What is Agentforce?

Agentforce is Salesforce’s platform for building and deploying AI-powered digital agents designed to automate service, sales, and support workflows with intelligence and efficiency. It resolves common customer inquiries automatically—everything from appointment scheduling to order tracking—so your team doesn’t have to.

When a request is more complex or requires a personal touch, Agentforce transitions the conversation to a live service rep, carrying over all the context so the handoff feels seamless.

No repeated questions, no fragmented interactions.

How Does Agentforce Work?

Agentforce brings together advanced technologies, like natural language processing, large language models (LLMs), and your organization’s data, to create intelligent, autonomous agents that operate at scale.

What is Agent Builder, and How Do I Create an Agent?

Agent Builder is your go-to tool within Agentforce Studio. It allows you to create and configure digital agents using a simple, no-code interface. This means you don’t need to know how to write scripts or build complex logic trees—just describe what you want your agent to do in plain English.

 Natural Language Setup: Define workflows, tasks, and restrictions conversationally.

 Instant Capabilities: Need an agent to schedule appointments or process a return? Just type it out, and Agent Builder brings it to life.

 Omnichannel Deployment: Your agent can support email, voice, chat, and social—all from a single setup.

How Do Topics and Guardrails Shape Agent Conversations?

Topics act like chapters in your agent’s playbook. They define what kinds of conversations your agent can handle, from billing updates to claim status checks.

 Dynamic Topic Switching: If a customer starts with a billing question and pivots to checking a delivery schedule, Agentforce can switch seamlessly.

 Guardrails: You define the boundaries. If a request doesn’t align with pre-approved topics, the agent will either route the conversation to a human or politely decline to proceed.

This ensures your agent stays on track and aligns with your business rules and compliance needs.

What Are Actions, and How Do They Deliver Real Results?

Once topics are set, you can assign Actions—these are the tasks your agent can perform in real time.

 Example Actions: Checking open appointment slots, retrieving a customer’s latest order, updating a policy record.

Flow & Apex Integration: Agentforce can trigger Salesforce Flows, run Apex classes, or use custom prompts to complete tasks—just like a service representative would, but without the wait.

What Powers the Intelligence Behind Agentforce?

There are two things powering the intelligence behind Agentforce Agents.

Agentforce uses the Atlas Reasoning Engine to analyze data, make decisions, and act—without human intervention. It’s the brain of the operation, constantly learning and optimizing how tasks are performed.

Unlike traditional AI models that rely solely on publicly available training data, Agentforce also uses Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) to access your company’s real-time, internal information through Salesforce Data Cloud or other connected systems.

That means when an agent responds, it’s not making assumptions. It’s referencing actual data sources—emails, PDFs, case histories, chat logs—so answers are more accurate, more relevant, and far less likely to include generic or outdated information.

So, is Agentforce Powered by Atlas or RAG?

Both! But they serve different roles.

 Atlas powers the agent’s reasoning, decision logic, and ability to execute tasks.

 RAG enriches the agent’s responses by pulling from real-time, contextual data.

They work together inside Agentforce to create intelligent, responsible, and task-capable agents that can not only answer but also act.

How Does Agentforce Ensure Safety?

Trust and security are non-negotiable. Agentforce includes several layers of protection, including:

Off-Topic Redirection: Gently steers users back when they go off-script.

 Toxicity and Harm Detection: Shuts down inappropriate or harmful dialogue.

 Prompt Injection Defense: Identifies and blocks attempts to manipulate the agent or reverse-engineer prompts.

Are There Different Types of Agentforce Agents?

Yes! And this flexibility is what makes Agentforce so versatile.

 Autonomous Agents: Fully handle a task from start to finish.

 Assistive Agents: Support users with step-by-step guidance.

 Domain-Specific Agents: Specialized for use cases in Sales, Service, or Setup.

How is Agentforce Different from Einstein GPT?

It’s a common question because both Agentforce and Einstein GPT are Salesforce products using generative AI.

However, Einstein GPT provides AI-generated content, summaries, and insights across Salesforce. Agentforce builds on this by delivering fully autonomous task execution and workflow automation.

What License Do I Need to Use Agentforce?

Getting started with Agentforce isn’t quite as simple as enabling a feature. It requires the right combination of platform access and tools, especially if you’re planning to take full advantage of what it can do:

First, you’ll need access to the Salesforce Platform. That’s the foundation Agentforce runs on—this includes, Performance, Unlimited, and Developer Editions with the Einstein for Service, Einstein Platform, or Agentforce Service Agent add-on.

Next, you’ll need Agentforce Studio—and this part is essential. Agentforce Studio is where you build, manage, and monitor your agents. It includes tools like Agent Builder, conversation insights, and setup guidance.

Finally, Data Cloud. While not mandatory, Data Cloud is recommended if you want to take full advantage of Agentforce’s advanced features—like the Einstein Trust Layer audit trail and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG). You can access Data Cloud in two ways:

Full Data Cloud License: For complete access to all features.

Salesforce Foundations: A lighter version with limited Data Cloud capabilities.

So, to recap: Salesforce Platform powers it, Agentforce Studio makes it possible, and Data Cloud can take it even further.

How Can I Get Started with Agentforce? 

To enable Agentforce Service Agent (ASA):

1. Set up Einstein Generative AI.

2. Enable the default Agentforce agent.

3. Configure your Service Agent.

What Does Agentforce Cost?

The entry point is simple:

$2 USD per conversation.

That includes digital labor 24/7. Instead of being billed per token or per prompt, as many AI tools do, Salesforce simplifies pricing by measuring the complete interaction. It’s designed to give customers clarity without needing to decode a complicated pricing model.