Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff: AI's Future Lies in Autonomous Agents, Not Chatbots

Marc Benioff says AI's future is all about agents, not chatbots

Despite the popularity of artificial intelligence-powered chatbots, one tech leader says the future of AI advancement is in agents that can work autonomously. Salesforce chief executive Marc Benioff told the Wall Street Journal's "The Future of Everything" podcast that he thinks "we all got drunk on the ChatGPT Kool-Aid." "It's a tool," Benioff said about AI, "and I hope that we're using it to improve humanity and making things better." Unlike AI chatbots, which work alongside users, AI agents can complete complex tasks autonomously. With AI agents, users can delegate work to the tool, then check to see if it needs assistance or if it has finished, instead of repeatedly prompting it. In September, Salesforce launched its Agentforce suite of AI agents that can handle service, sales, marketing, and commerce tasks. Meanwhile, Microsoft released its purpose-built AI agents in Microsoft 365 Copilot earlier this month, that it said can work on simple or complex, multi-step tasks with or on behalf of a team or organization. Still, Benioff was adament about AI's current limitations. "There is a huge demand for AI products in the enterprise," he told the Wall Street Journal, "but this idea that Microsoft has hypnotized the industry, that this is the panacea, this is the Messiah of AI for the enterprise, is a false prophecy." He added that he's talked to "a lot of people," including Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella, about "this idea that these AI priests and priestesses are out there telling the world things about AI that are not true is a huge disservice to these enterprise customers who can, number one, increase their margins, increase their revenues, augment their employees, improve their customer relationships." While AI can improve work, Benioff said "we're not there" -- with "there" being the dystopian future in which AI surpasses the abilities of humans. But Benioff said he thinks "we're hitting the upper limits of the LLMs [large language models]" that currently power AI chatbots and some AI agents, and that new models with other abilities may replace them in the future. "We just have to be careful how we think about these things," Benioff said. "So we have to get back to reality."

Salesforce CEO says LLM capabilities are nearing their limit

Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, stated that the future of artificial intelligence (AI) focuses on autonomous agents instead of large language models (LLMs), claiming that the latter have reached their "upper limits." In a recent episode of The Wall Street Journal's "Future of Everything" podcast on November 23, Benioff argued that society has become overly reliant on tools like ChatGPT, leading to inflated expectations regarding AI's capabilities. He emphasized that while LLMs have played a significant role, the next phase in AI evolution will be characterized by agentic AI that operates independently. Benioff criticized the notion that LLMs are the centerpiece of AI advancement, expressing concern that this perception has skewed public understanding of technology. He believes that autonomous agents, capable of executing tasks such as sales communications and marketing campaigns, will contribute more to organizational efficiency. Salesforce is actively pursuing this vision through prebuilt AI agents tailored for customer service automation. "We have incredible tools to augment our productivity, to augment our employees... improve our customer relationships," Benioff stated. This perspective on agents contrasts sharply with the predominantly chatbot-oriented narrative in the industry. While Benioff acknowledged the current utility of LLMs, he warned against overhyping their potential. He described the media portrayal of AI, influenced by films like "Terminator" and "Minority Report," as misleading. The fascination with such narratives may lead people to expect solutions to significant issues, such as climate change or cancer, albeit those claims are unfounded at this stage. Salesforce is gearing up to capitalize on the capabilities of autonomous agents, positioning them as essential tools for enhancing customer engagement and streamlining operations. Meanwhile, OpenAI is set to introduce its own agent, codenamed "Operator," in January 2025. This agent will be designed to independently carry out tasks such as code writing and travel bookings for users. Salesforce CEO's big praise for Google Gemini Live Nvidia is also joining the movement towards agentic AI. CEO Jensen Huang noted in a recent earnings call that enterprise adoption of AI agents is becoming increasingly prevalent. He acknowledged the potential of these tools to reshape workplace dynamics, suggesting that companies will soon have AI-driven 'employees' working side by side with human staff. In emphasizing the limitations of current AI, Benioff addressed what he terms "AI priests and priestesses" -- enthusiasts who exaggerate the technology's capabilities. He asserted that these inflated representations could mislead businesses that stand to gain from practical applications of AI, thus hindering true advancement in productivity and profitability. Benioff's skepticism about exaggerated claims serves as a reminder to balance technological enthusiasm with realistic expectations. He reiterated, "Yes, you can do all of these things with AI, but this other part -- that we are all living in 'Minority Report'? No, we're not there yet." In summary, as Salesforce and other industry giants look towards a future populated with autonomous agents, the conversation surrounding AI is shifting. Benioff's insights highlight the enterprise appetite for tools that can manage real-world tasks effectively while recognizing the current technological boundaries.

