On Monday,Salesforce unveiled Agentforce Voice, a new feature that allows its Agentforce artificial intelligence platform to handle phone calls. This major development, announced on the eve of the Dreamforce conference in San Francisco, extends the capabilities of the software already used by over 12,000 companies for text-based interactions. Users will now be able to customize the voice, tone, or speech speed of AI agents and even interrupt the conversation for a more fluid experience.
Compatible with Amazon, Five9, Nice, and Vonage phone systems, Agentforce Voice integrates directly with existing call center infrastructures. This launch illustrates the rise of voice in generative AI, following an initial phase focused on text. Salesforce is thus positioning itself against growing competition from players such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Sierra, the startup founded by former co-CEO Bret Taylor, which is also developing enterprise voice agents.
Despite this innovation, Salesforce is going through a period of stockmarket tension: its share price has slumped 28% since January, while the Nasdaq has risen 15%. Investors are concerned about the impact of AI on business software, a risk acknowledged by the company itself. However, CEO Marc Benioff is seeking to reassure investors, believing that the transformation will be gradual. Salesforce also plans to launch Agent Script in November, a new tool for customizing the responses and behaviors of its virtual agents.