Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has made it clear that artificial intelligence, despite its growing role in business operations, cannot replace human salespeople.
Speaking at the company’s annual Dreamforce conference in San Francisco, Marc emphasized that the essence of sales lies in human interaction, trust-building, and personal relationships—elements that AI cannot replicate.
“AI doesn’t have a soul. It’s not that human connectivity,” Marc said during a live interview with TBPN, a daily YouTube show.
He described a scene at the St. Regis Hotel bar, where customers were engaging with each other rather than relying on digital tools.
“The bar is filled. It’s not our people that are in the bar. It was our customers talking to each other and connecting, going more deeply, having that human touch,” he added.
Salesforce to Hire Thousands of New Salespeople
In line with his belief in the irreplaceable value of human sales roles, Marc announced that Salesforce is planning to hire between 3,000 and 5,000 new salespeople.
The company aims to expand its team of account executives to 20,000 by the end of the year.
This hiring spree comes just months after Salesforce reduced its customer support workforce from 9,000 to around 5,000, replacing many of those roles with AI agents.
Despite the layoffs in support functions, Marc’s comments reflect a strategic pivot toward strengthening human-led sales efforts.
He believes that while AI can assist with tasks and improve efficiency, it cannot replace the emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills required in sales.
Balancing AI Integration with Human-Centric Roles
Salesforce has positioned itself as a leader in AI-powered customer relationship management (CRM), branding itself as the “#1 AI CRM.”
The company has invested heavily in generative AI tools and automation to streamline operations.
However, Marc’s remarks suggest a nuanced approach to AI adoption—one that enhances human roles rather than eliminates them.
“All of us have to get our heads around this idea that AI can do things that before, you know, we were doing, and we can move on to do higher-value work,” Marc said.
He acknowledged that AI has helped Salesforce handle nearly 50% of customer interactions, but reiterated that sales remains a fundamentally human endeavor.
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