According to Business Insider, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff confirmed the company might change its official corporate name to Agentforce. This follows a recent internal rebrand where core products like Sales and Service were renamed “Agentforce Sales” and “Agentforce Service.” The shift comes after focus groups ahead of the October Dreamforce conference revealed customers no longer want to talk about “cloud” and instead want to discuss AI agents. Benioff notably dropped the word “cloud” entirely from his Dreamforce keynote and renamed the Data Cloud platform to “Data 360.” The company’s 2026 strategic plan centers on this agentic focus, and recent earnings showed positive signs as Salesforce raised its revenue forecast.
The Cloud Is Dead, Long Live The Agent
Here’s the thing: this isn’t just a silly name change. It’s a full-scale strategic pivot, and Benioff is telegraphing it as loudly as he can. Salesforce literally built its empire on the “cloud” branding. Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud—that was the entire lexicon. And now Benioff is saying he’s dropped the word “totally” because customers don’t use it anymore. That’s a huge admission. It means the foundational marketing term that defined an era of software is now considered legacy, or at least table stakes. The new magic word is “agent.” So the company isn’t just adding AI features; it’s attempting to rebrand its entire identity around the concept of autonomous AI agents handling business processes. It’s a bet that the next platform shift is from software you use to agents that work for you.
Following The Playbook
Look, there’s a clear playbook here, and Benioff is following it. Facebook to Meta. Google to Alphabet. Square to Block. When a tech giant wants to signal a massive, future-facing transformation—especially one the market might be skeptical about—they change the sign on the door. It’s a headline-grabbing way to say, “We’re not the same company we were yesterday.” For Salesforce, which has faced questions about growth and relevance in the AI age, a flashy rebrand to Agentforce could be an attempt to forcefully change the narrative. But does it work? Well, “Meta” is still struggling to be synonymous with the metaverse for most people. The real test isn’t the name; it’s whether the products underneath deliver. Wednesday’s raised revenue forecast suggests maybe, just maybe, customers are starting to buy what they’re selling—even if they’re still calling it Salesforce for now.
Betting The House On AI
So, is this a smart bet? Basically, Salesforce is going all-in on AI agents as its core platform story for 2026 and beyond. Data 360 (née Data Cloud) is meant to be the fuel, and the Agentforce suite is the engine. It’s a high-risk, high-reward move. If AI agents become the primary way businesses interact with software, Salesforce wants to own that interface. But it’s also a brutally competitive space with every other major player, from Microsoft to startups, chasing the same vision. Renaming the company would be the ultimate commitment to that vision. It would be a statement that they’re willing to leave their iconic, billion-dollar brand behind for this new future. That’s either incredibly confident or slightly desperate. Probably a bit of both. I think the earnings uptick gives them the confidence to make the leap. We’ll see if they actually pull the trigger.
