In an increasingly digital world, businesses are leveraging AI-driven solutions to enhance customer engagement, streamline operations, and boost efficiency. Within Salesforce, two of the most widely used automation tools for customer interactions are Chatbots and AI Agents. 

While both solutions aim to automate conversations and improve response times, they have fundamental differences in terms of capabilities, adaptability, and long-term value. Understanding these differences is crucial for businesses looking to implement the right solution for customer service, sales, and overall digital transformation. 

Chatbots: Efficient but Limited 

Traditional chatbots function based on predefined rules and structured workflows. They are designed to follow scripts and automate repetitive tasks, making them particularly useful for: 

• Answering FAQs – Providing quick responses to common customer questions. 

• Tracking Orders – Allowing customers to check order status in real time. 

• Scheduling Appointments – Automating bookings and reservations efficiently. 

• Basic Troubleshooting – Offering step-by-step guidance for standard issues. 

By handling these simple yet time-consuming tasks, chatbots help businesses reduce the workload on human agents, ensuring that customer service teams can focus on more complex issues. 

However, chatbots have notable limitations: 

• They struggle when faced with unexpected or complex queries. 

• They lack context awareness, making conversations feel repetitive or robotic. 

• They provide static responses, as they do not learn from past interactions. 

Since chatbots are entirely dependent on pre-programmed rules, their ability to adapt to unique customer needs is minimal. While they are effective for structured and repetitive interactions, they fall short when deeper engagement and personalised communication are required. 

AI Agents: The Next Evolution in Customer Service 

AI Agents represent a significant advancement in customer interaction automation, moving beyond the limitations of traditional chatbots. Powered by machine learning (ML) and large language models (LLMs), AI Agents offer a far more intelligent and adaptable solution. 

Some of the key benefits of AI Agents include: 

• Context Awareness – AI Agents retain memory from past interactions, enabling more personalised and seamless customer experiences. 

• Natural Language Processing (NLP) – They understand complex queries, interpret nuances, and generate dynamic responses. 

• Multi-Channel Support – AI Agents can function across live chat, voice assistants, email, and messaging apps. 

• Continuous Learning – Unlike chatbots, AI Agents improve over time by learning from each interaction. 

• Advanced Automation – They integrate deeply with Salesforce, allowing automation of tasks like lead qualification, case resolution, and predictive recommendations. 

With AI Agents, businesses can automate customer engagement at scale while maintaining a high level of personalisation and accuracy. Instead of providing generic, scripted responses, AI Agents can understand intent, analyse customer history, and predict future needs – leading to improved customer satisfaction and retention. 

Key Differences Between Chatbots and AI Agents 

For companies seeking more than just basic automation, AI Agents provide a scalable, intelligent, and future-proof alternative. 

Does It Still Make Sense to Invest in Traditional Chatbots? 

With AI-powered solutions evolving rapidly, traditional chatbots are becoming less attractive for businesses that require dynamic and adaptive automation. However, in some cases, they may still serve a purpose, particularly for: 

• Small businesses with budget constraints – Chatbots offer a lower-cost entry point into automation. 

• Companies with limited automation needs – Businesses that only require basic customer support functions may find chatbots sufficient. 

• Highly structured customer interactions – If customer inquiries are predictable and repetitive, chatbots may still be a viable option. 

That said, the shift towards AI-driven automation is clear. Businesses looking to stay ahead of the competition, improve customer experience, and optimise operations are increasingly investing in AI Agents. 

For organisations leveraging Salesforce, AI Agents offer a smarter, more connected, and more efficient approach to automation – seamlessly integrating into existing workflows and enhancing both customer and employee experiences.  

Want to learn more about how to set up a chatbot in Salesforce? Check out our step-by-step tutorial here: How to Create a Chatbot with Salesforce 

Final Thoughts 

If a business only requires basic, rule-based automation, chatbots may still be a practical option. However, for companies aiming to deliver smarter, more personalised, and scalable customer interactions, AI Agents represent the next step in digital transformation. 

As a Salesforce Implementation Partner, Target Everest helps businesses implement AI-powered solutions that drive efficiency, automation, and customer satisfaction. 

Interested in transforming your customer experience? Get in touch to learn how AI Agents can enhance your Salesforce strategy. 

Explore more articles on our blog!

What is Email-to-Case?

• Email-to-Case helps automate customer support by converting received emails from customers into cases and auto-populating fields for quick resolution. Email-to-Case on-demand service manages email traffic outside the network’s firewall and limits messages to 25 MB.

