Salesforce finds new AI monetization knobs to twist

Salesforce has told investors it is upping prices for AI agent platforms, claiming customers will get between three and ten times the value from investment as it introduces new AI charging models.

In an earnings call with financial analysts, Miguel Milano, Salesforce chief revenue officer, said the SaaS biz is looking for a sharp increase in "monetization" from new AI contracts it is striking with customers, while also promising something in it for the buyers.

"[We're] talking about 3x, 4x the ability to multiply the monetization on customers because, by the way, they're getting 3 or 4x or 10x more value from our products," he said.

Forrester has already questioned the assumptions on which such claims are made. In an October report, the research firm said 25 percent of planned AI spending for next year would be put off until 2027 as financial rigor slows production deployments.

"The ...