It’s 2026, and Salesforce Ben is making predictions about what the year will look like for Salesforce and the ecosystem. Our first such prediction is that Salesforce will get a growth boost from Agentforce, which will continue to see steady adoption – and if this does not happen, the company will be in a fair amount of danger, having staked a lot on AI.
In Salesforce’s Q3 results, published in December, we saw Agentforce and Data 360 (formerly Data Cloud) hailed as “momentum drivers” by CEO Marc Benioff, hitting nearly $1.4B in annual recurring revenue (ARR), representing a 114% year-over-year (Y/Y) gain. Bearing this in mind, is it ludicrous to expect a 100% boost to $2.8B in ARR by next year?
A lot of bold claims are made about AI generally – and the Salesforce arena is no exception. So, let’s take a look at what exactly we think will happen with Agentforce adoption this year, and what it means for the ecosystem.
“Even Mediocre Agentforce Adoption Would Do Wonders”
Salesforce MVP and Founder at Flow Canvas Academy & Salesforce Break, Andy Engin Utkan, said that the AI “shovel makers” – chipmakers and data centers – are the ones making money right now, while everybody else, including Salesforce, is spending money, and trying to figure out a way to charge this to clients, which they have “not quite figured out yet”.
“The clients are in a kind of resistance mode. They are trying to figure out what to do, and they know they have to do something,” Andy said. “The technology is undeniable. It’s already in our lives. So we know it’s going to be part of everything, but we have not really figured out how it’s going to work out.”
He added that he does not expect a hockey stick-like incline, but at this point, many investors have “lost their belief” in the company and the stock.
Andy added: “They are a little bit lost as to where they stand in terms of supporting CRM or not. But Salesforce stock right now is, because of that, quite undervalued, and I would expect even a mediocre adoption of Agentforce and some of the newer technologies to do wonders for the investors.
“It’s going to increase the perception of the company in the stock market, and I think they are well-positioned to do that. I would expect that to happen this year.”
This year will likely see a positive trend, but it’s going to be slow – which is all Salesforce really needs at the moment, we predict.
Agentforce and Data 360 remaining “momentum drivers” would be terrific news for the company. If we look at the $1.4B in annual recurring revenue (ARR) from these two, this represented a 114% year-over-year (YOY) gain. If this momentum continues, with, say, another 100% increase, that means $2.8B ARR – which is nothing to be sniffed at.
Agentforce adoption could arguably experience a “snowball effect” following a year of fairly slow growth, but let’s not get carried away – this idea might benefit from a touch of skepticism.
What if It Doesn’t Pick Up?
Enterprises often prioritize stability and consistency, and Agentforce’s potential for hallucinations and errors – even if that potential is a single percentage point – can be very off-putting, especially for regulated industries like finance and healthcare.
There isn’t really a huge advantage to be gained – at least when weighed against potential risks – of being the first major enterprise in your field to adopt an unproven new tool.
It’s perhaps a little cliché and repetitive to talk about it at this point, but nonetheless, when talking about AI, we should always bear in mind the B-word (that word being “bubble”), which should temper any overly optimistic claims about AI adoption.
The Q3 results revealed Salesforce has closed 18,500 Agentforce deals, more than 9,500 of which are paid. That means that, of Salesforce’s 150,000 customers, 12% are on an Agentforce deal, 6% of which are paid.
Maintaining current momentum, we could see $2.8B in ARR from Agentforce and Data 360. While a 100% increase in Agentforce adoption might seem a grandiose claim at first, it’s actually quite conservative, all things considered.
With Agentforce quite clearly front-and-center of all of Salesforce’s marketing, conferences, and attention right now, hitting the target of 12% of customers on a paid deal for this product hardly seems a lofty goal – even if we bear in mind that this is, on paper, an impressive 100% increase.
Plus, Agentforce will likely see many more ramped versions this year, having already undergone several large updates from its beginnings as simply ‘Agentforce’, then to ‘Agentforce 2.0‘, then ‘Agentforce 2dx‘, ‘Agentforce 3‘, and now ‘Agentforce 360‘, announced at Dreamforce ’25.
As the product improves in quality, it’s arguably fair to speculate that this will have a positive effect on its adoption – which, as Andy pointed out, would “do wonders” for investors.
But conversely, if Agentforce does not start to accelerate growth for Salesforce, the company will be in significant danger. Salesforce has undeniably staked a lot on Agentforce, and, as we keep saying, needs to show serious results, not just promises about what the future holds.
Final Thoughts
We’re not predicting explosive growth for Agentforce, despite the grabby ‘100%’ figure, but, importantly, growth does not need to be explosive to matter. Steady adoption, as we have been seeing throughout 2025, could improve Salesforce’s revenue and investor confidence, which is what the company arguably needs right now.
Even “mediocre” Agentforce adoption could, in the eyes of investors, highlight Salesforce as an AI-forward company with momentum, increasing valuation, which in itself could have a positive snowball effect.
With only 6% of customers currently on paid Agentforce plans, a move to 12% is arguably quite achievable. Not only that, but it would represent major ARR growth.
