What is Marketing Cloud?
Marketing Cloud is Salesforce's AI-powered marketing platform, built around autonomous AI agents that plan, create, personalize, and optimize campaigns across every channel.
Marketing Cloud is Salesforce’s digital marketing automation software that helps companies to build and manage personalized customer relationships across every channel. It’s a unified platform designed to help marketers connect with customers at the right moment, using data and artificial intelligence (AI) to optimize every interaction. Built-in autonomous AI agents for marketing facilitate two-way customer conversations and improve internal marketing efficiency and performance in things such as paid media optimization, campaign creation and personalized decisioning.
How Marketing Cloud has grown
This product map helps show how our products have grown and evolved.
| Product | What it includes | What's new |
|---|---|---|
| Engagement+ | All Marketing Cloud Engagement features, bundled with access to Marketing Cloud Next. MCE is still sold; the "+" means MC Next access is included. | Customers gain access to next-gen agentic AI capabilities powered by Data 360 and the Salesforce Platform, letting them layer agents, AI-driven journey decisioning, campaign and content creation, and two-way, agent-powered conversations on top of their existing engagement programs. |
| Account Engagement+ | All Marketing Cloud Account Engagement features, bundled with MC Next access via permission set licenses (PSLs). MCAE is still sold; the "+" means MC Next PSLs are included. | Customers gain access to next-gen agentic AI capabilities powered by Data 360 and the Salesforce Platform, letting them layer AI-driven segments, journeys, lead scoring, and two-way conversations on top of their existing B2B demand gen programs. |
| Marketing Cloud Next | A complete agentic marketing solution built natively on the Salesforce Platform and integrated with Data 360, giving marketers the power to use Agentforce and AI capabilities in their flow of work. | The flagship next-generation product: agentic execution across the full campaign lifecycle, from audience building to content creation to real-time optimization. |
| Marketing Intelligence | Rebuilt on Data 360 and Tableau Next, retaining core cross-channel data ingestion, unification, and attribution/reporting capabilities. | Agentic app on Data 360 and Tableau Next's semantic model; continuous insight surfacing; AI-driven recommendations; modern visualization layer. |
| Salesforce Personalization | Rebuilt on the Salesforce platform, retaining core one-to-one email recommendations, campaign decisioning, and A/B/n experimentation support. | Reframes campaigns as "personalization points"; AI-driven real-time decisioning across channels; customer-defined experiment metrics. |
| Contentful from Salesforce | Contentful is one of Salesforce's latest acquisitions. It is a headless content management system that stores content as structured, reusable pieces instead of finished pages, then delivers it through APIs wherever it needs to go. | Learn more about Contentful here. |
| Palmata from Salesforce | Palmata is part of Salesforce's aquisition of Contentful. It is an AI visibility tool that allows you to see how AI systems represent your brand, spot visibility gaps, and gives suggestions on how to improve how your brand is surfaced. | Learn more about Palmata here. |
A few distinctions: Engagement+ and Account Engagement+ aren't new names for old products. Marketing Cloud Engagement and Marketing Cloud Account Engagement are still sold. The "+" signals that those products now come bundled with access to Marketing Cloud Next . Marketing Intelligence and Salesforce Personalization are rebuilt products on Data 360, architecturally distinct from their predecessors, not simply renamed.
What carried forward
The key message for existing customers: keep using what you've already built. Marketing Cloud Engagement journeys continue to work as-is. Upgrading adds capability without requiring rebuilds or migration.
- Multi-channel reach across email, SMS, WhatsApp, and push existing campaigns stay intact
- B2B automation including lead scoring, nurturing, and attribution continue to run as configured
- Journey Builder logic carries forward; the upgrade path layers agentic capabilities on top, not in place of
- Campaign analytics and reporting remain available within the upgraded environment
- Backward compatibility is a core design principle; existing customers don't start over
What's new with Marketing Cloud Next
- Autonomous AI agents that act without human triggers, with no rules-based "if/then" required
- Real-time audience generation from Data 360 using natural language prompts, rather than static segment lists
- Two-way conversational channels: customers can reply to messages, and agents carry context across email, SMS, web, and WhatsApp. According to the State of Marketing Report, 83% of marketers say customers now expect two-way conversations with brands, and two-way conversations are the capability that static automation platforms can't replicate.
