Here’s our rundown of last week’s top stories. Want The Picklist delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up now!
Bret Taylor vs. Marc Benioff: The Agent War We Should Have Seen Coming
Once Marc Benioff’s right-hand man, Bret Taylor pioneered Salesforce alongside Benioff as the Co-CEO from 2021 up until 2023. It was in 2023 that Taylor started Sierra – a conversational AI platform – and it’s this movement that is slowly beginning to gain traction in the tech space.
Sierra aims to simplify customer service with autonomous AI agents, directly challenging Salesforce’s own Agentforce product.
While Benioff has been bullish on AI, pushing Agentforce hard across the Salesforce ecosystem, Taylor’s alternative vision signals a potential divergence in strategy – one focused on building from the ground up rather than retrofitting AI into an existing platform.
Although it isn’t clear yet as to how this full story will play out, Salesforce has the scale, Taylor’s Sierra has the focus – and that could give it an edge.
Check out the original post here.
Salesforce Announces 6% Pricing Increase and Unlimited Agentforce Licenses
Thought you finally had a handle on Agentforce’s pricing? Well, think again…
On June 18, Salesforce announced a 6% price increase across its core products starting August 2025, marking the second hike in just over a year. Alongside this, Salesforce is also including unlimited Agentforce licenses for Enterprise and Unlimited customers, signaling its continued push to drive the adoption of its AI-powered agent platform.
It’s a strategic move through and through – Salesforce wants to embed AI agents deeper into customer workflows by removing licensing barriers. By bundling Agentforce access into core tiers, it not only boosts usage but also locks more customers into the ecosystem. But there’s no guarantee that people will be on board with this pricing rendition either…
Check out the original post here.
Why the Salesforce Data Loader Breach Is Still a Risk for Admins
Earlier in June, it was revealed that hackers had stolen large amounts of data by tricking employees at companies into installing a modified version of Salesforce Data Loader. Although the issue has since been resolved, the problem is far from being over.
Despite Salesforce issuing a fix and new warning messages, the old Data Loader versions are still widely used, meaning many organizations remain exposed. For admins who rely on this tool daily, the risk is ongoing – especially in environments where older versions are used out of habit or lack of awareness.
This implies that there are still Salesforce orgs that have the malicious app installed and are vulnerable to this attack, and proactive steps like auditing your connected apps, reviewing mitigations, and seeking necessary training should be taken to stay protected.
Check out the original post here.
Salesforce Marketing Cloud Next (vs. MCE, MCAE, MCG, MCA)
This year’s Salesforce Connections event was home to the announcement of Marketing Cloud Next, but its announcement has caused some confusion. Is this just Marketing Cloud renamed? Is it a new product? Why should you be excited about it?
Essentially, Marketing Cloud Next is a culmination of what Salesforce has been working towards to converge Marketing Cloud Engagement (MCE), Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (MCAE), Marketing Cloud Growth (MCG), and Marketing Cloud Advanced (MCA). Built on Data Cloud, the rebuilt personalization engine means that rich agent activity can be utilized across all of the Salesforce product suite – not just confined to marketing.
This new offering collates multiple agentic offerings (no surprise there) and aims to operate as an “all-in-one” platform unifying ExactTarget, Pardot, Datarama, and Evergage.
Check out the original post here.
Salesforce’s Informatica Gamble: Can It Really Work Alongside MuleSoft?
By now, you’ve probably heard about Salesforce’s Informatica acquisition – it’s been a long time coming. But now that the news is out, eyebrows are being raised, as it brings a second integration solution into an ecosystem already served by MuleSoft.
Essentially, the deal aims to make data integration easier for Salesforce customers, especially those who want to activate Data Cloud but lack the resources to manage complex APIs. Informatica’s drag-and-drop simplicity is appealing for less technical teams, offering a faster, low-code way to ingest and unify data.
It’s unclear now as to how this move will impact MuleSoft, which has been positioned as Salesforce’s primary integration tool for years. Some worry that it creates confusion or even competition within Salesforce’s own product stack, and while the partnership could help Data Cloud gain adoption, it may also signal that MuleSoft isn’t meeting all customer needs.
Check out the original post here.
Why 75% of Salesforce Admins Are Getting AI Certified
AI is rapidly reshaping the Salesforce ecosystem and beyond – this much is already known. But did you know that 75% of Salesforce Admins are getting AI certified in order to stay ahead in this revolutionary time?
In Salesforce Ben’s latest Salesforce Administrator survey, this was one of the most notable stats, showing not only the data to prove that the AI revolution is happening as we speak but also that professionals are quickly catching on that they need to get stuck in to stay relevant.
In this video, we explore why AI skills are becoming essential, how certifications can boost your career, and what it means for the future of Salesforce professionals, so if you need the push to get AI certified, this is it.
Check out the full video here.
