Top Salesforce Trends to Watch: Predictions for 2026
As we look ahead to 2026, Salesforce continues evolving at pace—and organisations that anticipate these changes will be best positioned to leverage them. At Purus Consultants, we track emerging trends closely so we can guide clients strategically.
Here are our predictions for the Salesforce trends that will shape 2026.
1. Multi-Agent Orchestration Becomes Mainstream
2025 saw the launch of Agentforce with individual agents handling specific functions. By 2026, we predict sophisticated multi-agent orchestration will become common, with multiple specialised agents collaborating to handle complex workflows.
What This Means:
Rather than a single customer service agent, you might have:
– A routing agent determining intent and directing to specialists
– Product-specific agents with deep expertise in particular offerings
– An escalation agent managing handoffs to humans
– An analytics agent providing real-time insights to other agents
These agents will communicate, share context, and coordinate actions—creating intelligent systems greater than the sum of their parts.
Implications:
Organisations should design agent architectures with orchestration in mind from the start. Building isolated agents now may require significant rework to enable collaboration later.
2. Hyperautomation Extends Beyond Salesforce
Agentforce currently operates primarily within the Salesforce ecosystem. By 2026, we expect hyperautomation connecting Salesforce agents with external systems, legacy applications, and third-party platforms to become the norm.
What This Means:
Agents won’t just update Salesforce records—they’ll:
– Trigger processes in ERP systems
– Fetch information from data warehouses
– Interact with external APIs and microservices
– Control business processes spanning multiple platforms
– Coordinate with agents from other vendors
MuleSoft’s integration with Agentforce will be crucial here, providing connectivity to virtually any system.
Implications:
Integration architecture becomes even more critical. Organisations need clear API strategies, robust authentication and authorisation, and careful thinking about how agents should interact with external systems.
3. AI in Customer Support Reaches Maturity
The early hype around AI customer support is giving way to mature implementations that genuinely work. By 2026, we predict 50%+ of routine customer service queries will be fully resolved by AI without human intervention.
What This Means:
AI support will be:
– Reliably accurate for common scenarios
– Sophisticated enough to handle moderately complex queries
– Emotionally intelligent, detecting sentiment and adapting tone
– Seamlessly integrated with human support for escalations
– Measurably cost-effective with clear ROI
Customer expectations will shift—instant, 24/7 AI support becomes the baseline, and human support is reserved for genuinely complex situations.
Implications:
Support teams need to upskill for higher-complexity work. Training budgets should reflect this shift. Organisations that haven’t invested in AI support will face a competitive disadvantage.
4. Salesforce Becomes an AI Development Platform
Currently, most organisations use Salesforce’s pre-built AI features. By 2026, we predict Salesforce will be a mainstream platform for building custom AI applications beyond standard CRM use cases.
What This Means:
Developers will:
– Build custom AI models on the Salesforce platform
– Create industry-specific AI applications
– Integrate external LLMs and AI services
– Deploy AI-powered workflows unique to their business
Salesforce’s low-code tools combined with pro-code flexibility position it as an AI development environment, not just a CRM with AI features.
Implications:
Development teams need AI/ML skills. Organisations should invest in capability building now to be ready for this shift.
5. Data Cloud Becomes Non-Negotiable
As AI capabilities expand, unified data becomes absolutely essential. By 2026, we predict Data Cloud adoption will accelerate dramatically, becoming a standard part of most Salesforce implementations.
What This Means:
Data Cloud won’t be a nice-to-have add-on—it’ll be foundational infrastructure:
– AI agents require unified data to function effectively
– Real-time insights demand streaming data architecture
– Personalisation at scale needs comprehensive customer views
– Compliance and governance require unified data management
Organisations still operating with siloed data will struggle to compete.
Implications:
Data strategy moves from IT project to business imperative. Investment in data quality, integration, and governance becomes critical.
6. Sustainability Features Gain Prominence
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concerns are increasingly important to customers, investors, and regulators. By 2026, we predict Salesforce’s sustainability features will be widely adopted, with carbon accounting and ESG metrics integrated into core CRM processes.
What This Means:
Salesforce implementations will routinely include:
– Carbon footprint tracking for business operations
– Supply chain sustainability metrics
– ESG reporting integrated with customer relationships
– Green targets embedded in sales and service processes
Sustainability won’t be a separate initiative—it’ll be woven into how organisations use Salesforce.
