Benioff’s artificial intelligence speaks Italian – Corriere.it

Are you happy that I started my conference with the Italian Gucci? asks the founder and CEO (ceo) by Salesforce at the end of last week’s event that launched his company as the number one in Artificial Intelligence (AI) applied to the software for the customer relationship management (crm), the sector in which the world leader.

We are in New York, at the Mandarin Hotel in Manhattan. Before Marc Benioff’s speech, the audience — Salesforce customers and engineers — was enlivened by a guitarist playing Hawaiian music, in keeping with the Ohana (Hawaiian for family) concept on which Salesforce’s corporate culture is based. I reply to Benioff that I am certainly happy that he presented Gucci as customer zero, the model used to test the brand new technology. And I’m struck by how much Italy there is in your society high tech: the chief scientist the Italian Silvio Savarese, another client brand mentioned in the presentation Brunello Cucinelli and one of the testimonials Stefano Domenicali, the ceo of the One group formula. This seems to contrast with the pessimistic image according to which Italy is behind in digitization. But perhaps those who use the advanced technologies of Salesforce are only very internationalized companies. No – replies Benioff -, we work with Italian companies of all sizes and in all sectors. The fact that i ceo Our Italian customers have a humanistic approach, linked to the community in which they operate and/or their products. And this humanistic approach fits perfectly with our culture.

Tricolor effect

In fact, it is true that Salesforce is very active in Italy: it has over 500 employees and ranks fourth in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and eighth worldwide in terms of turnover, with customers from Pirelli to Enel, from Armani to Istat, in addition to the already mentioned Gucci and Brunello Cucinelli. We are betting a lot on Italy and we expect to continue to grow in your country, adds Benioff. Before talking to him and watching the launch of his new products, the chief scientist explain what it is. Savarese one of the leading experts in Artificial Intelligence. passed two years ago from Stanford university to Salesforce, because even in such a prestigious and powerful university, particularly in technological innovation, there are not enough resources for AI research that is possible instead in large companies high tech.

Ai technologies

Now Savarese leads a large group of Salesforce scientists based in Silicon Valley near Stanford University where he continues to teach a course, while the company is headquartered in San Francisco. We are focused on CRM services for companies – explains Savarese -. We have been the fastest in applying AI technologies to our products. Ai has been talked about for many years and some of its functions have already been used. But it has only recently been understood that i large language model (Llm), the ones on which ChatGpt is based, can be used to dialogue and obtain really useful information. Since 2014, Salesforce had launched Einstein, an AI-driven platform that today generates a trillion predictions for customers: for example, it suggests to sales agents which deal is most likely to go through. Now with Gpt technology — which is open — Einstein can generate content, for example e-mail personalized ones that help agents propose business or solve a problem. a function, however, which immediately brings to mind the crazy dialogues between ChatGpt and its users. With Einstein’s AI there is no such risk, Benioff assures.

Data security

Generative artificial intelligence is the most important technology of all time – argues Benioff – but it must be applied responsibly, because those who use it must have full confidence that the results are reliable. We guarantee it: our customers’ data remains safe under their control and we have developed techniques that protect theirs privacy and avoid accidents thanks to controls made by humans. The agent must always approve the generated email and a warning can also be triggered if inappropriate content is found. With our value-of-trust model, customer relationship agents aren’t replaced, instead they’re empowered, Benioff points out. It is no coincidence that he has not signed the apocalyptic appeal of the Center for Ai, according to which humanity is at risk of extinction due to artificial intelligence.

Salesforce results

All of Salesforce’s new products — Cloud Ai with Einstein Trust Layer — are on the market. the speed with which we have developed all this is incredible: three months ago we thought of launching the new products a year later, but we are doing it now, observes Savarese, who is preparing to meet a delegation of ceo And startups from Italy to California, organized by Ambrosetti. Wall Street this year has rewarded Benioff’s strategy, which also includes an internal reorganization of Salesforce based on efficiency, with a cut of about 10% of employees. Since the beginning of 2023, his shares have appreciated by 60%, three times as much as the rise in the Nasdaq index. Turnover and profits of the last quarterly announced financial statements (January-March 2023) exceeded analysts’ expectations. In the coming months we will see if Einstein + Gpt will push the results even further.

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