Salesforce CEO challenges Microsoft’s AI assistant: Marc Benioff, co-founder and CEO of Salesforce, publicly criticized Microsoft’s Copilot AI assistant, comparing it unfavorably to the infamous Clippy assistant from the 1990s.
- Benioff took to his personal X account to express his disappointment with Copilot, stating that it “doesn’t work” and fails to deliver accurate results.
- He ultimately labeled Copilot as “Clippy 2.0,” referencing Microsoft’s widely derided Office assistant from 1996.
Copilot’s evolution and features: Microsoft’s AI assistant has undergone significant development since its initial release, expanding its capabilities and reach across various platforms.
- Copilot was initially designed for Microsoft’s Office 365 suite and debuted in March 2023.
- The assistant has since expanded to include web and mobile app versions, replacing the previous Bing Chat.
- Recent upgrades to Copilot include vision capabilities and humanlike conversational voice input and output.
Competitive landscape and industry context: Benioff’s critique comes amidst intense competition between Salesforce and Microsoft in the enterprise software market.
- Salesforce’s CRM software directly competes with Microsoft Dynamics 365.
- The Salesforce-owned Slack platform competes with Microsoft Teams.
- Both companies have been actively launching new AI features, assistants, and tools over the past two years.
Benioff’s shifting stance on AI: The Salesforce CEO’s recent comments reveal a more critical perspective on the current state of AI technology.
- Benioff has previously been an early advocate for AI’s potential in business.
- He recently posted on X that much of AI’s current potential is “simply oversold.”
- The CEO argued that AI has yet to deliver on promises such as curing cancer or solving climate change.
Balancing criticism and promotion: Benioff’s comments appear to be an attempt to differentiate Salesforce’s AI offerings from those of competitors.
- Despite his criticisms of AI hype, Benioff recently expressed extreme excitement about Salesforce’s new Agentforce enterprise AI tool.
- This approach suggests an effort to position Salesforce’s AI implementation as superior to Microsoft’s while tempering overall expectations for AI technology.
Industry reactions: Benioff’s comments have sparked discussion within the tech community about the current state and future potential of AI.
- Some industry observers, such as PR expert Ed Zitron, have interpreted Benioff’s remarks as evidence of a shifting narrative around generative AI.
- The CEO’s critique raises questions about the practical effectiveness and value proposition of current AI assistants in enterprise settings.
Analyzing deeper: Benioff’s comments highlight the complex dynamics at play in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.
- The critique of Copilot may reflect genuine concerns about the current limitations of AI assistants in enterprise environments.
- However, Benioff’s position also serves Salesforce’s competitive interests by casting doubt on a rival’s product while promoting his own company’s AI offerings.
- As AI technology continues to advance, the effectiveness and adoption of these tools in real-world business scenarios will likely become a key differentiator among enterprise software providers.
Recent Stories
DOE fusion roadmap targets 2030s commercial deployment as AI drives $9B investment
The Department of Energy has released a new roadmap targeting commercial-scale fusion power deployment by the mid-2030s, though the plan lacks specific funding commitments and relies on scientific breakthroughs that have eluded researchers for decades. The strategy emphasizes public-private partnerships and positions AI as both a research tool and motivation for developing fusion energy to meet data centers' growing electricity demands. The big picture: The DOE's roadmap aims to "deliver the public infrastructure that supports the fusion private sector scale up in the 2030s," but acknowledges it cannot commit to specific funding levels and remains subject to Congressional appropriations. Why...
Oct 17, 2025Tying it all together: Credo’s purple cables power the $4B AI data center boom
Credo, a Silicon Valley semiconductor company specializing in data center cables and chips, has seen its stock price more than double this year to $143.61, following a 245% surge in 2024. The company's signature purple cables, which cost between $300-$500 each, have become essential infrastructure for AI data centers, positioning Credo to capitalize on the trillion-dollar AI infrastructure expansion as hyperscalers like Amazon, Microsoft, and Elon Musk's xAI rapidly build out massive computing facilities. What you should know: Credo's active electrical cables (AECs) are becoming indispensable for connecting the massive GPU clusters required for AI training and inference. The company...
Oct 17, 2025Vatican launches Latin American AI network for human development
The Vatican hosted a two-day conference bringing together 50 global experts to explore how artificial intelligence can advance peace, social justice, and human development. The event launched the Latin American AI Network for Integral Human Development and established principles for ethical AI governance that prioritize human dignity over technological advancement. What you should know: The Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, the Vatican's research body for social issues, organized the "Digital Rerum Novarum" conference on October 16-17, combining academic research with practical AI applications. Participants included leading experts from MIT, Microsoft, Columbia University, the UN, and major European institutions. The conference...