Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has openly criticized Microsoft’s AI tool, Copilot. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella previously likened Copilot’s introduction to the development of significant technologies such as the personal computer and the internet. However, Benioff expressed dissatisfaction with Copilot, referring to it as “disappointing” in terms of both its performance and accuracy in an online post.
Benioff compared Copilot to Microsoft’s former digital assistant, Clippy, suggesting that Copilot would share Clippy’s fate as an unsuccessful venture. He remarked on the lack of transformative experiences reported by users of Copilot or those engaging with custom language model training.
Microsoft launched Copilot last year to enhance productivity by aiding users in creating various documents, such as PowerPoint presentations and Excel spreadsheets, through artificial intelligence. Benioff cited Gartner research, noting concerns about Copilot’s data management issues and indicating that customer satisfaction was lacking.
This critique marks a continuation of Benioff’s ongoing public disagreements with Microsoft over its AI offerings. He reiterated his criticism during a recent podcast interview, pointing to a Gartner report that found limited pilot completion and adoption of Copilot among IT leaders.
Microsoft has not yet responded to a request for comment regarding Benioff’s latest remarks. In the same interview, Benioff highlighted Salesforce’s new AI suite, Agentforce, launched in September, which assists with data analysis and decision-making in various business sectors. Companies such as OpenTable and Wyndham have already begun piloting Agentforce.
In contrast, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of AI, Jared Spataro, noted a growth in subscriptions to their services, citing major companies like Disney, Dow, and Novartis as customers. Despite this, Benioff remains skeptical about Copilot’s potential for success, predicting a shift towards agent-driven enterprise transformations, with Agentforce potentially leading the market.