Get All Access for $5/mo

Microsoft Strikes Back at Salesforce, Announces New AI Agents That Can Take Over Finance, Sales, and Service Tasks Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff called Microsoft's Copilot AI "disappointing" earlier this month.

By Sherin Shibu Edited by Melissa Malamut

Key Takeaways

  • Microsoft announced that 10 new AI agents, or AI capable of acting on an organization's behalf to carry out tasks, will become available in public preview next month.
  • McKinsey & Company already used a Microsoft AI agent in a pilot program to reduce human work by 30%.
  • The news comes after the CEO of Salesforce called Microsoft's AI “disappointing” and compared it to Clippy.

A month after Salesforce announced its AI agent technology and its CEO Marc Benioff criticized Microsoft's AI efforts, Microsoft announced 10 new AI agents that can take care of tasks like sales, finance, and customer service.

AI agents are different from chatbots in one key way: they can act on an organization's behalf instead of simply reciting information. So they can help process orders, for example.

Related: Can Anyone Beat Microsoft at AI? The CEO of Salesforce Thinks His Company Can.

The tech has been in private preview since May and the agents will become available in public preview next month, per a press release.

Microsoft noted that McKinsey & Company is creating an AI agent to help onboard clients, with a pilot showing that the agent decreased admin work by 30%.

Microsoft's decision to publicly preview its AI agents follows Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff calling Microsoft's Copilot AI "disappointing." He compared its staying power to that of Clippy, an infamous office assistant Microsoft ended in 2007.

Copilot is Microsoft's AI assistant that integrates with popular Microsoft products, like Word and Excel.

"I don't think Copilot will be around, I don't think customers will use it," Benioff said earlier this month.

Microsoft, meanwhile, says two out of five Fortune 100 companies have used Copilot, meaning that "tens of thousands of people" have interacted with it. Microsoft counts McDonald's and biotech company Amgen as some of its AI clients.

Related: Microsoft AI CEO Says Almost All Content on the Internet Is Fair Game for AI Training

Sherin Shibu

Entrepreneur Staff

News Reporter

Sherin Shibu is a business news reporter at Entrepreneur.com. She previously worked for PCMag, Business Insider, The Messenger, and ZDNET as a reporter and copyeditor. Her areas of coverage encompass tech, business, strategy, finance, and even space. She is a Columbia University graduate.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Science & Technology

Why Businesses Are Relying on Automation to Survive the Labor Crisis

Robots are revolutionizing industries by addressing labor shortages and enhancing efficiency, while businesses navigate challenges like workforce adaptation and high implementation costs.

Green Entrepreneur®

How Global Business Leaders Can Build a Sustainable Supply Chain

Businesses can build sustainable supply chains by leveraging technology to reduce environmental impact, optimize resources and track emissions while balancing operational efficiency and sustainability goals.

Side Hustle

'Hustling Every Day': These Friends Started a Side Hustle With $2,500 Each — It 'Snowballed' to Over $500,000 and Became a Multimillion-Dollar Brand

Paris Emily Nicholson and Saskia Teje Jenkins had a 2020 brainstorm session that led to a lucrative business.

Productivity

6 Habits That Help Successful People Maximize Their Time

There aren't enough hours in the day, but these tips will make them feel slightly more productive.

Celebrity Entrepreneurs

The Pep Talk From Mickey Mouse We All Need to Hear, Compliments of Chris Diamantopoulos

Chris Diamantopoulos, the star of "The Sticky," "Red Notice" and the voice of Mickey Mouse, gets real about resilience, chasing dreams, and his desperate wish for a normal hobby.