6 Ways Agentforce 360 is Helping Small Businesses and Startups

You’ve seen the commercials. As Matthew McConaughey says, “Agentforce 360 is what AI was meant to be.” It lets you create and deploy AI agents — autonomous, proactive applications designed to execute specialized tasks like solving customer issues, optimizing sales opportunities, and boosting marketing campaigns with minimal human engagement. Think of it as your digital labor partner that works 24/7 to help you deliver exceptional results. 

Agentforce 360 is Salesforce’s suite of autonomous AI agents designed to handle business tasks independently. Unlike traditional chatbots that follow rigid scripts or “Copilots” that require a human to drive every step, Agentforce analyzes a customer’s request and determine the best course of action.

They don’t just answer questions; they can execute tasks like updating a CRM record, processing a refund, or scheduling a sales meeting. Using Data 360, they pull from your company’s real-time, trusted data to ensure their responses are accurate and relevant to your specific business.

Agentforce 360 is the comprehensive platform that unifies AI agents, human employees, and company data into a single, trusted ecosystem. The Agentforce 360 Platform is available to try for free and depends on your level of needs to get started.

Let’s get to the six ways Agentforce 360 is helping startups all over the globe:

Startups today are turning to holistic customer relationship management (CRM) tools that bring every team onto one platform. When customer data is unified and easy to access, it becomes far more useful. This kind of foundation is what makes AI tools like Agentforce 360 truly effective, turning clean, connected data into insights and actions that fuel growth.

At Salesforce, we give startups a growth path that fits their pace. Starter Suite gets you started with an all-in-one CRM, Pro Suite adds flexibility, and Foundations unlocks AI and Agentforce 360 when you’re ready.

Agentforce 360 then works alongside your CRM data, not against it. How? Data Cloud pulls in data from every touchpoint and system, giving Agentforce 360 the context it needs to act on it instantly. It simplifies the process of managing customer information while amplifying the value you get from it. If you’re building deeper customer relationships or optimizing internal workflows, Agentforce 360 makes sure that your data is actively working for you.

Here’s how Salesforce helps startups:

• Keeps all your customer data in one place for easy access
• Simplifies customer interactions across your business
• Turns data into insights that fuel better decisions
• Scales with your startup without adding complexity
• Helps you deliver the personalized experiences your customers love

Repetitive tasks kill your productivity. Agentforce 360 flips that story by stepping in where the busywork lives. Following up with leads no longer slows you down because Agentforce 360 keeps the conversation moving. Customer appointments stay on track with reminders and updates sent automatically. Even the more strategic moves, like building a close plan or suggesting the right product, happen faster because the heavy lifting is already done.

Studies show that employees spend 58% of their workday on repetitive and mundane administrative tasks. For SMBs and startups, this can result in missed opportunities to grow and connect with customers. Agentforce 360 offers many use cases that help you address this challenge. Here are a few ways it can help you save time:

• Sales meeting support: Automatically generate meeting summaries and follow-up emails so your team stays on top of communications without manual effort.
• Quick case insights: Instantly find and summarize similar customer cases, giving your team the context they need to resolve issues faster.
• Promotion planning: Generate ideas and content for promotions or campaigns, so your marketing team can focus on strategy without getting bogged down in details.
• Feedback analysis: Analyze survey responses and customer feedback automatically to identify trends and areas for improvement.

As your customer base grows, your team shouldn’t have to burn out to keep up. Agentforce 360 acts as a digital extension of your workforce, allowing your startup to maintain a “small team feel” even as you reach enterprise-level volume. Here’s how it helps you scale smartly and affordably:

Drastically reduce overhead: Startups often struggle with “software sprawl.” By using Salesforce for small business, you get elite AI capabilities and automation directly within your CRM. This eliminates the need for multiple expensive third-party tools and keeps your tech stack lean.

Deliver 24/7 “white glove” service: Speed is a competitive advantage. With Agentforce Service Agents, you can handle routine inquiries—like password resets or FAQs—instantly. This ensures your customers get immediate support at any hour, while your human team focuses on high-touch relationship building.

