AI Customer Service Agents Surge 22X in Adoption Since January

The deployment and use of AI agents is growing incredibly quickly, according to Salesforce.

Salesforce has released a new report highlighting the rapid adoption of AI agents in customer service. Since January, usage has grown by a staggering 2,199%, with the number of available agents more than doubling. Notably, 94% of customers now prefer interacting with AI agents when given the choice.

Key Findings from the Report:

• 119% increase in agents created/deployed since January
• 80% month-over-month growth in agent actions across use cases
• 22x increase in average customer service conversations led by AI agents
• 65% month-over-month growth in employee-agent interactions
• 76% month-over-month growth in agent actions triggered by employees
• 35% growth in employee-agent back-and-forth conversations

Salesforce's chief digital officer, Joe Inzerillo, emphasized that the "agentic enterprise" is becoming a reality, with AI agents now assumed to be competent by users. The report underscores that while growth percentages are high due to starting from a low base, the trend reflects a broader shift in the AI ecosystem.

Leading Use Cases:

• Sales: Drafting emails, creating to-dos, scheduling meetings
• Service: Querying records, answering questions, summarizing cases, resolving inquiries
• Internal Operations: Streamlining workflows

Vertical Growth Highlights:

• Travel & Hospitality: 133% month-over-month growth
• Retail: 128% month-over-month growth
• Finance: 105% month-over-month growth

Calvin Anderson, VP at SharkNinja, noted that AI agents provide an "always-on digital touchpoint" to enhance customer experiences. Consumers are also driving this trend, with retail users 200% more likely to report improved experiences when using AI agents.

Employee Adoption:

• 65% month-over-month growth in employee-agent interactions
• 76% increase in agent actions triggered by employees
• 233% increase in global worker adoption of AI since Fall 2024

Inzerillo highlighted that hybrid human-AI workflows are the future, with escalations from AI to human agents rising from 22% in Q1 to 32% in Q2. This reflects AI agents handling more complex tasks and improved collaboration between humans and AI.

"AI agents are already beginning to act as incredible force multipliers for businesses and consumers," Inzerillo stated. "The more companies use and scale these agents, the greater efficiency and value they’re able to unlock."

For more insights, read the full report.