SAN FRANCISCO – Dreamforce 2025 is underway, and Salesforce, the consumer software company, is unveiling its plans to change how businesses interact with customers. As with so many things, Salesforce is saying, AI will transform everything, and how businesses work is no exception.
The event is San Francisco’s biggest convention of the year and is held at the Moscone Center and its surrounding areas. The annual Salesforce business software conference regularly draws close to 50,000 attendees, and is drawing big crowds this year.
The hottest ticket? The keynote address from Salesforce co-founder and CEO Marc Benioff.
This year the conference is centered on what Benioff called agentic evolution, getting ai agents working with human decision makers to streamline business communication and interaction.
“Human and agent have to drive customer success together so that we can get the customer loyalty that we want,” said Benioff. “So we can get the trust that we want. To get to the ability to have the leaner organization possible with this technology.”
Bay Area-based Williams-Sonoma is one of the adopters of that new AI-powered software, with the company’s CEO saying they’re using it to power Olive, an online tool aimed at recreating the in-store experience as best as possible for online shoppers.Â
“Olive is alive on the website as we speak,” said Laura Alber. “It’s building every day, answering questions, decorating, gift giving, cooking, entertaining. Everything you need to do for the holidays, Olive will help you with.”
Dreamforce draws conventioneers from across the country and around the world, many saying they want to see first hand how they can integrate the latest tech into their businesses.Â
Benioff has consistently said that the safety and security of convention attendees is his highest priority. The Salesforce leader drew controversy over the weekend when he seemed to indicate that he’d welcome National Guard troops to help secure the city. Asked about it again, he said he wanted to focus on the new tools he offering to customers this year, but again said that safety and security are of the utmost importance. “We’ve proven year after year after year how to make is safe,’ said Benioff. “That is the number one thing that’s on my mind; safety. So, as I’m asked question, that’s kind of what comes out. It’s all about trust and safety. It’s our highest value here.”Â
For those who haven’t been, Dreamforce features a mix of tech leaders this year, including Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, and pop culture icons like Metallica.
The annual Salesforce conferences’ tens of thousands of attendees are also pumping millions into the local economy. Â Â
Hotel reservations around the Moscone Center are nearly fully booked. Local restaurants and bars are also benefiting. Many companies reserved private event spaces earlier than usual this year.
“We plan for this months in advance,” said Arash Ghanadan, managing partner of Novella, a popular downtown bar. “It’s like having Halloween and New Year rolled into one night, and then every day you do it for a week. It’s great to have these events in San Francisco.”
The three-day Dreamforce event is expected to inject more than $130 million into the local economy, up from $93 million last year.Â
At Novella, Florin Tatulia of Common Room, a software company, reserved the space months in advance to host what he called an “ancillary event” just blocks from the convention.
“We have about 120 people on the guest list,” said Tatulia. “It’s just good vibes, connecting customers and doing business.”
Convention goers and locals say downtown San Francisco feels cleaner, more vibrant and busier than in recent years.
“The city is definitely feeling more and more alive each year,” said Ghanadan. “You can totally tell by the number of people on the street and the traffic around the area.”
A block away, at the five-star St. Regis Hotel, the lobby bar was bustling with guests networking or unwinding after a day of sessions.
“This year the energy is just electric, and we love it,” said Roger Huldi, general manager of the St. Regis. “We also love that we have a beautiful, clean city. It’s much better than previous years. We really see the impact of a safe and clean city.”
The conference runs through Thursday.