Aviso at Dreamforce 2024: Shaping the Future of Sales with AI Agents

As the curtains close on Dreamforce 2024, the buzz in the world of sales technology is palpable, with generative AI taking center stage as a formidable member of sales teams worldwide. This year's Dreamforce highlighted the transformative capabilities of AI Agents, particularly with Salesforce's introduction of Agentforce before the event. These agents are engineered to augment roles across service, sales, marketing, and commerce, aiming for greater efficiency and enhanced customer satisfaction.

At Aviso, we took this opportunity to showcase our advanced generative AI capabilities and our unique suite of Personalized AI Agents. These agents are designed to automate tasks such as Account Planning, RFP Management, Account Research, and SDR activities, significantly reducing manual effort and democratizing knowledge work across GTM teams.

Aviso at Dreamforce 2024

Evolution of AI: From Copilots to Autonomous Agents

A major theme that emerged out of this event was — Salesforce moving away from the "hit-or-miss" copilot AI systems that required frequent human intervention

Initially, AI systems were designed to function as co-pilots, providing support and assistance to human operators in specific tasks, such as navigating websites or offering recommendations based on set parameters. These early systems were reactive, relying heavily on direct human input and supervision. However, as AI technology advanced, these systems transformed into proactive agents capable of anticipating needs, making decisions, and executing tasks with a high degree of autonomy. 

While Copilot is a single AI assistant, AI agents represent a more versatile framework. Multiple AI agents, each tailored to specific functions, are integrated within one cohesive platform.

Take Aviso’s MIKI, for example, which we launched at NYSE last year, is composed of multiple agents (e.g., Researcher, Text to SQL, SDR, Quality Analyst, Content Generator, Financial Analyst, Business Analyst) and tools (e.g., SQL Query Executor, Email, Aviso Report Fetch, Ask Me Anything, Earnings Call API, News API, Forecast Insights API, Engagement Insights API). These are all seamlessly integrated using an orchestration platform.

The Dawn of a New Era

So the buzz was all about the next wave of AI: turning advanced language models into "agents" that do more than just process data. 

A recent McKinsey report suggests that generative AI agents could soon act as skilled virtual coworkers. Imagine a scenario where human and AI sellers collaborate, each complementing the other's skills to enhance overall team success. 

These AI agents or autonomous software entities are designed to perform tasks independently, aiming to achieve specific goals rather than merely responding to human prompts. For instance, a generative AI agent might provide personalized coaching, subjective assessments, and innovative solutions to problems, effectively boosting the productivity and success of human sellers.

This evolution is part of a broader shift in the digital transformation landscape, moving away from traditional CRM and comprehensive software solutions towards leaner, more integrated technological frameworks. The incumbents like Salesforce and Hubspot, although presently embedded as systems of record, face significant challenges in this new environment. They are rapidly adding AI features to stay competitive, but their legacy architectures can be a hindrance. Major corporations are increasingly abandoning these conventional software models, as evidenced by Klarna and Twitter's decisions to move beyond Salesforce. This shift is propelled by the integration of AI, which allows for a more streamlined and effective tech stack. 

The dawn of a new era, where AI will augment CRMs and replace point solutions, is here. And AI agents will play a crucial role in this transformation by helping optimize sales processes, enhance decision-making, and drive efficiencies across diverse business functions.

Navigating the Challenges with AI Agents

The conversations at Dreamforce 2024 not only showcased technological strides but also emphasized the importance of responsible AI deployment to manage its societal impact effectively. The introduction of AI agents into business ecosystems is a significant advancement but comes with its unique set of challenges. They require meticulous planning, clear objectives, continuous monitoring, and effective management.

Aviso’s AI agents, trained on Small Language Models (SLMs) and supported by vector databases for rapid querying, enhance operational efficiency in tasks such as pipeline building, account planning, and automated prospect research. These agents are key components of Virtual SDR, and RFP Agent, which personalize interactions and automate RFP responses. Utilizing state-of-the-art open-source models, fine-tuned on our customer data, these AI agents operate independently of the scale of customer data, ensuring robust performance across various sales activities.

Aviso's approach to deploying these intelligent systems contrasts sharply with traditional models like Salesforce’s Agentforce and Einstein AI, highlighting our unique capabilities in overcoming these obstacles.

• Tailored Agent Deployment

While Salesforce’s Agentforce creates agents for specific roles like SDRs or service agents, Aviso’s AI agents are versatile and support a broader spectrum of sales roles, from account managers to senior executives. This flexibility ensures that our AI agents are not limited to predefined functions but can adapt to varied and evolving business needs across different levels of the sales hierarchy.

• Dynamic Workflow Integration

Traditional AI systems like Einstein Copilot rely on backend workflows triggered by specific phrases, requiring extensive setup and configuration. In contrast, Aviso’s MIKI system is designed to handle complex user queries without the need for pre-configured workflows. Utilizing a sophisticated chain of thought processes, MIKI interprets these queries to deliver actionable insights and perform relevant actions such as updating CRM, composing emails, or triggering sales cadences, thereby offering a more dynamic and responsive AI agent experience.

• Advanced Machine Learning Models

Aviso leverages its core machine learning models, which have long differentiated the company in the market. These ML models, along with specialized smaller language models, are trained for specific purposes like extracting signals from customer interactions, predicting next quarter deals that could be pulled in, identifying what deals have to be pushed, etc. The outputs from these models are standardized and integrated with other ML models for enhanced insights, such as:

- What are my top deals, and is there any risk?  
- Which of my accounts have had no executive engagement in the last week? 
- How can I achieve my quota? 
- What deals in the next quarter can be pulled into the current quarter?

• Enhanced Reasoning Capabilities

Aviso's AI agents are equipped with advanced features such as Chain of Thought reasoning and Langchain integration. These features enable the agents to not only perform tasks but also understand the process behind them, replicating a human-like reasoning pattern. Chain of Thought reasoning allows for more detailed and complex decision-making, reflecting a deeper understanding of the tasks at hand. Meanwhile, Langchain integration amplifies the agents' ability to connect with obscure data sources, providing businesses with insights that are both deep and broad.

Expanding AI Frontiers with Autonomous AI Agents

The transformative power of AI agents is becoming increasingly clear with their ability to mimic human interactions, manage complex workflows, and adapt to new situations.

However, this ascent isn't without its challenges. Businesses must tread carefully, ensuring that AI agents are equipped with appropriate safeguards and accountability measures to prevent risks and misuse. As organizations adapt to welcome these intelligent agents, they need to invest in strategic planning and human-agent interaction models that prioritize transparency, trust, and collaboration. By doing so, companies can harness the full potential of AI agents, paving the way for an exciting future where technology and human ingenuity work hand in hand.

By contributing to advancements in autonomous agents, natural language processing, and decision-making technologies, we are redefining operational frameworks for businesses globally. This endeavor not only highlights Aviso's pivotal role in advancing AI technology but also reinforces our position as a key influencer on the global stage, pushing the boundaries of what's possible in the AI domain.

Are you ready to revolutionize your sales process with the power of AI Workflows? Book a demo today to learn more about Aviso’s AI agents and how they can transform your business operations for unparalleled efficiency and success.