- Campaign self-assembly and optimization: agents adjust delivery, creative, and spend based on real-time performance signals
- The Agentforce SDR agent for B2B demand gen: re-engages dormant CRM records, follows up on cold lists, and nurtures leads to sales-ready conversations, 24/7
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The AI capabilities behind Marketing Cloud Next
According to the State of Marketing Report, 88% of marketers using AI say it helps them do their job better. The AI capabilities inside Agentforce Marketing are designed to make that practical, not just theoretical. Each capability is specific and operational, tied to what the agent actually does in the campaign workflow.
Autonomous campaign execution. Autonomous agents handle the full campaign lifecycle: building audiences, generating content, choosing channels, delivering messages, and optimizing performance, all without waiting for a human to trigger the next step. Marketers set the strategy; agents handle the execution.
Data 360 as the intelligence layer. Data 360 unifies customer, campaign, and revenue signals into a single profile, making unstructured data (PDFs, videos, CMS content) AI-ready. Agents always work with full context. This is the architectural moat: agents that know more act better.
Two-way agentic messaging. Agentic workflows let agents carry conversation context across email, SMS, web, and WhatsApp and respond in real time. Customers can reply. The conversation continues. No human escalation needed for routine exchanges.
Agentic demand generation for B2B. The Agentforce SDR agent is outbound and CRM-driven. It re-engages dormant records, follows up on cold lists, and moves leads toward sales-ready conversations, 24/7. It works from existing CRM data, with no new database required.
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Who Marketing Cloud is built for
According to the State of Marketing Report, 78% of marketers say they need more personalized content than they're able to produce. That gap is real, and it grows wider as customer expectations rise. Marketing Cloud addresses it directly, for B2B and B2C teams, through distinct product paths.
Marketing Cloud audience and product map
| Audience | Recommended product | Primary use cases |
|---|---|---|
| B2C marketers (new to Salesforce or existing MC customers) | Marketing Cloud Next Growth or Advanced Edition | Cross-channel campaigns, two-way conversations, loyalty, personalization at scale |
| B2C marketers (existing MC Engagement customers upgrading) | Engagement+ | Everything in MC Engagement + MC Next agentic capabilities, no platform switch needed |
| B2B marketers (new to Salesforce or existing MC customers) | Marketing Cloud Next Growth or Advanced Edition (B2B) | Agentic demand gen, account-based marketing, pipeline alignment with Agentforce Sales |
| B2B marketers (existing Account Engagement customers upgrading) | Account Engagement+ | Full Account Engagement capabilities + MC Next agentic features via PSLs, no switch needed |
Marketing Cloud Next is the recommended starting point for new customers across both B2B and B2C. Engagement+ and Account Engagement+ serve customers with existing programs who want to add agentic capabilities without switching platforms.
Marketing Cloud Next for B2C marketers
- Real-time two-way conversations across email, SMS, and WhatsApp: customers reply, agents respond with context from Data 360
- Personalization at every touchpoint using unified customer profiles, with offer, message, and timing adapting per individual
- Loyalty programs that adjust offers in real time based on customer behavior and purchase signals
- Autonomous agents that replace static drip sequences with dynamic 1:1 journeys that evolve as customers do
Marketing Cloud Next for B2B marketers
- The agents handles outbound demand gen by re-engaging dormant CRM records and cold lists, nurturing leads to sales-ready conversations, 24/7, without adding headcount
- Account-based marketing with real-time buyer signals from Data 360, so teams can prioritize the right accounts at the right moment
- Lead scoring that updates dynamically as behavior changes, rather than reflecting a static snapshot
- Sales-marketing pipeline alignment through shared CRM data: Sales Cloud and Marketing Cloud work from the same customer record
- Existing Account Engagement customers access agentic capabilities through Account Engagement+, with no platform switch and no disruption to existing programs
Marketing Cloud and the Salesforce platform
Marketing Cloud is built on the same platform as Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, and Commerce Cloud, so AI agents in marketing have real-time access to CRM data, service case history, and commerce transactions. That's the difference between a standalone martech tool and a platform-connected one: marketing agents know the full customer relationship, not just email engagement history.
The Data 360 connection makes this concrete. Unified customer profiles, drawing on structured and unstructured data, power both the agents and the analytics layer. A marketer working in Marketing Cloud is working with the same customer record a service rep sees in Service Cloud. When marketing is no longer separate from the rest of the business, agents and humans can act on the full picture.
Getting started with Marketing Cloud Next
New and existing customers have distinct paths into the Salesforce agentic marketing platform.
