Salesforce Launches AI-Powered Agentforce for Public Sector, Promising Efficiency and Automation in Government Services

Salesforce unleashes FedRAMP AI agents on US public sector

Have a complaint? Need a benefit? Agentforce now has a bot for that American citizens seeking help from the federal government may soon find themselves being assisted by an AI agent, if Salesforce's new public sector offering is a success. Salesforce on Tuesday announced Agentforce for Public Sector, a new government-geared version of Agentforce, its agentic AI development platform. What's better, Agentforce has FedRAMP High authorization, so agencies looking to deploy some AI agents, be they for internal use or public-facing, can begin to do so now. Agentforce for Public Sector includes a number of prebuilt AI bots that Salesforce claims can be plugged right into existing environments and put to work. The agents include: Of the six prebuilt bots mentioned in the press release, the first three will be available at launch, with the latter three coming in October. Salesforce told The Register that it's working on other prebuilt AI agents for future releases, with a focus on automating candidate sourcing and the licensing, permitting, and inspection processes. According to a company representative we spoke to, Agentforce bots are deployed into Salesforce environments with access to all the data available to humans in a public sector solutions instance, and are also able to pull data from Salesforce Data Cloud. The AIs can gather information from outside sources as well, a good thing for government agencies with so many siloed systems. Deploying prebuilt AI agents isn't the only thing you can do with Agentforce for Public Sector. The platform also serves as a low-code bot development environment, where users can vibe code an AI agent to suit their needs or even import existing Salesforce workflows and give them agentic makeovers. Salesforce stressed to The Register that, while Agentforce bots are being increasingly integrated into the broader Salesforce ecosystem, they'll remain an optional add-on that won't be forced on users. No Agentforce, no agents. Salesforce hasn't exactly been quiet about its love for AI as a product and profit driver, so there's no surprise that its use is expanding, but placing AI agents in public-facing roles is another thing altogether. Gartner forecasts that more than 40 percent of agentic AI projects will be canceled by 2027, while separate Carnegie Mellon research shows the best-performing AI agents still fail on roughly 70 percent of office tasks. That's not great odds for, say, someone hoping to confirm a court date or renew a permit, which is why many organizations remain skeptical of agentic AI's potential to mess up their bottom line and lose their company money. Salesforce maintains that its public sector AI has been beneficial, at least so far, and pointed to the city of Kyle, Texas as an example of Agentforce for Public Sector success. Kyle used Agentforce to develop an AI 311 system for public complaints, and Salesforce said that the city was able to reduce service request resolution time and address more complaints during the initial call with increased frequency. Getting broad adoption across the federal government - especially with agentic AI still far from a sure thing - might take time for Salesforce. But given the trajectory of AI in the federal government of late, frontline customer service might soon be a job for a Salesforce AI. Despite Agentforce only recently receiving FedRAMP high authorization, Salesforce told us that several federal agencies have already purchased it and are in the process of deploying Agentforce for Public Sector in their environments. The company declined to tell us who had purchased it, but said much of the interest had come from agencies that are constituent-oriented and deal with a high volume of public inquiries. Given prior government layoff news, we can at least take a guess at who might be deploying AI agents to make up for the lack of human ones. ®

Salesforce's news Agentforce for public sector launch means you could soon be talking tax, benefits and more with an AI agent

