The AI revolution is here, and in 2025, the window to gain a competitive edge is narrowing as AI maturity converges with business urgency.
Businesses using Salesforce need to move beyond the hype to stay ahead. Powerful AI platforms like Agentforce are rapidly maturing, placing unprecedented power in the hands of businesses ready to embrace the change.
This presents an immediate opportunity to transform operations by automating complex tasks, creating personalized customer journeys, and optimizing performance with data-driven insights. This blog explores 10 key areas where strategic AI investments can have the greatest impact on your business.
1. The Rise of Digital Labor
What’s happening: Digital labor is evolving how work gets done across every level of the organization. AI tools are expanding from being passive assistants to active agents, directly participating in daily operations. These agents intelligently handle time-consuming tasks, adapt processes based on performance data, and empower teams to work smarter and achieve more. As a result, digital labor is redefining productivity and driving measurable performance gains.
- Executives can use AI agents to build reports, model “what-if” scenarios, and make recommendations.
- Managers can rely on AI agents to handle manual processes, simplify operations, and allocate resources more effectively.
- Teams can use AI agents to offload routine tasks, guide pivots, and adapt plans in real time as projects evolve.
Where to place your bets: Embrace digital labor as a force multiplier
Invest in AI tools that do more than automate—they take action. Identify tasks your teams are spending time on that could be handled by digital labor and redirect their focus to high-impact work. By embedding AI agents across your organization, you’ll empower leaders, managers, and teams to focus on what matters most, adapt swiftly to challenges, and make smarter decisions.
2. A Move Toward AI Pragmatism Over Hype
What’s happening: The AI honeymoon is over, and businesses are getting honest about what works. It’s no longer about flashy demos or big promises—it’s about ROAI, scalability, and solving real problems.
- Leaders are asking tougher questions and want plans tied to expected, measurable impact, not just potential.
- Companies are taking a “crawl, walk, run” approach to AI, starting with a single use case or MVP and scaling only when they see measurable value.
Where to place your bets: Focus on AI investments you can measure
Bet on AI initiatives that address your most pressing business challenges and have a clear plan for measuring impact. Because many AI projects are new, calculating potential business value can be difficult. Coastal’s True North Value Calculation helps assess impact by focusing on value, feasibility, and opportunity—even when data is limited. By aligning AI investments with clear goals, measurable outcomes, and a practical approach, you ensure every dollar drives real value, whether through greater efficiency, higher revenue, or solving critical bottlenecks.
3. Balancing AI Ambition with Organizational Readiness
What’s happening: AI excitement is high, but not every organization is ready to scale it. Success depends on high-fidelity data, trained teams, innovative and curious leaders, and transparent governance.
- Companies with incomplete, inconsistent, or siloed data will struggle to operationalize AI effectively.
- Training and change management are just as important as the technology itself.
- The DIY AI approach is giving way to pre-built tools and platforms that are easier to deploy and maintain.
Where to place your bets: Data literacy and education
Bet on foundational readiness over flashy launches. Invest in clean, organized, and integrated data to create a solid base for AI initiatives. Upskill your workforce with training in data analysis, AI ethics, and prompt engineering—while also focusing on the “why” behind AI. Help your team understand how AI can solve business problems, boost productivity, and drive innovation. When people understand both the purpose and potential of AI, they’re more likely to embrace and champion its use.
4. Consumption-Based AI Pricing
What’s happening: Salesforce’s shift to consumption-based pricing is reshaping how businesses manage AI investments. This shift requires businesses to rethink traditional budgeting approaches and adopt more agile financial strategies that are tied to outcomes.
- Companies now have the flexibility to scale AI usage up or down based on real-time needs, enabling more precise cost management.
- Analytics and usage monitoring have become essential to prevent unexpected costs and ensure that AI utilization aligns with business goals.
Where to place your bets: Optimize for predictable value
Embrace the flexibility of consumption-based pricing, but don’t leave it to chance. Leverage advanced analytics to track usage patterns and align consumption with your strategic goals. Review and adjust your AI investments regularly to ensure they deliver measurable outcomes while maintaining budget predictability. By taking a proactive approach, you can unlock value while avoiding cost overruns.
5. AI Agent Training and Fine-Tuning: Setting the Standard
What’s happening: As AI agents take on larger roles in business operations, the need for smarter, more adaptable training is more critical than ever.
- Teams are embracing iterative training processes and real-time feedback loops to keep AI agents performing at their peak.
- New skill sets, like prompt engineering and scenario-based testing, are emerging as must-haves for teams working with AI tools.
Where to place your bets: Build a culture of continuous AI improvement
Don’t just deploy AI—cultivate it. Invest in training programs and tools that refine AI behavior. Provide your teams with resources to adjust and adapt AI capabilities over time, ensuring agents stay aligned with your evolving needs.
6. Governance Will Be the Backbone of Successful AI Implementation
What’s happening: As AI adoption accelerates, organizations will need robust governance frameworks and centralized oversight to manage the risks and complexities associated with AI. This shift goes beyond compliance to ensuring alignment between AI initiatives and strategic business goals.
- Transparent processes for managing AI data, outputs, and decision-making are becoming critical to maintaining trust and reliability.
- Regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, and CCPA set stricter data privacy and security standards, making compliance a critical business imperative.
- Without proper governance, organizations risk siloed implementations, inconsistent results, and a lack of accountability for AI outcomes.