- New customers start with Marketing Cloud Next Growth or Advanced Edition, available for both B2B and B2C teams
- Existing Marketing Cloud Engagement customers access agentic capabilities through Engagement+, with no platform switch required and existing journeys staying intact
- Existing Account Engagement customers access Marketing Cloud Next innovations through Account Engagement+ PSLs
- All Salesforce customers can explore Agentforce through Salesforce Foundations
Pricing details vary by edition and use case. Talk to a Salesforce expert to find the right starting point.
Choosing the right digital marketing platform
Selecting the right platform is a strategic decision that affects a business for years to come. Business leaders must evaluate a solution’s core architecture and long-term potential.
What to look for in the best marketing platforms:
- Scalability: The platform must be able to grow with the business, handling surges in customer data, high-volume messaging (especially for email marketing), and an ever-increasing number of channels.
- Integration capabilities: Deep, native integration with core business systems – especially CRM, commerce, and service systems – is paramount. This unified ecosystem eliminates data silos and unlocks the single customer view.
- Security: Robust security and compliance certifications are necessary to protect customer data and adhere to global privacy regulations.
- Robust partner ecosystem: A wide network of partners and developers ensures the business can access expertise and custom solutions to extend the platform's functionality.
When a company selects a unified platform like Salesforce Marketing Cloud, the benefits are tangible:
- Increased customer engagement: By delivering relevant and timely content, companies see higher open rates, click-through rates, and ultimately, conversions.
- Improved marketing efficiency: Marketing automation eliminates manual tasks, allowing teams to be more agile and focus resources on creative strategy.
- Quantifiable revenue growth: The ability to accurately track and attribute marketing spend to sales revenue demonstrates a clear return on investment.
Marketing Cloud FAQ
Marketing Cloud Next is the next evolution of the Salesforce Marketing Cloud. It represents the integration of advanced agentic AI directly into the platform's core, transforming its capabilities from a leading omnichannel automation tool into an intelligent, autonomous partner for marketers. While the foundation and many core tools remain, Marketing Cloud is the name for this next-generation, AI-first experience.
Agentforce Marketing was a name used to describe all of Marketing Cloud's editions. It is no longer in use, and you will instead see Marketing Cloud.
The main components of the Salesforce Marketing Cloud are centered around its core functionalities: management for orchestrating the customer journey across channels; email marketing and mobile studios for execution; advertising tools for reaching audiences; and a central, AI-powered customer data platform (CDP) for data unification and activation. These tools work together to support all facets of cross-channel marketing.
Marketing Cloud uses AI to improve campaigns by providing automated optimization and powerful insights. Examples include: predicting the optimal time to send an email for maximum engagement, scoring prospects to identify the highest-value leads, automatically recommending products or content to individuals, and predicting which customers are at risk of churning, allowing for proactive re-engagement campaigns. This application of AI ensures better marketing personalization at scale.
Yes, seamless integration is a core strength of Salesforce Marketing Cloud. Built on the Salesforce Customer 360 platform, it is designed to integrate natively and deeply with other Salesforce clouds, such as Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, and Commerce Cloud. This integration breaks down traditional silos, allowing marketers to use sales data (like recent purchases) to power personalized service interactions and service data (like open support tickets) to suppress marketing emails, ensuring a unified customer experience.
Marketing automation is a set of tools and rules that execute marketing actions (e.g., sending emails, updating records) based on a customer's actions or a timeline. It focuses on the "what" and "when" of the outreach. A customer data platform (CDP), however, is a data management system that unifies and structures all customer data from every source (online, offline, behavioral) into a single, comprehensive customer profile. The CDP provides the unified, accurate data required to power the sophisticated and personalized execution of a marketing automation system.
Yes, Marketing Cloud is highly adaptable for both B2B (business-to-business) and B2C (business-to-consumer) strategies. B2C teams use the platform for high-volume, real-time consumer engagement, loyalty programs, and seasonal campaigns. B2B teams use the specialized B2B marketing automation features, which focus on complex lead nurturing, account-based marketing, and integrating marketing activities directly with the sales pipeline and lead generation process.
The platform achieves a single, unified view of the customer by utilizing customer data platform (CDP) technology. It ingests customer data from every touchpoint –website, email, social media, point-of-sale, and CRM –and performs identity resolution. This process matches and merges fragmented identifiers (e.g., an email address, a cookie ID, a mobile device ID) to create one singular, accurate "golden record" for each customer. This unified profile then informs all subsequent marketing, sales, and service actions.
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