Implications:
Organisations should start thinking about sustainability data now: what to measure, how to capture it, and how to act on it.
7. Voice and Conversational Interfaces Proliferate
Text-based chat is just the beginning. By 2026, we predict voice-driven interactions with Salesforce agents will be common, particularly for field service, sales calls, and mobile scenarios.
What This Means:
Users will:
– Speak naturally to AI agents rather than typing
– Receive voice responses in conversational style
– Use voice commands to trigger Salesforce actions
– Conduct complex transactions entirely through voice
Voice interfaces will be particularly valuable for users who need hands-free operation or who aren’t at a desk.
Implications:
Voice UI design requires different thinking than text interfaces. Organisations should experiment with voice-enabled agents to understand what works.
8. Vertical-Specific AI Solutions Emerge
Generic AI agents are giving way to industry-specific solutions. By 2026, we predict robust vertical AI offerings tailored to healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, retail, and other sectors.
What This Means:
Rather than generic customer service agents, you’ll see:
– Healthcare agents understanding medical terminology and HIPAA compliance
– Financial services agents trained on regulatory requirements
– Manufacturing agents integrated with production systems
– Retail agents optimised for inventory and merchandising
These vertical solutions will deliver faster time-to-value because they’re pre-configured for industry needs.
Implications:
Organisations should monitor Salesforce’s Industry Cloud development closely, as vertical AI capabilities will increasingly be bundled there.
9. AI Ethics and Governance Move Centre Stage
As AI becomes more pervasive, ethical considerations and governance frameworks will be table stakes. By 2026, we predict comprehensive AI governance will be mandatory for regulated industries and expected by customers everywhere.
What This Means:
Organisations will need to:
– Demonstrate transparent AI decision-making
– Prove fairness and lack of bias
– Maintain comprehensive audit trails
– Provide human oversight for critical decisions
– Comply with evolving AI-specific regulations
Customers and regulators will increasingly demand accountability for AI behaviour.
Implications:
Governance isn’t optional. Organisations should establish frameworks now rather than scrambling when regulations mandate them.
10. The Role of the Salesforce Professional Evolves
As AI handles more routine configuration and development tasks, Salesforce professionals will shift toward strategic roles. By 2026, we predict the most valuable Salesforce skills will be architectural thinking, business analysis, and AI orchestration.
What This Means:
Successful Salesforce professionals will:
– Design AI-powered business processes
– Architect solutions spanning multiple agents and systems
– Translate business requirements into AI capabilities
– Govern and optimise AI implementations
– Guide organisations through digital transformation
Purely technical skills (clicking Setup menus) become less differentiating as AI assists with configuration.
Implications:
Professional development should emphasise strategic and business skills alongside technical capability. Certifications will likely evolve to reflect this shift.
What Should You Do Now?
These trends suggest several actions:
Invest in Data – Data Cloud, data quality, and data governance will only become more important. Start now.
Experiment with AI – Use Developer Edition to build skills and test ideas. Early experience with Agentforce positions you for future trends.
Think Orchestration – Design agent architectures assuming multiple agents will collaborate, even if you’re starting with one.
Upskill Your Team – AI skills, both technical and strategic, will be essential. Invest in learning.
Establish Governance – Build ethical frameworks and governance processes before they’re mandatory.
Monitor Salesforce Roadmap – Stay current with Salesforce’s product direction through Dreamforce, release notes, and roadmap communications.
Partner Strategically – Find consultants and partners who understand these trends and can guide you through them.
The Purus Perspective
We’re excited about where Salesforce is heading. The combination of AI, unified data, and platform flexibility creates unprecedented opportunities for businesses to transform how they operate.
However, technology alone doesn’t deliver value—thoughtful implementation does. Organisations that approach these trends strategically, with clear business objectives and proper preparation, will thrive. Those who chase technology for its own sake will struggle.
Looking Ahead
Predictions are always uncertain, but the trajectory is clear: AI-powered, data-driven, intelligently automated Salesforce implementations are the future. Organisations can either prepare for this future or be caught unprepared when it arrives.
If you’re thinking about how these trends affect your Salesforce strategy, we’d love to discuss it. Get in touch to explore how we can help you position your organisation for the future.