Marc Benioff launches AIforce to challenge Microsoft's Copilot at Dreamforce

Marc Benioff used Salesforce’s Dreamforce conference in San Francisco on September 15 to unveil AIforce, the company’s biggest product launch in years, and to once again label Microsoft’s Copilot “the new Clippy.” The announcement came as Benioff took the stage at the flagship annual event, positioning AIforce as a direct challenge to Microsoft’s AI‑driven office assistant.

The jab fits a long‑running feud that began at Dreamforce 2024, when Benioff first compared Copilot to the unpopular Microsoft desktop helper from the 1990s. He has repeated the criticism at Davos, in a 2024 essay, and on podcasts, arguing that Microsoft’s tool lacks the data security and enterprise control needed for real business use. Benioff framed AIforce as a remedy to what he calls the “Fantasyland” problem – the gap between flashy AI promises and dependable, data‑driven operations that large firms require.

AIforce is marketed as an open, provider‑agnostic layer that can run on multiple large‑language models, including Anthropic’s Claude through a new integration called Claudeforce, which Salesforce says guarantees zero data retention by the model provider. The platform also works with ChatGPT, Slack and other environments. At the same event, Salesforce reiterated a fiscal‑2030 revenue target of $63 billion. The company’s shares closed at $255.65 after a 34 % rally the previous month, buoyed by quarterly results that posted $11.35 billion in revenue, beating Wall Street forecasts. Analysts responded positively; Stifel lifted its price target to $300 and highlighted six revenue streams tied to the AI stack, from premium license upgrades to new API and infrastructure services.

The launch puts pressure on Microsoft as both firms vie for dominance in enterprise AI. Salesforce’s focus on data control and open integration could attract customers wary of vendor lock‑in, while Microsoft may double down on its own ecosystem. Investors will watch whether AIforce can translate its promised flexibility into real‑world contracts and whether the rivalry spurs faster innovation across the sector. The next few quarters will reveal if Benioff’s “new Clippy” taunt translates into market share gains for Salesforce.