X
Innovation

Salesforce makes Einstein Bots for Service Cloud generally available

With Einstein Bots, the aim is to help companies automate routine customer service requests and improve customer experiences.
Written by Natalie Gagliordi, Contributor
screen-shot-2018-07-11-at-9-02-27-am.png
Image via Salesforce.

Salesforce is bringing its Einstein Bots to market as part of the next generation of Service Cloud, along with a bevy of other new features.

Read also: With MuleSoft, Salesforce gets a hybrid cloud play

With Einstein Bots, the aim is to help companies automate routine customer service requests and improve customer experiences regardless of whether customers are interacting with a bot, an agent, or a combination of the two. The bots use historical service data and CRM data to form their answers, but they can also hand the conversation off to a human employee if needed.

Meanwhile, developers and admins can use the same point-and-click interface to build custom chatbots. Examples of Einstein Bots would be a chatbot that helps track a customer's order, or one that can reset passwords.

Salesforce originally introduced the Bots pilot at Dreamforce last year, and has since iterated on the concept with more intricate features. Instead of just automating queries, the bots were made to connect to customer data and process woven throughout. That's where Salesforce's other new product, Einstein Next Best Action, comes into play.

Read also: Salesforce launches $50 million fund for AI startups - CNET

Einstein Next Best Action guides agents and customers by surfacing recommended answers and offers and uses AI to analyze the conversation in real time. The system pulls from both Salesforce and non-Salesforce data to provide recommendations. The main idea is to help with problem resolution and highlight upsell opportunities.

Salesforce's process automation tool Lightning Flow is also being made generally available today.

Read also: Salesforce could make it easier to track B2B selling - TechRepublic

"Artificial intelligence alone will not drive your business forward -- AI must be connected to CRM data and guided processes so companies can create seamless experiences that put customers at the center," said Bill Patterson, SVP and GM of Salesforce Service Cloud, in a press release. "Today is a big step forward in empowering our customers with an easy way to provide guided, intelligent service at scale."

Cloud services: 24 lesser-known web services your business needs to try

RELATED COVERAGE

Salesforce bulks up Essentials SMB efforts with Service Cloud Essentials, to sunset IQ CRM, Desk.com

Current customers of IQ CRM and Desk have two years to move to equivalent offerings and get subscription exchanges.

Salesforce updates Field Service Lightning for on-site customer service

The updated service tool should help companies keep up with consumer demands for fast, digitally-accessible services.

SAP targets Salesforce on CRM: What's aspiration vs. reality?

"We want CRM," says SAP CEO Bill McDermott. SAP's chief has some valid points and perhaps CRM needs reinvention. The question is whether SAP has the next-gen CRM approach or is it a robotics process automation player.

Editorial standards