New Analysis from Salesforce Points to AI Excitement—and Concern

We’ve covered Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the past, touching on how it can be used to improve your small business. The amount of content out there pertaining to this flashy, exciting trend in technology is staggering—and it’s worth noting that while the hype is real, so are the fears. Salesforce recently put out a paper, the Trends in AI for CRM report, which took statistics from multiple studies to get a better understanding of where business owners stand with AI implementation. Let’s take a look at the findings.

When AI starting picking up steam, folks were fairly quick to hop on the bandwagon. And according to the Salesforce report, almost half of customer service workers, two-fifths of salespeople, and one third of marketing professionals have completely integrated AI as a means of increasing productivity. However, a lack of trusted data and ethics concerns could put a stop to this practice going forward.

Without clear, company-wide policies on ethical AI use, and with a dizzying array of Large Language Model (LLM) vendors to choose from, many businesses are concerned they might miss out on key opportunities to utilize generative AI. In the report, 80 percent of enterprises said they’re currently juggling multiple LLMs.

AI isn’t just another tech trend—it’s a game-changer, with projections showing over $2 trillion in new business revenueby 2028 just from Salesforce and its partners! Forward-thinking leaders in sales, service, and marketing are ready to seize this moment by leveraging AI to streamline operations and deliver unparalleled customer experiences.

What the Trends are Saying:

• Without trusted data, AI looks less feasible. While we expect adoption rates for AI to climb significantly, just 10 percent of folks put their full trust in AI to help them make the right business decisions. Fifty-nine percent of companies said they don’t have unified data strategies to help make AI more dependable and accurate. 

• Employees love AI, but their companies need to catch up. A full 80 percent of workers who have used AI believe it increases their productivity, which is a huge reason why the workforce has raced to adopt it. The sticking point is that many employees are working for companies without AI policies in place (just 21 percent said their companies have a clearly outlined AI policy). That’s not stopping them from using it, however: 55 percent are using unapproved tools, and 40 percent are using tools that are flat-out banned. And 69 percent note their companies are not offering any training on using AI at work.

• Without trust, there is no AI. There’s a large swath of the general consumer population (we’re talking 74 percent) that’s worried about the unethical use of AI. According to the report, “Companies that focus on end-user control are in the strongest position to build customer trust as they build their AI strategies, with 56 percent of respondents […] signaling their openness to AI under such circumstances.”

You can download the full Trends in AI for CRM report from Salesforce here.

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