For decades, screens, keyboards, and structured applications have shaped our relationship with technology. People learned how to interact with computers and mobile devices through software-defined user interfaces, shaping how they lived, worked, and played. 

But that’s about to change. 

We’re at the beginning of a major transformation in which autonomous AI agents will become the new user interface.

Adam Evans, EVP and GM of AI, Salesforce

We’re at the beginning of a major transformation in which autonomous AI agents will become the new user interface, improving experiences for business and consumer users alike. Indeed, users will soon interact with agents that orchestrate tasks for them, accessing the right data and applications behind the scenes. The implications for productivity, efficiency, and enterprise software‌ are profound. CEOs, CIOs, developers, and partners should pay close attention.  

From apps to agents: the shift in user experience

Historically, every business function relied on dedicated apps for sales, marketing, service, and operations. But what if workers no longer had to open multiple apps to complete their work? Instead, they could simply tell an AI agent what they need, and agents would handle the rest.

Imagine, for example, a sales rep preparing for a meeting. Today, they might check their CRM, search their inbox for past communications, pull data from an analytics dashboard, and manually piece together insights. Instead, an AI agent embedded in Slack will proactively retrieve all relevant data, generate a briefing document, and even suggest personalized talking points‌ — ‌all without the rep ever leaving their primary work environment. Orchestrated AI agents would also eliminate the time-wasting “swivel chair” problem, where customer service reps lose time switching between systems to retrieve data, verify details, and process requests. Instead of bouncing between apps, reps would enter a prompt in a single interface and would then work behind the scenes‌ — ‌gathering data and even acting to speed up resolutions. 

This transition doesn’t mean applications or the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model will become obsolete. If anything, they’ll be even more powerful. Agents become the front-end interface and go-between with the apps, which continue to provide the necessary data, logic, and workflow automation. The difference is that humans no longer need to navigate those systems themselves. AI agents handle that complexity. They’re also more effective with their LLMs able to tap into ‌data, metadata, workflows, and apps from a deeply unified platform.

An orchestrated multi-agent approach

At a technical level, three types of agents operate within a multi-tier system designed for seamless enterprise integration: primary, orchestration, and specialized. 

• Primary or user-facing agents, embedded in platforms like Slack, serve as the user’s direct interface, making interactions intuitive and conversational. 
• Orchestration agents, which could also be the primary agents, work behind-the-scenes to manage task delegation and workflow coordination, ensuring that the right requests are routed to the right systems. These orchestrators relay commands‌ and intelligently prioritize and sequence actions based on user intent, context, and business logic. 
• Specialized agents autonomously handle execution, integrating with APIs from CRMs, ERPs, and commerce platforms to retrieve structured and unstructured data, analyze it, and act accordingly. 

This coordinated multi-agent architecture relies upon a modular, API-driven ecosystem where AI-driven workflows can be layered onto existing enterprise systems without requiring companies to rewrite core applications. This shift changes how enterprise software is built and maintained. Rather than designing static user interfaces, they must think about how their systems and agents expose APIs, data, and metadata in ways that maximize AI usability, ensuring that agents can access, interpret, and act on it efficiently within an evolving enterprise environment.

We’re truly creating a world where businesses, workers, processes, sub-agents, and departments, are all connected through multiple agents and orchestrators so that the interface is whatever we need it to be for whatever the use case and for whatever person is involved. Having one deeply unified platform, built on a single  code base with access to all of an organization’s data and workflows, is vital for that.

A deeply unified platform unleashes AI

That’s because agents need a foundation that allows them to access and orchestrate business processes effectively. AI agents must retrieve and understand enterprise data in real time, understand workflows across multiple applications, enforce company policies, security, and compliance, and provide auditability and transparency into decisions.

A unified platform that combines AI capabilities, a centralized data foundation, and seamless application interoperability ensures that agents operate with high trust and efficiency. This is why Salesforce has focused on delivering a deeply unified platform that brings together Agentforce, Data Cloud, and Customer 360 applications. And with MuleSoft, organizations can extend the deeply unified platform to any third-party system, enabling autonomous AI agents to take action outside of Salesforce. By aligning these core technologies, we enable AI agents to execute complex business functions, ensuring that automation improves productivity while maintaining enterprise-grade control and security.

Consider a customer service scenario where a support agent receives a complex inquiry. Instead of switching between multiple systems to check order status, pull up contract details, and start a resolution, a primary AI agent steps in to take the request. It works with an orchestration agent to delegate tasks to specialized agents. 

These trusted agents retrieve information from commerce, CRM, and service apps, analyze relevant data and metadata, and deliver real-time recommendations. They even suggest how the agent might approach the customer, adapting to the company’s tone of voice, managerial guidelines, and the agent’s personal communication style. As a result, employees are better prepared and don’t have to spend as much time on tedious or repetitive research, freeing them to focus on higher-value work. 

Businesses like Indeed have already discovered the value of using Agentforce in such a way. The world’s largest job site, Indeed is deploying autonomous AI agents to help people find jobs while advancing its goals, reducing time-to-hire by 50% and helping 30 million individuals facing barriers to employment secure jobs by fiscal year 2030. 

1-800Accountant uses Agentforce to process up to 90% of incoming requests, automatically answering questions about tax return statuses, and freeing team members to focus on more complex tasks.

1-800Accountant uses Agentforce to process up to 90% of incoming requests, automatically answering questions about tax return statuses, and freeing team members to focus on more complex tasks.

Adam Evans, EVP and GM of AI, Salesforce

Even Salesforce is using Agentforce for its help.salesforce.com page in what could be the world’s largest agentic AI deployment to date. Agentforce is now handling about 32,000 customer conversations per week with an automated resolution rate of 83%. Importantly, costly escalations to humans have been cut in half, with only 1% of customers needing to speak to a human. Routine tasks like password resets and generic product questions are now autonomously handled by Agentforce.

What to consider

The shift to AI agents as the primary user interface is happening. As such, forward-thinking business leaders must prepare for this new reality by asking:

1. How will AI agents redefine the way our teams work? Identify areas where AI-driven automation can have the greatest impact, from customer service to sales and operations.
2. Do we have the right data and platform strategy? AI agents need structured, connected, and accessible data to function effectively. Prioritizing solutions built on a deeply unified data foundation is a must.
3. How will this affect our enterprise software investments? As the SaaS model evolves, companies should evaluate how pricing structures align with agent-driven interactions and overall value.

The future is now

AI isn’t just enhancing software‌ — ‌it’s redefining how we interact with technology. Intelligent agents are becoming the new interface, driving efficiency and optimizing the enterprise at every level.

For CEOs and CIOs, the choice is clear: Embrace this shift for a massive competitive edge or fall behind in a world where automation and intelligence set the pace.

Go deeper:

• Learn why it takes a unified platform to unlock AI
• Read how Salesforce is deploying Agentforce — on itself
• Find out why digital labor is transforming the enterprise

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