricing model is designed to enable businesses to scale AI-powered digital labor to every employee, department, and process. This initiative aims to meet the rapidly accelerating demand for digital labor and positions Salesforce as a leader in the evolving landscape of AI-driven automation and customer interaction. Salesforce executives envision a future where Agentforce empowers customers with AI agents that not only follow instructions but also perceive, reason, and adapt to the complexities of modern digital workflows. Recommended read:
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@Salesforce
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Salesforce, a US-based cloud software giant, has announced its acquisition of Convergence.ai, a London-based company specializing in AI agents for digital environments. This strategic move aims to significantly enhance Salesforce's Agentforce platform, a core component of its AI strategy. Convergence.ai, founded by Marvin Purtorab and Andy Toulis, develops AI agents capable of navigating dynamic digital systems and executing complex tasks, such as managing online workflows and multi-step processes, even when encountering issues like pop-ups or system errors. The acquisition is expected to close in Q2 of Salesforce’s fiscal year 2026, ending July 31.
The Convergence.ai team brings expertise in AI agent design, autonomous task execution, and adaptive systems, which will be instrumental in accelerating the development of advanced AI agents for Agentforce. Adam Evans, EVP & GM, Salesforce AI Platform, emphasized the importance of this acquisition, stating that "the next wave of customer interaction and employee productivity will be driven by highly capable AI agents that can navigate the complexities of today’s digital work." He further added that Salesforce is looking towards a future where Agentforce can empower customers with AI agents that can perceive, reason, and adapt to complex digital workflows. Salesforce is investing heavily in AI to empower Agentforce. Christophe Coenraets, SVP of Developer Relations at Salesforce, is building the new Salesforce Developer Edition, which includes access to the company’s agentic AI platform, Agentforce. A flexible pricing plan for Agentforce has also been announced. This plan includes flex credits, which come in packs of 100,000 for $500, to scale Agentforce across workflows, along with a Flex Agreement that enables companies to shift between user licenses and flex credits as needed. Recommended read:
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Salesforce is tackling the challenge of "jagged intelligence" in AI, aiming to enhance the reliability and consistency of enterprise AI agents. The company's AI Research division has introduced new benchmarks, models, and guardrails designed to make these agents more intelligent, trusted, and versatile for business applications. This initiative seeks to bridge the gap between an AI system's potential intelligence and its ability to perform consistently in unpredictable real-world enterprise environments. Salesforce is focusing on "Enterprise General Intelligence" (EGI), which prioritizes consistency alongside capability for AI agents in complex business settings.
Salesforce AI Research is addressing AI's inconsistency problem by introducing the SIMPLE dataset, a public benchmark with 225 reasoning questions to measure the "jaggedness" of AI systems. They have also introduced ContextualJudgeBench, which evaluates an agent’s ability to maintain accuracy and faithfulness in context-specific answers, emphasizing factual correctness and the ability to abstain from answering when appropriate, especially in sensitive fields like law, finance, and healthcare. These tools are essential for diagnosing and mitigating the erratic behavior of AI agents across tasks of similar complexity. A recent Salesforce survey of 2,552 U.S. consumers reveals a growing acceptance of AI agents, with roughly half (53%) wanting AI to simplify complex information. Furthermore, Salesforce is expanding its Trust Layer with new safeguards, including the SFR-Guard model family, to detect prompt injections, toxic outputs, and hallucinations in both open-domain and CRM-specific data. Overall, the survey makes it clear that AI agents are already starting to have a societal impact. Recommended read:
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Salesforce is enhancing its security operations by integrating AI agents into its security teams. These AI agents are becoming vital force multipliers, automating tasks that previously required manual effort. This automation is leading to faster response times and freeing up security personnel to focus on higher-value analysis and strategic initiatives, ultimately boosting the overall productivity of the security team.
The deployment of agentic AI in security presents unique challenges, particularly in ensuring data privacy and security. As businesses increasingly adopt AI to remain competitive, concerns arise regarding data leaks and accountability. Dr. Eoghan Casey, Field CTO at Salesforce, emphasizes the shared responsibility in building trust into AI systems, with providers maintaining a trusted technology platform and customers ensuring the confidentiality and reliability of their information. Implementing safety guardrails is crucial to ensure that AI agents operate within technical, legal, and ethical boundaries, safeguarding against undesirable outcomes. At RSA Conference 2025, SecAI, an AI-enriched threat intelligence company, debuted its AI-native Investigator platform designed to solve the challenges of efficient threat investigation. The platform combines curated threat intelligence with advanced AI techniques for deep information integration, contextual security reasoning, and suggested remediation options. Chase Lee, Managing Director at SecAI, stated that the company is reshaping what's possible in cyber defense by giving security teams superhuman capabilities to meet the scale and speed of modern threats. This AI-driven approach streamlines the investigation process, enabling analysts to rapidly evaluate threats and make confident decisions. Recommended read:
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@Salesforce
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Agentic AI is rapidly transforming various sectors, from government operations to small businesses. Salesforce executives highlight the potential of agentic AI to assist overstretched government workers by automating routine tasks and improving efficiency. The focus is shifting from automating basic tasks to creating intelligent systems that adapt and learn, providing personalized and efficient support. This evolution promises to reshape how work is done, streamlining processes and enhancing productivity.
Companies are quickly adopting AI agents to enhance customer support and streamline operations, leading to a new competitive landscape. Microsoft has launched powerful AI agents designed to transform the workday and challenge Google’s workplace dominance. These agents, such as the 'Researcher' and 'Analyst' agents, are powered by OpenAI’s deep reasoning models and can handle complex tasks, such as research and data analysis, that previously required specialized human expertise. This increased productivity across sectors signifies a major shift in how businesses operate. Dynamics 365 Customer Service now offers three AI service agents in public preview: Case Management, Customer Intent, and Customer Knowledge Management agents. These agents learn to address emerging issues, uncover new knowledge, and automate manual processes to boost business efficiency and reduce costs. The Case Management Agent automates key tasks throughout the lifecycle of a case, while the Customer Intent Agent uses generative AI to analyze past interactions and provide tailored solutions. This represents a significant step towards autonomous systems that improve customer experiences and reduce the burden on human agents. Recommended read:
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Ken Yeung@Ken Yeung
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Ken Yeung
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Salesforce research indicates a rising consumer interest in AI agents that extends beyond mere productivity tools. Everyday users are increasingly eager to utilize AI agents for personalized support in their daily lives, highlighting a significant opportunity for businesses. The study has identified four key consumer personas, including "Smarty Pants," "Minimalists," "Life-Hackers," and "Tastemakers," each with distinct expectations and desires regarding AI agent functionalities. This information is crucial for businesses aiming to design AI agents that resonate with their target audiences.
Vala Afshar, Salesforce’s chief digital evangelist, emphasized the asymmetric nature of the AI conversation, noting that while much focus has been placed on business efficiency and optimization, the consumer perspective has been comparatively overlooked. The Salesforce survey of 2,552 U.S. consumers offers compelling insights for organizations looking to inform their product development and marketing strategies. The research reveals that consumers value personalized, proactive, and conversational experiences provided by AI agents. One of the standout findings from the Salesforce report shows that 65% of respondents expressed interest in tools that help them make better decisions and simplify their lives. The "Smarty Pants" persona, representing 43% of respondents, particularly values detailed and well-presented analyses to aid in confident and strategic decision-making. Salesforce’s research underscores the growing importance of the customer experience, suggesting it could become a make-or-break factor for brands as consumers increasingly expect personalized and supportive AI interactions. Recommended read:
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