What a Delayed Flight Taught Me About Agentic AI
On a recent trip home from a client engagement, my flight to Washington Dulles got rerouted to Pittsburgh (yes, Pittsburgh!) thanks to a lovely mix of weather delays and heavy air traffic. Cue the collective groan from every passenger on board. As people lined up at the airline counter and jammed the customer service phones, I wish I could have skipped the chaos and rebooked my flight to DC on the next available flight with no human help required. Just me and the airline’s chatbot.
So, how is that possible? Artificial Intelligence, that’s how.
From Generative to Agentic: What’s the Difference?
We’re all familiar with Generative AI by now; it creates things like text, images, videos, and more. Tools like ChatGPT are powered by large language models (LLMs) and respond based on prompts and your instructions. Since I’m a Salesforce Consultant (yes, I’m biased), here’s an example: prompts in Salesforce can pull CRM data to write personalized emails. So, if you’ve gotten a tailored email lately, it might not have come from a human; it was probably AI behind the scenes. Helpful? Definitely. But it still relies on you to ask it to do something.
Agentic AI takes it a step further and then some.
Meet Agentic AI: Your Autonomous Problem Solver
Agentic AI doesn’t wait for you to tell it what to do. It thinks, plans, and acts autonomously. In my travel situation, Agentic AI could’ve not only understood that my flight was diverted, but it could’ve:
Interpreted the situation
Checked available alternative flights
Compared options
Verified preferences
Rebooked me automatically
That’s more than smart. That’s self-directed problem solving.
Salesforce Agentforce: Agentic AI in Action
Enter Salesforce Agentforce - Agentic AI, you can put to work right now. Salesforce Agentforce are autonomous agents that operate within defined scopes, using:
Topics (like Reservations & Tickets)
Actions (like booking reservations, modifying reservations, assigning seats, issuing insurance)
Prompt templates (to personalize responses)
Out-of-the-box Agentforce agents include:
Agentforce Default Agent
Service Agent
Sales Development Rep (SDR) Agent
Sales Coach Agent
They come with pre-defined templates but are customizable, so your workflows feel like your workflows, just smarter. You can also build fully custom agents tailored to your business.
Why It Matters (and Why It’s a Big Deal)
Salesforce Agentforce, or Agentic AI for that matter, isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a shift in how organizations operate. It enables businesses to:
Deliver hyper-personalized customer service
Automate routine (and even complex) tasks
Free up human agents for higher impact work
It’s the difference between responding and anticipating. Between automated and autonomous.
And yes, it’s already here.
Let’s Explore What Salesforce Agentforce Can Do for You
Curious how Salesforce Agentforce can help your team run smarter, not harder? Want to know what it might look like inside your business? Reach out! I’d love to connect.