Optimize the order-to-cash cycle: Manual order processing is a bottleneck for growth. By leveraging automation and AI in commerce, you can automate tracking, shipping confirmations, and proactive status updates. This keeps your operations moving as fast as your sales and keeps customers informed.

Fully customizable agility: Your business model might change next month—that’s the startup life. Because these tools are built on Salesforce, you can easily pivot and customize your agents across sales, service, and marketing using low-code tools, ensuring your AI evolves as fast as you do.

According to our research, 82% of customers say that the experience a company provides is just as important as its product or service. Agentforce 360 transforms sales outreach from a numbers game to a meaningful, targeted strategy that fuels results. It analyzes customer data (like past interactions, preferences, and buying behavior) to craft sales pitches that resonate. Instead of generic content, you’ll connect with customers through personalized offers and insights that show you understand them.

For example, you can:

• Find where to focus first by spotting your most important deal at that moment, so you spend your effort on what’s likely to bring results.
• Draft or revise emails using your CRM data to write outreach that feels personal — mentioning past interactions, rewards, or challenges your prospect cares about.
• Generate a point of view (POV) that sums up “Why Change, Why Now, Why Us” for a given account. That means when you talk to a lead, you speak to what matters most to them.

Customers expect quick, reliable support at any time of day. Agentforce 360 makes it possible to offer round-the-clock service without adding more staff or long hours to your day. Your customers will never be left hanging, even at midnight or on weekends. Agentforce 360 can handle all sorts of customer interactions, ranging from basic questions to more complex issues. It also learns from your data and customizes responses based on what each customer needs. This way, every interaction feels personal, but without the need for a human to be there every single time.

And unlike an ordinary chatbot, Agentforce 360 is trained on your knowledge base. It remembers past conversations and keeps improving over time. So, every response feels relevant and genuinely helpful — giving your customers the kind of service that surprises and delights.

For example: AI agents can handle routine service cases, like account inquiries, return requests, or troubleshooting, at any hour of the day. Common questions like order statuses, product info, or shipping details are answered right away. And, Agentforce 360 can spot issues before your customers even ask. It can be an issue with a recent order or a delay in service. It will proactively provide a solution or alert your team.

Making better decisions starts with better insights. According to the latest Small and Medium Business Trends report, 84% of SMB leaders say complete and accurate data is increasingly important for business success. Agentforce 360 makes sure you have just that. It analyzes data and transforms it into clear, actionable recommendations you can use right away. Whether you’re planning your next marketing campaign or fine-tuning your customer service strategy, Agentforce 360 takes the guesswork out of decision-making.

Here are a few ways Agentforce 360 turns insights into action.

Track what’s working instantly: Agentforce 360 highlights the campaigns and strategies driving the most engagement, so you can double down on what’s effective.

Deliver personalized messaging: It helps you identify customer preferences and generate promotional offers or content to increase connection and boost results.

Make smarter spending decisions: With clear insights, you’ll know exactly where to invest your time and budget. You can avoid wasted efforts on things that don’t deliver results.

Identify revenue drivers quickly: Agentforce 360 identifies the top-performing channels, customer segments, or even products, so you can double down on what brings the most revenue.

Spot trends before they happen: Instead of reacting to market changes, Agentforce 360 helps you to anticipate them by uncovering patterns and opportunities hidden in your data.

Agentforce 360 is perfect for startups that want to scale fast. It grows with your business, stays flexible, and can be customized to fit your unique needs. If you want to save time, reduce costs, and run your startup more efficiently, give Agentforce 360 a try. If you’d like to go deeper, here are some resources to get started:

• Get Started with the Agentforce Guide: Explore the official Salesforce guide to understand how AI agents work, including real-world use cases for automating customer service and sales workflows.
• Trail: Build Your Path to AI Success: Dive into this curated Trailhead path to learn the fundamentals of AI agents and how to customize them using the Agentforce Builder to fit your specific business needs.
• Quick Start: Build Your First Agent: Get hands-on experience in a “Playground” environment with this step-by-step project that shows you how to build and test a functional service agent in minutes.

So why not start strong? Try out Agentforce 360 today.

AI supported the writers and editors of this article.