As consumers, artificial intelligence (AI) has positively changed many facets of our lives—from how we connect with each other, to how we access information, to the way we interact with technology—making every experience smarter, more personalized and productive. And now, we’re beginning to see the same transformation in business as AI is becoming more accessible, driving new efficiencies and creating new opportunities across sales, service, marketing, commerce and more.

We commissioned a report from IDC to dive into how AI will impact CRM—the fastest-growing and soon-to-be largest category of enterprise software—and the findings are fascinating. The research, out today, reports that:

• By 2021, efficiencies driven by AI in CRM will increase global revenues by $1.1 trillion and ultimately lead to more than 800,000 net-new jobs, surpassing those lost to automation.
• The year 2018 is expected to be a landmark year for adoption of AI, with 40 percent of companies saying they will adopt AI within the next two years and 75 percent of enterprise and ISV development projected to include AI or machine-learning in at least one application.
• AI-powered CRM activities will touch almost all functions of an enterprise, including accelerating sales cycles, improving lead generation and qualification, personalizing marketing campaigns and decreasing service case resolution.

With Einstein, Salesforce goal is to empower every business user to leverage AI by embedding it directly where they work across the company’s leading apps for sales, service, marketing, commerce and more. We are leading the effort to democratize AI for CRM, and our customers are among the early adopters who are driving this economic impact. In fact, according to the IDC report, Salesforce’s ecosystem of customers and partners are expected to account for $293 billion of the $1.1 trillion GDP impact and more than 150,000 of net-new jobs by the year 2021. 

AI for CRM will soon become a global economic engine for new technologies, business models and jobs. Yet, for AI to be truly effective, it is imperative that everyone have access and the opportunity to learn skills needed to be successful in this new age of intelligence. With Trailhead, Salesforce’s free, interactive, guided and gamified learning platform, anyone can develop skills that empower them to land a job in the workplace of the future. With the AI Basics trail, as well as Einstein trails, anyone can learn the AI and advance their skillsets.

The future of AI is bright and we’re looking forward to the new opportunities it will bring.

For full size infographic, click here.

1 Source: IDC, “A Trillion-Dollar Boost: The Economic Impact of AI on Customer Relationship Management,” commissioned by Salesforce, May 2017