Best pricing model for AI? Work in progress, says Salesforce

A senior Salesforce exec says users need to be flexible about AI pricing models while vendors determine which one works best. Speaking at a conference hosted by investment bankers Jefferies, Bill Patterson, Salesforce executive veep for CRM applications, said any vendor who thinks they have it "all figured out is kidding …

[Doctor Syntax]

"A senior Salesforce exec says users need to be flexible about AI pricing models while vendors determine which one works best."

Does that mean easy to bend over?

[Tim99]

Can we ask how much they are going to pay us for all our lovely data that they have used?

[Anonymous Coward]

It's just a new feature

As Salesforce is no doubt due to find out, as people see through the glaring weaknesses in Einstein, AI is just a feature and there are a lot of options out there

[Ace2]

Sometimes the outcomes are debatable!

[Omnipresent]

databased

Good chance salesforce has a large database on you all by now, and are very much into being evil for profit. There could be a problem if they start implementing their own AI tho. it could bring their own business to a holt. As long as they talk others into buying it tho...

"I am evil! Yes I am......" Metallica

[[e-mail]]

What's really going on here?

Is Salesforce simply trying to find a pricing formula that customers will buy in large enough quantities to break even?

[MatthewSt]

Re: What's really going on here?

Considering they've called it a high margin opportunity I think it's more likely they're working out how much they can squeeze us for.

"Our AI agent may cost you $20k/year, but it's still cheaper than a human"

[David Hicklin]

$2 charge per AI agent conversation

How much ??

[Roland6]

Re: $2 charge per AI agent conversation

And the laugh is, this cost will increase year-on-year, something companies will have little control over (See Broadcom and VMware), whereas staff salaries are much more predicable. Once you have committed to AI, you have committed to every increasing OPEX with little or no means to reduce it, in the way you can reduce staff costs.