It’s possible by now you’ve been to a Salesforce event or went through some Trailhead modules, and you’ve built your first agent in Salesforce. What’s even more possible is that you know about artificial intelligence (AI) and have in some way been involved in company discussions about its use. For me, those types of discussions always include something like, “Does Salesforce have anything like [insert latest tech here]?”, and in this case, yes—Agentforce.
The integration of Agentforce into the Salesforce ecosystem presents a transformative opportunity for Salesforce Admins. That feels like shiny marketing talk, but thinking honestly now about applications and agents in Salesforce and how we build them is changing things. Now that admins can build agents, the next critical step is to ask the right questions within their organizations. These inquiries are essential for aligning Agentforce capabilities with business objectives, improving user experience, and ensuring long-term success.
From today forward, as a Salesforce Admin, you’ll always have applications you built before agents and Agentforce and after. What does that mean? As you start to have AI discussions in your company, you’ll face the decision of, “Am I adding an agent to an existing application or am I building a net-new application with an agent in mind?”
Let’s tackle some questions we need to start answering as we build agents in our organization.
As a Salesforce Admin, you’re really plugged into the organization’s processes, but with agents you must first clarify the organization’s needs. Building an agent just for the sake of technology isn’t productive; understanding the business challenges ensures the agent adds value. You should ask:
Understanding these will help you configure Agentforce to handle the most pressing value-add tasks and align with key business outcomes.
Data is the lifeblood of any intelligent agent. Data Cloud provides the vital customer data that grounds Agentforce, making agents more contextually aware, knowledgeable, and adaptable to customer needs. For example, when a frustrated customer contacts Agentforce Service Agents, Data Cloud’s built-in Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) capabilities add real-time insights and context from past emails, support tickets, product photos, voicemails, and any sources as defined by governance policies to help Agentforce better understand the customer perspective.
Admins should evaluate the data the agent needs for effective decision-making and responses. Important questions include:
This ensures that the agent operates efficiently while maintaining compliance with data privacy regulations.
Admins need to have clear metrics to gauge the effectiveness of the Agentforce implementation. Performance indicators ensure the agent adds tangible value. Key questions include:
Setting benchmarks before deployment enables teams to adjust strategies and optimize the agent’s contribution to business objectives.
A seamless integration of Agentforce with existing workflows ensures a smoother transition and more immediate value. Admins need to assess how the agent will complement existing tools and processes.
Understanding the agent’s role in existing workflows ensures that it enhances, rather than disrupts, ongoing operations.
The deployment of an agent in Agentforce should be part of a broader AI strategy, not a one-off project. Admins should explore how the organization plans to scale AI usage.
A strategic AI roadmap ensures the agent is not just solving immediate issues but is positioned for long-term success.
Finally, it’s critical to ensure that key stakeholders understand the value the agent brings to the organization. Admins should prepare to communicate:
Clear communication will help build enthusiasm for the agent’s deployment and continued development. It can come in the form of ongoing Chatter or Slack blog posts, informal lunch and learns with Agentforce demos, and staying true to the Salesforce Admin core responsibilities—meeting with users.
For Salesforce Admins who now have the knowledge to build agents in Agentforce, asking the right questions is a crucial next step. These questions will guide the organization in leveraging the full potential of AI agents, ensuring a strategic, secure, and user-friendly implementation that drives business value.
By focusing on aligning AI agents with business needs, data access, training, security, and long-term strategy, admins can ensure that their organizations implement AI and do so in a way that fosters growth and innovation.
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