Presented by Salesforce
As we look ahead to the year 2025, Salesforce has delved into C-suite research to explore the development of an agentic AI strategy among top decision-makers. The findings reveal a promising trend, with an anticipated 327% increase in agent adoption over the next couple of years. However, the pivotal takeaway is crystal clear: while leaders are eager to roll out AI agents, the true value lies in establishing trust in data, systems, employees, and most importantly, in the leadership driving this transformation.
Trust acts as the linchpin that determines the ability of companies to effectively scale AI agents and realize the projected value.
At Salesforce, this emphasis on trust is manifested through Agentforce. The Agentforce 360 Platform serves as the core component of the company’s agentic platform, integrating trust directly into the reasoning, actions, and collaborations of agents. This approach enables leaders to implement agentic AI on a large scale.
Joe Inzerillo, Chief Digital Officer at Salesforce, underscores the significance of trust in the process, stating, “As organizations expand their use of AI agents, trust emerges as the key accelerator. When leaders have faith in their data, systems, and governance, AI transitions from an experimental phase to a transformative force within the enterprise. Trust isn’t a hindrance; it’s the bedrock that enables companies to advance swiftly, align their teams, and unlock the full potential of the agentic enterprise.”
Trust: A Catalyst and a Constraint
According to research encompassing numerous CIOs, CFOs, and CHROs, trust is built on three pillars: quality data, security, and employee adoption:
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CIOs express one of their top concerns regarding AI implementation as the lack of reliable data
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66% of CFOs are troubled by security and privacy risks associated with their AI strategies
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CHROs view trust from a people-centric perspective, with 73% indicating that their employees are unaware of the impact of AI agents on their work
“The remarkable aspect is the alignment among leaders regarding the importance of trust,” notes Inzerillo. “Whether it’s CIOs grappling with data quality, CFOs scrutinizing security threats, or CHROs focusing on employee acceptance, the message remains consistent. The success of agentic AI hinges on the comprehensive establishment of trust, encompassing technical, operational, and cultural dimensions.”
Encouragingly, a study by IDC highlights the critical nature of preparation. CEOs prepared for AI agent/digital labor integration are nearly twice as likely to prioritize ethics, governance, and regulatory frameworks compared to those who are unprepared.
To expedite the realization of value from agentic AI, the Agentforce 360 Platform incorporates these fundamental pillars of trust – data quality, security, and employee adoption – directly into its framework. The Einstein Trust Layer guarantees data security and accuracy through real-time grounding, while promoting employee acceptance by seamlessly integrating autonomous agents into the natural workflow. With Agentforce, humans and agents are poised to collaborate effectively.
CIOs: Embedding Trusted Data and Context
CIOs are translating their ambitions for agentic AI into tangible actions – the Salesforce study reveals a nearly twofold increase in AI budgets among this cohort, with CIOs allocating 30% of this budget to agentic AI. However, concerns surrounding data quality persist, as only 23% of CIOs are completely confident in their investments in AI with built-in data governance.
The key lies in integration: 93% of CIOs emphasize that the successful adoption of AI agents in the workplace hinges on seamless integration into everyday tasks. Daniel Shmitt, Salesforce CIO, underscores the importance of embedding AI into the workflow and infusing trust into every facet to enhance speed and confidence.
CFOs: Budgeting Based on Trust
Today, CFOs are wholeheartedly embracing agentic AI. Five years ago, 70% adhered to conservative AI strategies, a figure that has plummeted to a mere 4% today, with a third adopting a more aggressive approach. Nonetheless, apprehensions linger, with 66% citing security and privacy threats as their primary concern, underscoring the pivotal role of trust in budget approvals.
Robin Washington, President and CFO at Salesforce, emphasizes the transformative nature of digital labor, which extends beyond a mere technical upgrade to a strategic shift for CFOs. With AI agents, CFOs are not only reshaping business models but also fundamentally redefining the scope of the CFO function, necessitating a fresh mindset to evolve into architects of agentic enterprise value.
CHROs: Fostering Organizational Resilience
Meanwhile, Chief HR Officers (CHROs) are working diligently to cultivate trust among teams to ensure that employees are confident in working alongside agents and are provided with opportunities for upskilling and growth. A substantial majority of CHROs recognize the integration of AI agents/digital labor with the existing workforce as a critical aspect of their role, with 81% planning to upskill their employees for enhanced opportunities in the era of agentic AI. Given that 73% of employees are still unclear about the impact of AI agents/digital labor on their work, HR leaders play a pivotal role in fortifying organizational resilience.
Nathalie Scardino, President and Chief People Officer at Salesforce, underscores the transformative shift in work dynamics facilitated by digital labor, unlocking unprecedented levels of productivity, autonomy, and agency at an unprecedented pace. Every industry is tasked with job redesign, reskilling, and talent redeployment, with employees needing to acquire new human, agent, and business skills to thrive in the digital labor revolution.
Infusing Trust in AI Technology
“A foundation of trust in AI empowers companies to swiftly scale AI responsibly across every workflow, fueling the agentic enterprise,” affirms Inzerillo. “When trust is ingrained in the platform, teams can continuously experiment in production, with humans providing judgment and agents delivering scalability.”
The trusted AI foundation at Salesforce encompasses three core capabilities that render the Agentforce 360 Platform precise, elucidative, and secure, including:
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Context and accuracy, ensuring that outcomes are rooted in unified business data and knowledge.
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Embedded trust, security, and compliance to integrate visibility, control, and compliance into every workflow.
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Development of an open and unified platform by interlinking agents, data, and semantics across ecosystems to prevent lock-in and ensure consistency.
Josiah Bryan, CTO and lead AI researcher at Precina, attests to the cybersecurity prowess of Salesforce, underlining the trust placed in the platform to safeguard data.
“The triumph of the agentic enterprise hinges not on the fastest model or the most dazzling demo,” notes Inzerillo. “It rests on the companies that earn trust from their boards, employees, and customers and can convert that trust, through platforms like the Agentforce 360 Platform, into momentum, quality, and tangible business value.”
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