Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff says: I keep asking CEOs, what AI are they using for these big layoffs, and I think …
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff rejects the predictions of widespread job displacement from artificial intelligence, arguing that AI agents augment rather than replace human workers, even as his company automates up to 50% of internal work through AI technology. Speaking to Fortune during a recent London visit, Benioff directly challenged prominent AI executives like Anthropic’s Dario Amodei who have warned of massive white-collar job losses. “I keep looking around, talking to CEOs, asking: what AI are they using for these big layoffs?” Benioff said. “I think AI augments people, but I don’t know if it necessarily replaces them.”The tech CEO’s comments come as Salesforce has emerged as the most aggressive adopter of AI agents in corporate America, with the technology now handling 85% of customer service inquiries and qualifying sales leads 40% faster than human workers.
AI accuracy concerns keep humans essential in workflow
Despite the dramatic efficiency gains, Benioff emphasized AI’s limitations prevent complete automation. “The thing about the AI we have—it’s not 100% accurate because it’s built on word models,” he explained to Fortune. “When you add in our data set, we’re getting 90% accuracy, but it’s not 100%. So you need the human in the loop.”This accuracy gap has practical implications across industries. “Every AI needs its own fact checker, and those fact checkers are humans, not AIs, because AIs can’t fact check because they don’t have that level of accuracy,” Benioff noted.The CEO described his relationship with AI as a partnership, using it to review business plans and identify gaps in strategic thinking. “Every AI needs its own fact checker, and those fact checkers are humans, not AIs,” Benioff concluded, reinforcing his view that human oversight remains indispensable in an AI-augmented workplace.
Small business boom expected as AI democratizes enterprise tools
Rather than mass unemployment, Benioff predicts AI will spawn new business creation. “There’s going to potentially be a lot more employment because everybody is augmented and has the ability to do more,” he told Fortune. “I think there’s going to be an explosion of small and medium businesses because they can do more, it’s easier to start one, you can create value more easily.”While Salesforce has frozen hiring for engineers, support staff, and lawyers, the company continues recruiting salespeople and customer success employees to help clients adopt AI technology.
