Every Halloween, we tell stories about haunted houses, restless spirits, and things that go bump in the night. So, how does this relate to AI? Well, has anyone ever told you about some of the tricks and treats associated with creating an Agentforce Agent? You may have already been there, no implementation plan, just you and AI, vibing it out, trying to work together: the result could well be your very own horror story!
Like any powerful spell, I know AI has incredible potential, but if conjured carelessly, it has (b)room to backfire. So, in a bid to make this Halloween filled with more treats than tricks, I am going to walk through some of the issues that I have faced along my Agentforce journey and provide you with some bite-sized treats to help you get out of your AI nightmare.
Take the time to read this monstrous tale so that your customers can have a spooktacular experience using Salesforce Agentforce.
You already know this, but I’ll say it again. Your Agent is only as strong as the data you feed it. If Salesforce is full of duplicates, outdated records, or missing context, the Agent could become more Dr Jekyll than Mr Hyde. Unleashing a monster that leads customers astray. Wrong information, time wasting, and going around in circles may lead you to some very irate customers; I’d say we’d probably want to avoid that.
You have to make sure records are fresh, accurate, and trustworthy. This is no mean feat, that’s for sure; there is unfortunately no magic wand. However, once your data is clean and your processes are in place to maintain the integrity, the hard work is done.
And if you need a little extra hand to get you on your way, look to tools like: Informatica Data Quality and Profiling, Tableau Prep, Datadog and an old favourite of ours, Talend.
Once you have cleaned up your data, the next step is to make sure that it’s backed up and secure. Luckily enough, we have your back here, too, with our Salesforce Security Data backup blog.
Training is not just for the gym. Without proper training, your AI agent might sound robotic, vague, or worse, it might drink that potion and start hallucinating! As a result, it becomes a phantom presence, frustrating customers and yourself with irrelevant or confusing responses.
Continuously refine prompts, tone, and knowledge sources. Scooby didn’t scupper all those monsters without some solid training from Shaggy and the gang – well, that and a few scooby snacks.
Instead of Freddy v’s Jason, think Bot v Agent. If a process is repetitive and rigid, then the FreddyBot wins; conversely, if it requires autonomous reasoning, planning and action, then Agent Jason is your man.
Before handing the mantle over to the Terminator, consider that we aren’t quite there yet. My tip is to let AI handle the heavy work but pass it over to a human for that all-important final check, especially when the results really have an impact. Think more of a partnership between Dr Frankenstein and the Monster rather than letting the monster loose on its own.
AI doesn’t have to be a living nightmare. Sure, training an Agent can sometimes leave you wondering if you are having schizophrenic episodes and can also, at times, make you think you’ll never be able to battle all those demons, but the good news is it’s actually there to help you with those very same issues – Come, Igor, we have work to do!
So, remember, building a Salesforce Agentforce Agent without preparation can unleash more tricks than treats. But with clean data, thoughtful design, and a lot of patience, you can harness the power of AI to create a magical experience for your customers.
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