Where to place your bets: Build an AI Center of Excellence
Bet on making governance a competitive advantage. Invest in establishing an AI Center of Excellence (CoE) to serve as the backbone of your governance strategy. Equip it with cross-functional expertise, clear protocols for AI implementation, and oversight mechanisms to track the performance and impact of AI initiatives. Ensure this framework scales with your AI programs and is flexible enough to adapt to emerging challenges and opportunities.
7. AI is Redefining Collaboration, Not Replacing It
What’s happening: While the headlines might suggest that AI is taking jobs, the reality is that it’s taking on digital labor to empower people to work smarter. AI isn’t replacing humans; it’s helping them focus on what they do best.
- Teams are using AI to crunch the data faster, freeing up time for creativity and problem-solving.
- Cross-functional collaboration is getting a boost as AI connects the dots across departments.
Where to place your bets: Invest in a human-AI partnership
Bet on AI that makes your teams stronger. Use digital labor to take care of the repetitive, time-consuming tasks so your people can focus on the big, strategic wins. The future isn’t about humans versus AI—it’s about what they can do together.
8. Ecosystem Thinking is Taking Center Stage
What’s happening: Businesses are recognizing the value of integrating tools to maximize AI’s potential within Salesforce. By consolidating systems, breaking down silos, and enhancing workflows, companies are creating connected ecosystems that amplify AI’s effectiveness.
- Siloed data is being replaced with unified systems like Salesforce Data Cloud that enable real-time collaboration.
- Companies are prioritizing tools that work seamlessly across teams and departments.
Where to place your bets: Think big, build connected
Bet on creating an ecosystem that’s flexible, scalable, and aligned with your long-term goals. Prioritize a unified view of customer data in Data Cloud and ensure your tools work seamlessly across teams. A connected ecosystem amplifies AI’s impact and drives business transformation.
9. Multi-Agent Collaboration: Expanding the AI Frontier
What’s happening: The concept of multiple AI agents working in tandem is breaking new ground. When agents are launched smartly, they can collaborate to solve complex workflows, offering dynamic solutions that were previously unimaginable.
- Salesforce’s Agentforce multi-agent systems will allow AI tools to divide and coordinate tasks seamlessly.
- Businesses are exploring aligning these agents with organizational goals for maximum impact.
Where to place your bets: Innovate with multi-agent frameworks
As this is a rapidly evolving area, prioritize partnerships with external experts who are closely aligned with Salesforce’s Agentforce product teams. These partners can help design workflows that effectively leverage multi-agent collaboration. For instance, a sales agent and a service agent could work together—one providing insights into customer history while the other focuses on resolving technical issues. Clear protocols should be established to ensure agents complement, rather than duplicate, each other’s efforts, enabling cohesive operations for tackling complex tasks.
10. Boosting Salesforce Admin and Developer Productivity
What’s happening: AI is transforming not only how businesses use Salesforce but also how admins and developers build and manage Salesforce applications.
- Admins can now use natural language prompts to automate tasks, create workflows, and generate formulas and validation rules.
- Developers can leverage AI to write Apex code faster, with fewer errors, and with greater efficiency.
Where to place your bets: Invest in AI-powered development tools
Bet on the power of generative AI to accelerate your Salesforce development lifecycle. Equip admins and developers with AI tools that simplify and accelerate their work. By integrating prompt-driven platforms, you can reduce development time and free up resources for innovation.
Why Salesforce Matters in This Shift
Salesforce’s evolving suite of AI-powered tools, including Agentforce, Einstein Studio, and Prompt Builder, reflects the significant shifts happening in the AI space. These tools go beyond automation—they help businesses redefine their approach to work and create pathways to measurable growth.
AI is now Salesforce’s top priority, and the company is moving at warp speed to create and update products that push the boundaries of what’s possible. They’re equipping businesses with the tools they need to navigate the mandatory shift to AI with agility and confidence. Companies that seize this opportunity are positioning themselves for sustained success.
Next Steps
The AI revolution is reshaping the Salesforce ecosystem, and 2025 is a critical year for businesses to shift from experimentation to strategic implementation. No one has done this before—this is uncharted territory.
As agents and digital labor evolve, businesses must adapt quickly to new realities. Partnering with experts like Coastal ensures you’re guided by teams closely aligned with Salesforce and AI advancements, who can help you measure and track impact.
Ready to take action? Consider these key steps:
- Modernize your data: Ensure your data architecture is up to date by breaking down silos, improving data quality, and centralizing access. A modern, cloud-based data foundation supports stronger AI insights and decision-making.
- Pilot Agentforce for targeted use cases: Identify specific processes where Agentforce can drive efficiency and improve outcomes, and launch pilot programs to demonstrate value.
- Develop a prioritized AI roadmap with Coastal’s True North Value Calculation: Our framework helps you identify high-value use cases and align your investments with your business goals.
- Foster a culture of collaboration: Encourage cross-functional collaboration and empower your teams with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed with AI.
- Build a connected ecosystem with Salesforce Data Cloud: Prioritize a unified view of your customer data within Data Cloud and choose tools that work together seamlessly.
Check out our companion blog on data modernization trends for 2025 to explore how data modernization fuels effective AI strategies.
For businesses looking to maximize their Salesforce investment, partnering with Coastal provides the expertise to navigate this evolving AI landscape and achieve measurable results.
