Salesforce CEO: Predictions that AI will kill SaaS are wrong

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff highlighted significant growth in agentic AI usage within its applications during the company's second fiscal quarter earnings call. This surge in usage, particularly through Model Context Protocol and command-line interface calls, has sixfold, countering predictions that AI would diminish the need for CRM and SaaS platforms. Instead, Benioff emphasized how these technologies are becoming essential for businesses to effectively leverage AI, based on information published by CRN.

Salesforce reported a sixfold increase in agentic AI usage across its platform during its second fiscal quarter of 2027. CEO Marc Benioff stated that contrary to fears of AI replacing CRM and SaaS, these platforms are proving vital for AI integration and adoption. The company's expanded partnership with Anthropic, dubbed "Claudeforce," aims to integrate Claude's reasoning capabilities with Salesforce's enterprise tools, offering a new interface for accessing trapped data and unlocking AI insights. This collaboration, along with milestones like Slackbot reaching 1 million active users, demonstrates the growing value and integration of AI within Salesforce's ecosystem. The company also noted a strong financial performance, with revenue exceeding $11 billion and a raised fiscal 2027 revenue outlook, indicating resilience against the predicted "SaaSpocalypse" and highlighting customer demand for flexible AI pricing models.

Source: CRN