It is hosted on AWS infrastructure for maximum security compliance Salesforce has introduced Agentforce for Public Sector, a new platform powered by agentic AI specially designed to assist in government agencies. The branch of Agentforce promises to inject AI agents into government workflows where it matters the most, such as handling repetitive tasks, by improving responsiveness, efficiency and cost-effectiveness. It has also already received FedRAMP High authorization to guarantee security standard compliance, so may be a common sight in US Government services soon. Salesforce noted the "staffing shortages and rising public expectations" faced by government agencies as a key attraction for Agenforce for Public Sector. The company's recent Global AI Readiness Index claimed 90% of global constituents are open to engaging with AI‑powered government services, but concerns around privacy and security have slowed adoption within the sector. This FedRAMP approved platform hopes to change that. The City of Kyle, Texas has already started using the platform. "It's like having every aspect of town hall instantly accessible 24/7, whether you're a city employee or a resident seeking help," Assistant City Manager Jesse Elizondo said. Among the first features to launch are three key systems - Compliance Management, Complaint Management and Recruitment Management. They use agents for summarizing and analyzing constituent complaints and detecting complaint trends, assisting compliance officers with violations and fee calculations, and screening job applications to match candidates with relevant agencies. Job recommendation, benefit application and complaint filing bots will also become available from October 2025. In a bid to provide clarity to government agencies, Salesforce stressed that Agentforce for Public Sector runs on AWS infrastructure, which is built to meet stringent security requirements for high-sensitivity organizations globally. "With AI agents working alongside dedicated government workers and providing 24/7 support for constituents - helping with everything from routine inquiries to complex, time consuming tasks - Agentforce will power a more responsive, agile, and effective government," Salesforce EVP and GM of Public Sector Nasi Jazayeri explained.

Agents hit City Hall - Salesforce launches Agentforce for Public Sector

Given that the notion of automating mundane, repetitive tasks is one of the low hanging fruits to be picked by adopters of AI, the public sector would appear to be an obvious happy hunting ground for providers. It's got an operating model that is highly regulated, hidebound with process and procedures, and, all too often, clogged up by a paper chase that seems unlikely ever to clear. So rather than getting constituents to engage with fed-up call center operatives to deal with queries about why the bins weren't collected this week or to report a sofa that's been abandoned on the side of the street, why not leave that up to an AI agent to deal with? Salesforce research suggests that 90% of 11,750 global respondents when polled said they'd use an AI agent to interact with the public sector. The huge - enormously, toweringly huge - proviso here is that public sector organizations need to be totally on top of their game when it comes to deciding what can be left to agents and what needs to be dealt with by human beings. The general public already complains about having to deal with a faceless bureaucracy when engaging with, for example, local authorities. How much worse could that be when faced with dealing with 'a bot'? The client for almost every public sector service is going to be a human being and often a human being in distress or great need. Such individuals cannot be fobbed off to an AI agent when they desperately need to talk to someone in authority who can help them try to pull their lives back together. Sadly there will be beancounters in the public sector who will seize upon the cost-cutting promises afforded by agentic tech as the main benefit. That's a battle that constituents across the world will need to fight on a case-by-case basis as and when it is encountered. The State of IT in the Public Sector, published earlier this year by Salesforce, gives some indication that this 'human intelligence - and particularly human empathy - still matters' message is understood. Some 81% of pub sec IT leaders said that they are using or planning to use AI agents, but the report cautions that the application of the tech needs to be handled with care: While constituents are comfortable with AI helping out on routine tasks, for now they prefer to deal with people when critical decisions are involved. AI agents help agencies allocate staff for those real-world discussions. Guardrails for human involvement and escalation ensure stakeholders and constituents receive personalized and empathetic support, maintaining trust and satisfaction. The human-AI partnership delivers optimal outcomes, combining the strengths of both to achieve mission success. That said, there are clearly vast swathes of the public sector's day-to-day business that can greatly benefit from a bit of automation. It was no surprise then to see that the next stop on Salesforce's ongoing rollout of vertical versions of Agentforce was indeed the public sector. As per the official blah blah, Agentforce for Public Sector brings benefits including: The new iteration is available in all local markets with national and regional compliance requirements met. So, in the US, you can tick off FedRAMP High, Protected-B, and IRAP, while in the UK, ISO, GDPR, and EU Cloud Code of Conduct are covered off. Agentforce for Public Sector runs on AWS which also helps enable regulatory compliance and data residency requirements. With Dreamforce in October now around the corner, I'd expect to see several use cases of agentic tech in action across the public sector on show. For now, the main exemplar on offer with Agentforce for Public Sector is the town of Kyle in Texas, which has unified public-facing services and improved efficiency in handling resident requests by implementing an AI-driven 311 system powered by Agentforce. This was launched back in March and since then residents have submitted more than 12,000 requests, with 90% of these being answered or the issues raised within them being resolved during a first call. Average service requests are now being handled in less than 2.5 days. The next steps will include adding geotags to each city asset to allow for more granular reporting - ie residents would be able to specify precisely which street lamp isn't working further cutting response times - and incorporating data from traffic management systems alongside AI agents to simplify how residents apply for permits and inspections. If ever there was a sector screaming out for efficiencies and automation, this is it. The potential use cases run into the thousands. It will be interesting to see how adoption goes across the various elements of the public sector. We've often despaired of what happens when political will runs headlong into administrative won't, a conflict that has scuppered many tech-powered innovations in public service provision reform around the world. Can AI break that track record?

