As one of Salesforce’s newest and most buzzworthy features, Einstein Copilot promises to redefine virtual assistance by leveraging generative AI for CRM. Salesforce promotes the tool as enabling force for your business — and with the beta release now available to test, you’re likely wondering: What is Copilot? Should I try it out? How can this feature add value to my organization today?

In this blog, we’ll break down what Copilot is, why it’s important, how it works, and several potential use cases.

What Is Einstein Copilot?

Generative AI: Artificial intelligence capable of using large pools of data for context and constructing new content in response to user prompts. 

Large Language Model (LLM): A form of generative AI that analyzes data to understand the relationships between words, then generates text-based content as output.

‍Einstein Copilot: A customizable, conversational generative AI assistant built directly into the Salesforce system.

Einstein Copilot is an LLM that uses your organization’s data as context (while maintaining rigid data governance) to be a responsive, conversational, and helpful assistant to teams across your company. Like other LLMs, it can generate content on command — however, by exclusively using your organization’s data as context, it can also perform a wide variety of other functions that deliver timely value and support to your employees.

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Copilot is built directly into Salesforce and is currently accessible from the interface of Sales Cloud and Service Cloud. With one click, a capable, automated assistant can help your team members perform a variety of tasks at lightning speed.

What Makes Einstein Copilot Special?

As Salesforce’s CEO, Marc Benioff, unpacked at Dreamforce 2023, the central problem with AI has always been trust. AI requires a large amount of data to function, which poses a problem — so, how can organizations use AI and keep their data secure?

Einstein Copilot functions by running off of one private data pool: that of the organization using it, protected by Salesforce Data Cloud.

Data Cloud: A Salesforce-native data platform and CRM solution. Allows for easy, regulation-compliant integration of Salesforce with large data pools.  

Data Cloud is best understood as a bridge to AI, providing a way for Salesforce AI to safely tap into your data while also providing a centralized place for you to store and access it. This previously missing link between AI and company systems allows Copilot to act as an informed guide for users, giving it access to the knowledge base it needs to perform complex tasks.

In short: Copilot offers a degree of data security and functionality that no other LLM can match.

‍For more on how Salesforce is addressing the trust gap in AI, check out our blog on the Einstein Trust Layer.

As we’ll explain, having a secure connection between a best-in-class AI assistant and Salesforce CRM can unlock a wide range of benefits for organizations.

What Does Einstein Copilot Do?

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Now that we’ve explored the what of Einstein Copilot, let’s look at the how. Copilot’s out-of-the-box capabilities include:

• Answering user questions
• Summarizing content
• Providing detailed analyses on-demand
• Creating new content 
• Automating manual tasks 

But how can this functionality help your employees in their day-to-day work? Let’s briefly go over some common AI use cases — and how Copilot differentiates itself from other LLMs.

• Get your questions answered: Say an employee has a question about one of your products or what the best resources to send a customer might be. Mid-call, that team member can ask Copilot to surface answers and/or recommendations using data sourced from your Data Cloud.
• Leverage summarization: If a Sales team member asks Copilot to summarize a customer’s relationship history, Copilot will quickly scour every email, onsite interaction, sales call record, etc. Then, the AI assistant builds a brief summary of the customer’s interactions with the company and provides proactive recommendations for next-best steps.
• Take advantage of rapid analyses: Sometimes, when looking at massive pools of data, it’s difficult to connect the dots ourselves. Asking Copilot to note key data points or patterns can help leaders identify trends in the data and produce the insights they need to make timely strategic decisions. 
• Generate new content: Need a blog post written? A one-liner for your next marketing campaign? Content for email campaigns? Copilot has you covered. Write a prompt that specifies the audience, the genre, and the main points you want to hit, and Copilot can produce a wide variety of options to choose from – all in less than a minute.

Automate manual tasks: With access to the Salesforce system, Copilot can also complete a variety of formerly manual tasks. Whether you ask the AI to close cases, open new opportunities, or even follow up with potential customers, it can do it – all without any additional manual input.

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Additionally, Copilot comes with tools you can use to customize it, allowing you to further shape it to your needs. These tools are:

• The Prompt Builder: Allows you to pre-program reusable AI prompts, making it easier for teams to quickly access and/or generate the content they need.
• The Copilot Builder: Empowers you to further customize the day-to-day functions of Copilot with a pre-built library of actions. 
• The Model Builder: Unlocks the ability to connect Copilot with other LLMs you use in your day-to-day work. 

Where Can I Get Copilot?

While currently in beta for Sales Cloud and Service Cloud, Salesforce Einstein Copilot will be available for Tableau, Commerce Cloud, and Marketing Cloud later in 2024.

Looking to get started with Salesforce? As a Salesforce Implementation Partner, we’ll take the time to understand your unique business, build you a scalable solution and collaborate with you throughout every step of the change process.

Want to get up and running with Salesforce and Einstein Copilot? Visit our website or give us a call to speak with one of our consultants. We also have a practice dedicated to data and AI; you can reach our microsite here!