Sure, everyone’s talking about it — but how much do you actually know about Agentforce? Ever since its main-stage debut at Dreamforce ‘24, Agentforce has become the foremost topic of conversation among Salesforce customers, developers and partners alike. Even tech industry innovators beyond the ecosystem are keeping an ear to the ground, eager for any hint of what might come next in the emerging “Agentic AI” era. 

Billed by Salesforce as the future for human + AI collaboration, Agentforce has shattered preconceptions about what artificial intelligence can do for businesses. Unlike conventional chatbots, AI agents aren’t limited to a narrow set of use cases and don’t need meticulously defined “if-then” parameters to function. Rather, these “digital employees” leverage Salesforce’s best-in-class reasoning engine — Atlas — to autonomously take on tasks, orchestrate complex actions, resolve problems, and proactively escalate matters that require human intervention to appropriate personnel. 

With Agentforce, employees can confidently delegate low-level work that takes up too much time and give more attention to high-value tasks that require a human touch. The result: AI agents and human employees are empowered to collectively drive efficiency, scale, and satisfaction across every business unit, from sales to service, marketing, and more. 

Make no mistake, Agentforce’s potential is incredible. But if you’re caught up in the constant tide of product news, press releases, opinion pieces, and LinkedIn posts, you might be feeling a little overwhelmed. Getting quick, clear answers to practical questions can be challenging — which is where we come in. 

In this article, we’ll be cutting through the high-level buzz to give you direct answers to common Agentforce FAQs. 

Let’s get started. 

Agentforce FAQs: The Basics 

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Are AI Agents and Copilot the same?

No. While Agents and Copilots are both AI solutions, they have very different roles and capabilities. Agents are autonomous “digital employees” that independently perform assigned roles. Einstein Copilot is a virtual assistant designed to support sales and service employees in their daily work. While a Copilot can perform tasks on an employee’s behalf (e.g., generating email copy, pulling up customer information, recommending actions), it needs permission for every action and does not operate independently. 

An AI Agent, on the other hand, is designed to function autonomously and may not require human direction to fulfill its role. For example, a Sales Development Representative Agent can independently engage with leads by sending emails, scheduling meetings, and recommending products — all without human direction or intervention.    

Are Agentforce Agents chatbots?

No. Chatbots are limited and rely on fixed rules to complete repetitive tasks. Salesforce Agents are advanced digital contributors that understand your business, can make plans based on reasoning, and take meaningful action. 

Agents are also far more versatile than chatbots. Businesses equipped with Agentforce can build an agent for a wide variety of business use cases by:  

• Defining the agent’s intended role
• Providing access to relevant data sources (ex., CRM, ERP, external sources)
• Setting operational guidelines on what the agent should and should not do
• Building automations for the agent can call upon to achieve its designated goals
• Exposing the Agent to appropriate internal (ex., Slack), or external (ex., company website) channels so they can engage with appropriate audiences and fulfill their assigned role 

Are Agentforce Agents really autonomous? 

Yes, Agentforce Agents operate autonomously — but you have the power to define the extent of their independence. When building an agent, you define an agent’s role, tasks, data/channel access, and intended audiences, as well as any situations that should trigger an escalation to a human employee. 

What is the Atlas Reasoning Engine?

Atlas is a reasoning engine that simulates how humans think to autonomously think, plan, and orchestrate intelligent actions. With Atlas, agents can evaluate the context of users’ requests to clarify the intended action or outcome, then retrieve relevant data from Salesforce and other systems to deliver an appropriate, helpful response. 

Is Agentforce set up for omnichannel functionality?

Yes, Agentforce will work across channels and will ship with channel support.

Agentforce FAQs: How Does It Work and How Do I Use It?

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Is Agentforce applicable to B2C or B2B use cases?

Yes, Agentforce is designed to support both B2C and B2B use cases.

How does the agent handle off-topic or inappropriate questions?

Agents are designed to steer conversations back to its defined role, deflecting off-topic questions or inappropriate inputs.

Is there a way to set rules for when the agent should escalate to a human agent?

Yes, escalation rules can be defined within the agent’s setup. If a specific topic or instruction triggers the need for human intervention, the agent can route the conversation to an available human agent.

How do we ensure Agents don't generate harmful or incorrect information?

The Einstein Trust Layer is a security framework designed to prevent AI agents from generating harmful or incorrect information. It includes features like data masking, zero data retention, and content screening to ensure sensitive information is protected and inappropriate outputs are filtered out. These safeguards help maintain compliance and accountability while promoting safe AI interactions.The Einstein Trust Layer provides safeguards to manage this risk.

Where is the data for the agent coming from, and can it handle both Salesforce and external data?

The data can come from within Salesforce or from external sources integrated via Mulesoft or Data Cloud. The setup involves defining the agent's role and instructions, which in turn guide its actions.

How frequently does the knowledge base update for the AI agents?

If the knowledge base changes, a refresh button should be clicked to update the data; the refresh process typically completes within a few minutes.

Will customers be required to use Data Cloud with Agentforce?

No. Data Cloud usage is optional, not required.

We’ve recently rolled out Microsoft Copilot, but it seems limited to office productivity tasks. How can we push AI capabilities further within our workflows?

While Microsoft Copilot excels at enhancing productivity within the Office suite, there are more specialized AI tools that can be integrated to automate workflows beyond text generation or data analysis. 

ReAct Agents, for instance, can be used to interact with APIs, automate repetitive tasks in business applications (like CRMs or ERPs), and even coordinate with external systems to complete complex tasks autonomously. These agents can bridge gaps in workflows and orchestrate multiple AI models, leading to more intelligent decision-making across your organization.

Launch Your Agentforce Journey with Gerent

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At Gerent, we take pride in accelerating businesses in every industry to AI enablement without compromising on quality, security, or trust. We’ll work with you to create intelligent solutions that drive business value while upholding the highest standards of practice and ethics. 

What can you count on us to deliver?

• Faster Time-to-Value: Leverage our expertise and industry perspective to gain traction with high value, low complexity agents.
• Sustainable Growth: Our solutions are designed for long-term scalability and adaptability to support continuous growth.
• Enhanced Stakeholder Confidence: We build trust with a transparent, ethical approach that resonates with our employees, customers, and partners.

Visit our Data & AI microsite for the full scoop on our quick-to-value Agentforce offerings or contact us today to start a conversation!