Salesforce is upping their game in the race to incorporate the latest generative AI tools into their products. Announced during Salesforce Connections on June 7, Marketing GPT and Commerce GPT are coming to Salesforce customers using Marketing Cloud and Commerce Cloud.
The features are gonna make it easier for marketers to reach the right audiences and generate emails, and commerce teams will create better shopping experiences and customer journeys. But, the best part is that both Marketing GPT and Commerce GPT can be connected to Data Cloud — meaning the tools can do their thing using data from any source.
History of Salesforce in the GPT game
Both Marketing GPT and Commerce GPT are dependent on Einstein GPT, which is the generative AI version of Einstein.
For a little back story, Salesforce Einstein is the machine learning model the company rolled out in 2016 to analyze large sets of CRM data. So, Salesforce has been on the AI train for a while already.
Einstein can do things like predict which customers or sales leads are likely to buy by looking at data from a bunch of sources. Or it can analyze data to determine the best time to send emails to your lists.
You can get it in Marketing Cloud Engagement and Account Engagement, Sales Cloud, Commerce Cloud, Experience Cloud, and Service Cloud, along with other platform tools.
In March 2023, Salesforce released Einstein GPT, which combines the machine learning model Salesforce developed with the chatbot from generative AI company OpenAI. (On a side note, Salesforce is going heavy on the AI devotion and has already invested $250 million into other AI technology companies.)
So, how are Marketing GPT and Commerce GPT related to Einstein GPT?
Both Marketing GPT and Commerce GPT are powered by Einstein GPT — the AI-powered set of solutions that marries Salesforce AI with OpenAI’s technology. They are both iterations of Einstein GPT that are tailored for the respective clouds. Stay tuned because we’re seeing GPT features getting infused across all Salesforce clouds in addition to these two.
What capabilities do Marketing GPT and Commerce GPT have?
Both of the sets of features combine generative AI capabilities, which use data from OpenAI, with Salesforce Data Cloud. That means you can use customer profiles in Data Cloud that include data from any source in real time. And while you don’t have to use Data Cloud to take advantage of the Salesforce GPT features, you’ll definitely be able to do more if you have it.
So, what exactly can you do with Marketing GPT and Commerce GPT?
Marketing GPT Capabilities
We’re really gonna be cooking now by giving the people super valuable experiences through email and content marketing. We already have Einstein features in our marketing back pocket, but now we’re throwing GPT into the overall mix. That means we can use conversational language prompts to get Marketing Cloud to do things for us.
I mean, it’s not going to organize all those random newsletter graphics you’ve been uploading to Account Engagement without using a naming convention (yet???). But it will do things like analyze the data you have and use that information to predict the best ways to improve your emails.
Source: Salesforce
Here’s what Marketing GPT can do (so far):
- Segment Creation | generally available Oct. 2023
This is a whole new fancy way to build your audience segmentation strategy. You can tell Marketing Cloud to create audience segments for you using natural language prompts, and it will help you to improve your targeting using AI recommendations and audience data that’s in Data Cloud.
- Email Content Creation | generally available Feb. 2024
Ok, so I’m gonna have to see this one in action, but Salesforce said this feature can “reduce writing workload” by creating auto-generated emails. It can potentially be a big one for marketing teams that have the content but stumble with their email marketing.
- Segment Intelligence for Data Cloud | generally available Oct. 2023
This adds a fancier twist for tracking ROI. Segment intelligence combines first-party audience data, revenue data, and paid media data to show you exactly how your campaigns are doing in relation to your audience segments.
- Rapid Identity Resolution, Segmentation, and Engagement | generally available Aug. – Oct. 2023
Salesforce is going heavy on the ‘transform at the speed of your customer’ theme. The mouthful that is this feature basically keeps Data Cloud segments updated in real time so messaging is always relevant and timely.
- Typeface content platform | GA date not given yet
Using a third-party content generator called Typeface, marketers can create branded visual assets (like email graphics or social cards) inside Salesforce. Stay tuned for this one cuz it could be huge.
These are the features that Salesforce outlined during the announcement, but we’re sure the list will grow with each Salesforce release.
Commerce GPT Capabilities
We’re also getting a bunch of generative AI features for B2C companies that use Salesforce tools for commerce. These are especially cool because ecommerce customers can be a fickle bunch. Getting them exactly what they want when they want it makes all the difference.
Source: Salesforce
Here’s what Commerce GPT can do (so far):
- Goals-Based Commerce | generally available Feb. 2024
This is one of those a-ha tools for businesses with big growth goals. It unites Data Cloud, Einstein, and Flow to lay out everything commerce companies need to do to reach their goals. Users give it a goal, like increase average order value (AOV) by XX%, and it gives recommendations on how to get there. - Dynamic Product Descriptions | generally available July 2023
Okay, so we’ve seen how serving up product recommendations based on customer preferences has shaken things up for commerce companies. But now we’re gonna be taking it even further by introducing dynamic copy capabilities for product descriptions. It could be a serious game changer. - Commerce Concierge | generally available Feb. 2024
Not all of the Commerce GPT features are specifically for Salesforce users. Online shoppers can use Commerce Concierge to find what they need using language prompts across channels from online stores to SMS messaging.
Comments on generative AI + Salesforce from the peanut gallery
My two cents: My mind immediately goes to the content creation features of Marketing GPT. There is SO MUCH copywriting that goes into marketing. And we’ve seen a whole bunch of copywriting GPT tools pop up in the last year, like the free Stensul email toolkit or paid ones like GrammarlyGo. Some people are naysaying the tools in fear that they will replace copywriting jobs, but I don’t think that’s the case at all.
In my experience, leaner marketing teams rarely have dedicated copywriters. Those responsibilities are usually lumped into other marcom roles. I see the tools giving marketers the ability to edit copy instead of writing from scratch. Then, they can have bandwidth to dig deeper with their messaging and present higher quality work that hits their audience in the feels. And being able to do that inside Salesforce just sweetens the whole deal.
I opened the floor to my teammates about what they think about Marketing GPT and Commerce GPT, and here’s what they had to say.
Cate Godley
“I’m excited to see how Marketing GPT can help marketers to craft better subject lines and calls to action to increase engagement with content. There are so many ways to use generative AI to inspire creativity in our marketing efforts, and I can’t wait to see how people are using these tools in new and exciting ways.”
Courtney Cerniglia
“As marketers, we’re constantly asked what content is resonating most with customers, what action will increase likelihood to purchase, and how we identify our highest value leads. Marketing GPT is going to help prove our assumptions and give us the data in real-time, across platforms, so we can quickly pivot and personalize experiences for customers.”
Mike Creuzer
“There have been a few inflection points where human knowledge growth hockey sticked. Gutenberg press took centuries, computers took decades, the internet took years, and this generative AI appears to be taking… months?
According to the 2023 Connections Keynote, there were 1 million users in two months for ChatGPT (if I remember correctly).
We are at the start of the next great change in pace of human knowledge and communication.
2023 is the year where AI is no longer hidden away behind RFID badged doors and is widely available to EVERYBODY in a usable, general way.
In business, AI has been baked into the tools that we use for many years now. But it’s been a one trick pony. It’s now anything WE want it to be, not just what our vendors built.”
Continue the conversation
What are your thoughts on Salesforce and generative AI? Any hot takes? Tell us about it in the comments, or reach out to team Sercante to see how the tools fit into your overall marketing and operations strategy.
