Salesforce increases prices as it promotes new AI features

(Bloomberg/Brody Ford) — Salesforce Inc. is increasing the price for many products, becoming the latest software maker to adjust its cost structure as it integrates artificial intelligence.

List prices will go up by an average of 6% for major product lines in August, the company said in a statement Tuesday. The cost of the workplace communications tool Slack will also rise.

“These increases reflect the significant ongoing innovation and customer value delivered through our products,” Salesforce said in the announcement. The customer management software giant last raised prices in 2023, and before that hadn’t increased list prices in seven years.

The introduction of AI features has thrown traditional software pricing models into flux. Many companies are offering more pay-as-you-go options and in some cases increasing base prices. Adobe Inc. has announced multiple price bumps in recent years as it has developed a family of generative models.

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Salesforce is focused on pushing its AI product dubbed Agentforce, which is meant to complete tasks such as customer service without human supervision. Last month the company announced it would allow customers to reallocate spending from traditional software subscriptions to the AI tools.

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