Salesforce launches AI assistant across its apps including Slack and Tableau

NEW YORK: Enterprise software maker Salesforce (CRM.N) on Tuesday launched a generative AI tool that would be available across its suite of apps from instant messaging service Slack to data visualization tool Tableau and can be tailored by its clients to meet their needs.

The assistant, called Einstein Copilot, can summarize video calls, deliver personalized answers to customer questions and generate emails for marketing campaigns, among others, the company said ahead of its Dreamforce conference this week.

AI copilots function like a virtual assistant which can set reminders, schedule meetings and also create content while a Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) uses human language to answer questions and produce content requested by the user.

Salesforce says its Einstein Copilot can tap customer and enterprise data available on its Data Cloud to generate appropriate responses. Users will be able to embed the assistant into their websites or integrate them with messaging platforms such as Slack and Meta Platform's (META.O) WhatsApp.

The San Francisco-based company had launched the Einstein GPT genAI product in March. The company also doubled its venture capital fund for generative AI startups to $500 million in June.

The Marc Benioff-led company is the latest among a wave of tech firms, including Microsoft (MSFT.O) and Alphabet (GOOGL.O), that are looking to cash in on the growing popularity of generative AI since OpenAI's ChatGPT went viral last year.