Salesforce unveils disruptive AI-backed solutions that can create personalised content in a single click

• Salesforce unveils Marketing GPT and Commerce GPT. The new marketing solution will enable marketers to automatically generate personalised emails, smarter audience segments, and marketing journeys.
• With Commerce GPT, brands will be able to deliver personalised shopping experiences and offers that adapt to their customers’ needs, using GPT-powered dynamic buying journeys.
• Research shows that marketers expect generative AI to save them over five hours of work per week – the equivalent of over a month per year.

The chief executive officer of a large services company in India was once asked why emails to customers were not personalised and his answer was that to personalise content at scale was a problem.The company continues to send “Dear Customer” emails even today. Artificial intelligence and GPT may be able to solve many of these problems that large customer centric companies face.

Global CRM major Salesforce today unveiled two such products that would enable personalisation content at scale for internet companies. With technology companies rapidly embracing language models like GPT (generative pre-trained transformer), the problem of personalisation at scale can easily be solved.

Artificial intelligence has been around for a while and companies have used these intelligent tools to engage with their consumers better backed by their own historical data. But with GPT, translating data intelligence into action is possible. Salesforce is of the view that one of the many problems that internet companies have faced has been around creating personalised content at scale and coming up with promotional material quickly that is suited to different customer segments.

At its annual jamboree Salesforce Connections this year, the CRM company unveiled solutions aimed at solving many of these problems. Its key offerings include: Marketing GPT, Commerce GPT, Segment Intelligence For Data Cloud, Rapid Identity Resolution and Segmentation and Commerce Concierge Experience. All these are aimed at internet companies that want to better serve their customers across channels.

According Salesforce’s research, marketers estimate generative AI will save them over five hours of work per week – the equivalent of over a month per year*. Yet, while they see the technology as transformative to their role, marketers also note the need for human oversight, trusted customer data, and training as critical to successfully use it.

Marketing can be tedious because it requires companies to analyse enormous amounts of data before they can create promotional literature. Given that Salesforce already offers cloud services where customer data sits, on top of this offering it has layered its AI capabilities to personalise content and experiences for customers. Addressing the media, Stephen Hammond, EVP and GM Cloud Services, said: “We are excited to be launching Marketing GPT, which is our new AI connected system that connects AI to data to CRM using the world’s most trusted CRM system. This system will bring together the combination of AI from our historical systems and machine learning to build deep personalisation at scale. This will be combined with natural language that will enable marketers to interface with AI in a manner they can create content and engage with their consumers.”

Internet companies are now seeing a lot of momentum in the connected journey of customers – from marketing to commerce to service. Artificial intelligence is today enabling companies to connect with consumers at scale by personalising experiences. Salesforce has been in a position to enable companies to transition from software to cloud and now it is pioneering the shift from cloud to AI, said Hammond.

The reason why Salesforce is able to create a system that can belt out personalised content so fast is because of the underlying system across Salesforce that stores its customers’ data on marketing, commerce, service and sales systems. In one system you get a full picture of the consumer thanks to the data sitting on the cloud. For companies looking at using these AI enabled products of Salesforce, enough measures have been taken to protect consumer data, which will never be shared with third parties.

Salesforce has also launched Rapid Identity Resolution and Segmentation. Consumers like engaging with brands through a variety of devices. Salesforce’s Rapid Identity Resolution and Segmentation will allow users to identify customers across devices and yet offer personalised experiences. This rapid identity identification segmentation allows systems using AI to be able to discover users.

One of the hardest challenges while creating content is the ability to create the right kind of content that can engage the broad audience. Coming up with subject lines and body content at scale has been a challenge. Now using GPT, companies can bring in assisted experience for marketers who can engage consumers by using AI to create content at scale.

Salesforce has a new offering that will help companies achieve their business goals faster with the help of Commerce GPT. Michael Affronti, SVP and GM Cloud Commerce at Salesforce, announced the launch of Commerce GPT platform. He said: “We have rebuilt our commerce cloud with AI, data and CRM technology. Customers will simply need to type in the instruction that they want to liquidate an outdated product line and Commerce GPT will understand the intent and will recommend the store front designs, merchandising set-ups and promotions inside the marketing cloud.”

Salesforce is also launching a Commerce Concierge Experience, which is an application experience built on top of Commerce GPT that will deliver a sort of lifelike white glove concierge experience using bot technology and generative technology to help our customers drive one to one personalisation experience when their customers reach out on almost any messaging channel. According to Affronti, “It is the next platform for customer interaction when it comes to brands engaging with consumers.”

Artificial Intelligence may be the next big disruptor in business, but at each of these steps human intervention will be needed. However, digital marketing companies need to beware as GPT can create content much faster at scale.