ANZ executives focus on agentic AI to boost productivity

Recent research by Salesforce highlights a growing focus on agentic AI among C-suite executives in Australia and New Zealand.

The study, carried out by YouGov, involved a survey of over 480 executives, from which 69% of respondents who prioritise AI identified an emphasis on agentic AI for the next year. Among these, 38% have already started to implement this technology.

In addressing the industry context, Frank Fillmann, EVP and General Manager at Salesforce ANZ, stated, "For customers, their last great experience is their new expectation, and all that pressure is falling on front line employees, who are more burned out than ever. ANZ business leaders are facing this while also dealing with ongoing productivity challenges and an inability to get the right people into the right roles. It's a perfect storm where supply simply doesn't meet demand. Local leaders know this can't be tackled without augmenting employees with elastic digital labour."

AI is recognised as one of the top three business priorities by 79% of ANZ C-suite executives, with the main incentives being the innovation of customer and employee experiences (57%), meeting customer expectations for quicker and more personalised experiences (55%), and leading the market with advanced technology (51%).

Challenges outlined by executives for the coming year include adjusting to technological advancements, attracting and retaining talent, and expanding to meet demand.

Agentic AI is described as an opportunity for businesses to address these challenges by deploying a digital labour force that operates continuously, enhancing productivity, reducing costs, and facilitating new levels of innovation and scalability.

"With Agentforce, companies no longer need to choose between enhancing productivity and improving customer experience, previously thought of as a trade-off – and can instead focus on bold, audacious thinking to grow and scale their business," Fillmann commented.

The study mentions several use cases for agentic AI among leaders who cited AI as their primary focus, including sales forecasting and analytics (58%), customer support across various channels (68%), platform management (58%), and the development of marketing strategies and campaigns (57%).

Companies such as Fisher & Paykel, hipages, Urban Rest, and Pacific Smiles are leveraging Agentforce, integrated with their applications and customer channels, to augment their workforce and expand capacity.

Specifically, Fisher & Paykel is incorporating Agentforce to handle 30% of customer queries, saving around 3,300 hours monthly. Moreover, hipages has shortened the time for onboarding verification for new traders from three hours to nearly instantaneous.

Urban Rest, a provider of serviced apartments, reports using Agentforce for 24/7 global support, automatically resolving up to 30% of guest inquiries, thereby achieving a 50% increase in productivity. Similarly, Pacific Smiles has employed AI-driven service agents to facilitate appointments in approximately 1.5 minutes, representing an 80% reduction in the time required for booking inquiries.

The research, titled 'C-suite perspectives on agentic AI', was undertaken by YouGov from January 14th to 20th, 2025, with a sample size of 487 C-suite executives from large businesses in Australia and New Zealand.