What You Need to Know about Salesforce Einstein

If you were to ask ten people to describe artificial intelligence (AI), you’d probably receive ten different answers. AI is complex and it can be difficult for non-techies to grasp why AI would be necessary for business and what, if any, benefit it could provide.

In September 2016, Salesforce launched its own artificial intelligence, called Einstein. That launch has generated many questions from customers about what it is, how to use it, and why they should care. The company has taken steps to try and help users understand Einstein, starting with a business-centric definition of AI. On their company blog, Salesforce describes AI as, “an efficient way for improving how we solve problems in order to arrive at smarter insights, which means understanding our customers and potential customers better while removing the guesswork and process inefficiencies.”

That definition is a helpful starting place, but here are answers to some critical questions that Salesforce users still have about Einstein.

What, Exactly, Is Salesforce Einstein?

Salesforce has marketed Einstein as a set of AI capabilities that allows users to make more accurate predictions for and about their customers, allowing them to anticipate outcomes, make accurate recommendations and automate tasks.

Einstein is embedded in every Salesforce platform, allowing customers to take advantage of AI without having to implement a new program or deploy high-level data analysts or deploy dev-ops in order to make it work.  Salesforce customers have certain features of Einstein built into their platforms, at no additional costs, but some features do require add-ons.

Do Customers Have Control Over Their Data?

Salesforce has promised its customer base that their data is fully protected and that they, the customer, has control over that data, not Salesforce.  They do not share one customer’s data and insights with other customers.

Furthermore, Einstein tells users exactly why it made a specific prediction or recommendation, allowing the user to see which data points were prioritized.  Through user input, the system gets “smarter” over time, learning from the predictions it got right, and the predictions that could have been a little more accurate.

How Complicated Is Salesforce Einstein’s Setup?

Salesforce designed Einstein to be as user-ready and user-friendly as possible. The only setup required is for customers to import their data into Salesforce. Einstein automatically cleans, prepares and analyzes the information to immediately provide insights.

While Einstein was designed to be useful and effective for every user, regardless of their technical skill or expertise, many organizations benefit from employing designated Salesforce developers to help their teams get the most from the platform. If your organization is looking to attract the best and brightest Salesforce talent, contact the recruiting experts at CSS today to learn more about the ways we can help you achieve your staffing goals.