Salesforce launches Agentforce AI tool for public sector

Salesforce is introducing Agentforce for Public Sector, an AI-driven tool designed for government agencies. This new offering integrates various functionalities, including compliance oversight, management of complaints, and processing of benefit applications. Agentforce for Public Sector functions as a bundled solution within Salesforce's Public Sector Solutions platform. It aims to streamline governmental processes by integrating AI agents to manage an array of tasks. These features are designed to improve efficiency in how government agencies operate and interact with citizens. The launch date for Agentforce for Public Sector is set for August 19, marking the availability of the initial functionalities. This introduction signifies Salesforce's strategic emphasis on incorporating AI agents into its public sector services to enhance responsiveness and effectiveness. The initial release on August 19 will include Compliance Management, Complaint Management, and Recruitment Management agents. Compliance Management agents are equipped to identify potential violations, suggest relevant regulatory codes, and automatically generate email communications for both compliance officers and inspectors. Complaint Management agents are designed to categorize similar submissions and pinpoint recurrent issues. Recruitment Management agents will assist in screening resumes, addressing applicant inquiries, channeling candidate details to hiring managers, and communicating with applicants via email. Additional agents, namely Recommend Job Position, Apply for Benefits, and Complaints Filing, are slated for release in October. The Recommend Job Position agents will match candidates with job openings that best fit their skills and experience. Apply for Benefits agents will provide automated responses to questions about eligibility for benefits and details about relevant programs using natural language processing. Complaints Filing agents will guide individuals to relevant policies and compliance requirements and facilitate the complaint filing process. Salesforce asserts that these AI agents can handle routine inquiries, manage license renewals, and provide access to other government resources. The company also emphasizes that Agentforce for Public Sector adheres to key security and compliance standards, including FedRAMP High, Protected-B, and IRAP. Nasi Jazayeri, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Public Sector at Salesforce, stated in a press release that Agentforce aims to empower a more agile and effective government. Jazayeri emphasized that AI agents will work alongside government employees to provide continuous support to constituents, handling everything from basic questions to complex tasks. Agentforce for Public Sector incorporates the Atlas Reasoning Engine, which utilizes multiple AI models with retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). The platform is also integrated with Data Cloud, which supports Agentforce's infrastructure, and Salesforce's Trust Layer, ensuring data security and compliance. These integrations are intended to provide a robust and reliable AI-powered solution for government agencies. According to Jazayeri, recruitment and complaint management are areas where government agencies have shown considerable interest. Agentforce can assist in pattern recognition within complaint data, providing insights that can inform policy improvements and enhance citizen experiences. Kyle, Texas, is an early adopter of Agentforce for Public Sector. The city government utilizes the platform to provide residents with information and manage inquiries more efficiently. Jesse Elizondo, Assistant City Manager for Kyle, Texas, stated that Agentforce has transformed how residents access information and city services by creating a single, user-friendly point of entry. Elizondo noted that previously, residents had to navigate a complex system of phone numbers and departments, often encountering delays. He described Agentforce as providing instant access to every aspect of town hall, available 24/7 for both city employees and residents seeking assistance. Before implementing Agentforce for Public Sector, Kyle, Texas, faced challenges in consolidating services from disparate phone lines and data silos into a unified foundation within Salesforce's Public Sector Solutions platform. Staff adoption was also a consideration. To facilitate adoption, Agentforce was positioned as a supportive tool rather than a replacement for existing staff. Elizondo explained that phased rollouts and ongoing feedback loops were implemented to ensure a smooth transition. This approach allowed the city to remain agile and avoid overwhelming teams while delivering meaningful progress.