The Joust of the Month: Microsoft Versus Salesforce

January 29, 2025

These folks don’t seem to see eye to eye: Windows Central tells us, “Microsoft Claps Back at Salesforce—Claims ‘100,000 Organizations’ Had Used Copilot Studio to Create AI Agents by October 2024.” Microsoft’s assertion is in response to jabs from Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, who declares, “Microsoft has disappointed everybody with how they’ve approached this AI world.” To support this allegation, Benioff points to lines from a recent MarketWatch post. A post which, coincidentally, also lauds his company’s success with AI agents. The smug CEO also insists he is receiving complaints about his giant competitor’s AI tools. Writer Kevin Okemwa elaborates:

“Benioff has shared interesting consumer feedback about Copilot’s user experience, claiming customers aren’t finding themselves transformed while leveraging the tool’s capabilities. He added that customers barely use the tool, ‘and that’s when they don’t have a ChatGPT license or something like that in front of them.’ Last year, Salesforce’s CEO claimed Microsoft’s AI efforts are a ‘tremendous disservice’ to the industry while referring to Copilot as the new Microsoft Clippy because it reportedly doesn’t work or deliver value. As the AI agent race becomes more fierce, Microsoft has seemingly positioned itself in a unique position to compete on a level playing field with key players like Salesforce Agentforce, especially after launching autonomous agents and integrating them into Copilot Studio. Microsoft claims over 100,000 organizations had used Copilot Studio to create agents by October 2024. However, Benioff claimed Microsoft’s Copilot agents illustrated panic mode, majorly due to the stiff competition in the category.”

One notable example, writes Okemwa, is Zuckerberg’s vision of replacing Meta’s software engineers with AI agents. Oh, goodie. This anti-human stance may have inspired Benioff, who is second-guessing plans to hire live software engineers in 2025. At least Microsoft still appears to be interested in hiring people. For now. Will that antiquated attitude hold the firm back, supporting Benioff’s accusations?

Mount your steeds. Fight!

Cynthia Murrell, January 29, 2025

Written by Stephen E. Arnold · Filed Under AI, Business strategy, Management, News

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Stephen E. Arnold monitors search, content processing, text mining and related topics from his high-tech nerve center in rural Kentucky. He tries to winnow the goose feathers from the giblets. He works with colleagues worldwide to make this Web log useful to those who want to go "beyond search". Contact him at sa [at] arnoldit.com. His Web site with additional information about search is arnoldit.com.