Salesforce CEO says LLM 'upper limits' reached, future of AI is agents

Marc Benioff, CEO of American cloud computing software firm Salesforce believes the future of artificial intelligence lies in autonomous agents rather than large language models (LLMs) in the form of AI chatbots. "I actually think we're hitting the upper limits of the LLMs right now," said on The Wall Street Journal's "Future of Everything" podcast on Nov. 23. We've all "got drunk on the ChatGPT Kool-Aid" over the past few years, he added, arguing that this has led the average consumer to believe that AI is more powerful than it is and that large language models are key to advancement in the technology. However, the future of AI advancement lies in autonomous agents, he opined, and not in LLMs like those used to train popular chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT, Anthropic's Claude, Google's Gemini, Microsoft's Copilot, and Meta's Llama. "Let's replace bureaucracy with an agentic layer that serves people, not politics. Welcome to the future -- welcome Agentforce!" he said on X on Nov. 25. Autonomous agents, or "agentic AI," can be deployed to conduct tasks independently, such as executing sales communications or marketing campaigns, said Benioff, who added that this would be beneficial for companies trying to become more efficient. Salesforce is already implementing this vision through its prebuilt AI agents for customer service automation. "We have incredible tools to augment our productivity, to augment our employees, to prove our margins, to prove our revenues, to make our companies fundamentally better, have higher fidelity relationships with our customers," Benioff said. He also cautioned against overhyping AI's current capabilities, particularly criticizing "AI priests and priestesses" and "AI evangelists" who make unrealistic claims about AI solving major global challenges like curing cancer or solving climate change. This is a "huge disservice to these enterprising customers who can increase their margins, increase their revenues, augment their employees, improve their customer relationships," he added. Related: US needs 'Manhattan Project-like' AI plan to vie with China, says govt commission OpenAI is also preparing to launch its agent, codenamed "Operator," in January 2025. It will reportedly be capable of performing tasks such as writing code or booking travel independently on behalf of human users. The world's largest company by market capitalization, Nvidia, is also getting in on the action and aims to spearhead the shift to AI agents. "We're starting to see enterprise adoption of agentic AI really is the latest rage," said CEO Jensen Huang at the company's Q3 earnings call on Nov. 20.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff Thinks AI Has Hit a Roadblock

He says the capabilities of AI chatbots are overhyped, but anticipates dramatic tech advances that will change the workplace forever. It's hard to turn on a computer and not see evidence of AI's advances into our online lives. It's in the Microsoft or Google tools you use on your work PC, and the social media apps you use to escape the stresses of reality, and it seems that some kind of buzzy new AI advance gets announced almost daily. But are all these AI chatbots, with ChatGPT in the lead, actually as smart as we think they are? One tech leader, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, is beginning to doubt the hype. In fact Benioff thinks we may have hit a ceiling in the development of "large language model" (LLM) AIs, and suggests they actually won't get much smarter, despite the news of new models or new capabilities. Where the real next-gen AI action is at, Benioff thinks, is actually in AI agents, not chatbots, and he's betting big on that prediction within his own company.

Marc Benioff Says Future Of AI Not In Bots Like ChatGPT But In Autonomous Agents: We Aren't At The Moment Seen In Those 'Crazy' Movies - Accenture (NYSE:ACN), Salesforce (NYSE:CRM)

Salesforce Inc. CRM CEO Marc Benioff has warned that the world is reaching the "upper limits" of large language models (LLMs) like OpenAI's ChatGPT. What Happened: Last week, Benioff shared his thoughts on the future of AI in a podcast with The Wall Street Journal. He stated that the next phase of AI development will focus on autonomous agents, which can perform tasks independently, rather than relying on LLMs to drive advancements. He argued that while AI tools like ChatGPT have received significant attention, the real potential lies in agents. See Also: Google Co-Founder Sergey Brin Admits Company Was 'Too Timid' To Rollout ChatGPT-Like LLMs Despite Basically Inventing Them "Has the AI taken over? No. Has AI cured cancer? No. Is AI curing climate change? No. So we have to keep things in perspective here," he stated. Salesforce provides both prebuilt and customizable AI agents for businesses looking to automate customer service functions. "But we are not at that moment that we've seen in these crazy movies -- and maybe we will be one day, but that is not where we are today," Benioff stated during the podcast. ChatGPT-maker OpenAI is also reportedly planning the launch of its own set of agents. Subscribe to the Benzinga Tech Trends newsletter to get all the latest tech developments delivered to your inbox. Why It Matters: Previously, Nvidia Corporation NVDA CEO Jensen Huang said that he believes humans will eventually work alongside AI agents and "AI employees." Last month, Nvidia announced its partnership with Accenture Plc ACN which aims to deploy AI agents across corporations. Last month, Microsoft Corporation MSFT also announced that businesses will be able to create their own autonomous AI agents starting in November. This development came after Salesforce introduced its AI tools in September with the launch of Agentforce. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has also previously echoed similar sentiments as Huang. Earlier, Tony Fadell, co-creator of the iPod, also voiced his concerns about LLMs, calling them "know-it-alls." He acknowledged that while LLMs can be useful in areas like entertainment, they shouldn't be universally adopted due to their tendency to make mistakes. Image via Flickr Check out more of Benzinga's Consumer Tech coverage by following this link. Read Next: Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff Bets Big on Billion Bots Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs