SLACKBOT. MARC BENIOFF'S $27.7B AI.

◈ 01 · The Evidence

EXHIBIT A. THE DM.

◈ DIRECT MESSAGES · SLACKBOT · $27.7B AI AGENT IN ACTION 9:03 AM

SB

Slackbot · Benioff's AI

Hi there! It looks like you haven't added a profile photo yet. Adding a photo helps your teammates recognize you! Click here to upload one. 📸

9:03 AM

U

You

ok

9:04 AM

SB

Slackbot · Benioff's AI

Just a reminder: you can use /remind to set reminders for yourself or your teammates! Try it out: /remind me to check email at 9am every day

Two days later

U

You

I know about /remind

9:05 AM

SB

Slackbot · Benioff's AI

Hm, I didn't quite catch that. Here are some things I can help with:
• Set reminders
• Search for messages
• Find out about Slack features
Type "help" for more options!

9:05 AM

U

You

help

9:05 AM

SB

Slackbot · Benioff's AI

Here are some helpful keyboard shortcuts!
Ctrl+K — quick switcher
Ctrl+/ — keyboard shortcuts
Ctrl+F — search

Have a great day! 🎉

9:05 AM

◈ 02 · The Math

$27.7B DIVIDED BY ONE BOT.

In 2021, Salesforce acquired Slack for $27.7 billion. This is the largest acquisition in Salesforce history. At the time, Slack had approximately 12 million daily active users. That is roughly $2,300 per daily active user, paid upfront, before they generate a single dollar.

Slack's features at time of acquisition included: channels, direct messages, file sharing, integrations, threads, and Slackbot. Slackbot was not listed as a key feature in the acquisition announcement. It was not discussed in the earnings call. Nobody said "and they have a bot that will DM your employees about their profile photos at 9am." They should have. It would have been the most accurate description of the AI capabilities acquired.

The bot was free. It was included. Like the little packet of silica gel in a shoe box. Nobody ordered it. It's just there. Except the silica gel doesn't send you messages.

◈ 03 · The Quotes

WHAT BENIOFF SAYS.

◈ MARC BENIOFF · DREAMFORCE 2023 · MAIN STAGE · SPOTLIGHT ON

"We are entering the age of AI. Agentforce will transform how companies operate. Autonomous AI agents working 24/7 for your business. This is the future."

— Marc Benioff, Salesforce CEO, speaking to 40,000 people in a stadium

◈ MEANWHILE · SLACKBOT · DM SENT SIMULTANEOUSLY

Hey! Don't forget — you can star important messages by hovering over them and clicking the star icon. Try it! ⭐

◈ MARC BENIOFF · CNBC INTERVIEW · 2024

"Agentforce agents handle complex tasks autonomously. They reason. They act. They deliver outcomes at scale."

— Marc Benioff, Salesforce CEO, to a nodding anchor

◈ SLACKBOT · AUTONOMOUS REASONING IN ACTION

Hm, I didn't quite catch that. Try typing "help" for a list of things I can assist with!

◈ 04 · The Comparison

AGENTFORCE VS SLACKBOT.

◈ METRIC

◈ AGENTFORCE

◈ SLACKBOT

PRICE

$2.00 per conversation

Free. Included. Already there.

LAUNCHED

2024. Much fanfare.

2013. Zero fanfare. Just appeared.

WHAT IT DOES

Autonomous reasoning, task completion, CRM integration, multi-step workflows

Reminds you about your profile photo. Explains /remind to people who already use /remind.

REASONING

"Reason, act, and deliver outcomes"

Hm, I didn't quite catch that.

USER SENTIMENT

Mixed. Promising.

Universally: "how do I turn this off"

ACQUIRED FOR

Built internally. R&D budget.

Part of a $27.7 billion acquisition. Line item: not specified.

KNOWLEDGE WORK

Allegedly handles it

IS knowledge work. Handles information. Works at a computer. By the YouTube definition, fully qualifies.

◈ 05 · The Agentforce Pitch

DIGITAL LABOR.

Benioff's Agentforce pitch is built on the concept of "digital labor" — AI agents that work continuously, require no benefits, no vacation, no salary. At $2 per conversation. He says this at conferences in a voice that implies the audience should be excited about it.

Slackbot also works continuously. Slackbot also requires no benefits, no vacation, no salary. Slackbot costs zero per conversation. Slackbot has been delivering digital labor in the form of unsolicited keyboard shortcut tips since before "Agentforce" was a word anyone had said out loud.

If Slackbot sent you a message right now — and statistically, it just did — it would say something like: "Did you know you can create a workflow to automate repetitive tasks? Click here to get started!" This is digital labor. Benioff owns it. He paid $27.7 billion for the right to send you that message. He is not discussing it on the main stage.

◈ 06 · The Question Everyone Has

HOW DO YOU TURN IT OFF.

You can't mute Slackbot entirely. You can mute the channel. You can set notification preferences. Slackbot will find a way. It is patient. It has been doing this since 2013 and it has not tired of it once.

The Slackbot is the most persistent agent Benioff owns. It does not take days off. It does not have a context window limit. It does not hallucinate — its outputs are pre-determined, which is arguably worse. It will tell you about the star icon. It will tell you about /remind. It will tell you that Ctrl+K opens the quick switcher. It knows three things and it will tell you all three of them, in rotation, for as long as you use the platform.

Agentforce is $2 per conversation. Slackbot is free per conversation. This is the Salesforce AI portfolio. One costs money and reasons autonomously. One costs nothing and cannot be stopped. Together they form the complete Salesforce intelligent assistant offering. Benioff will not put Slackbot on the main stage. The main stage is not ready for that level of transparency.