Email-to-Case Key Features and Benefits

• Seamless association of customer responses with original cases, including attachments, streamlining case management.
• Comprehensive case reporting tracks both inbound and outbound emails, providing insights into issue resolution processes.
• Flexible routing addresses enable the creation of multiple email addresses for converting customer emails into case fields.
• Integration with Assignment Rules, Escalation Rules, Workflow Rules, and Auto-Response Rules ensures smooth operation and enhanced efficiency.

Setup Email to Case in Salesforce with Microsoft 365

Before anything we have to set a couple policies in Microsoft 365 Admin

• Open the Microsoft Admin
• In Admin Centers Tab, go to Security
• In Email & collaboration tab, go to Policies & rules
  • Here go to Threat policies

• Then Anti-spam policies

• In here click Create policy > Outbound
• Follow these Steps during Policy creation
  • Set policy name accordingly
  • Set user, group or domain to include on this policy

• On the Outbound Protection Settings, set the Automatic Forwarding Rules to “On – Forwarding is enabled

And we are done here!

Back to your Salesforce Environment

1. The first step is to enable Email-to-Case in Salesforce

•  Go to Setup
•  In “Quick find”, search and open “Email-to-Case” and click on the “Edit” Button

• Select “Enable Email-To-Case” and “On-Demand Service” then click on Save.

2. Next are the Routing Addresses for Email-to-Case

•  Click on the “New” button from the Routing Addresses related list (at the bottom of the page)

• Define requirements:
  • Set the Routing name for the Email-to-Case. The example used is “Exemplo Email To Case”
  • Set the Email Address where the requests will be received. In this example the used email was “[email protected]”
  • Check the “Save Email Headers” Checkbox in the Email Settings
  • If you are the Owner, Under Case Settings, choose Queue in the Case Owner Dropdownlist and select the corresponding Queue.
    If not, just select User in the Dropdownlist and Insert the User
  • Define the default case priority according to your needs. In this example we defined it as Medium
  • Define the case origin. In this example we defined it as Email

• Click Save

After Finishing, Salesforce will send you an email to your Email Address to verify the email ID

• Salesforce will automatically create an email id for you.
   Copy the generated Email Services Address meanwhile.

Setup Routing on the Email Provider

3.1. Setting Up Routing/Forwarding Rules is the next step with Gmail

Now it is time to configure our email forwarding setting at our outlook, Gmail, or email provider.

• Configure your email system to forward messages received at [email protected] to auto-generated service addresses.
  As we are using Gmail for the demo. User Gmail Article for Automatically forward Gmail messages to another account
  • In your Gmail, click on the settings  icon, See all settings.
  • Then Click on Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab.
  • Then click on the “Add a forwarding address” button.

• Add forwarding address as the email provided by Salesforce.

• With the email added, you will now see a Confirmation Screen saying forwarding email to auto-generated Salesforce email-to-case email ID.

When you proceed, a new case will be created in Salesforce where you will have to open a link to confirm the forwarding email.

• Open the Salesforce case in Services and open the link. This means our email-to-case is working!

• After opening the link, click the confirm button to ensure the forwarding is set

• With this done, our last step is to go to the Gmail Settings again, and turn the forwarding on for the email we just confirmed, then click Save

With this, we have concluded the Email-to-Case Setup using Gmail

3.2. Here we will show the steps for Outlook instead of Gmail

•  Accept the request from Salesforce (an email is sent after creating and configuring email-to-case in salesforce)

• Now we have to Define the forwarding rule

• Define criteria as needed for these configuration
• In action: Choose “Redirect to” and insert previously copied email
• Rule Name: SF Environment – Email-to-case – Account test

• (Ex: Forwarding Email – Email-to-Case – Account test)

Curious about Salesforce Email-to-Case? Fill out the form, and we’ll contact you shortly with more details!

Explore more articles on our blog!

We are excited to announce the rebranding of our company, Target Everest. With a refreshed image and updated website, we are prepared to navigate the future of Salesforce consulting and assist our clients in unlocking the full potential of this versatile platform.

Located in Slovakia with offices in Portugal and India, we are a compact yet dynamic team of Salesforce experts. Our team has extensive experience in Salesforce implementation, customization, integration, and support services.

At Target Everest, we understand that every business is unique and has its distinct set of needs. That’s why we take the time to understand your business processes, and tailor our solutions to fulfil your specific requirements. Our team works closely with you to ensure a seamless implementation and provides ongoing support to ensure that your Salesforce solution adapts to the changing demands of your business.

• Salesforce Implementation and Customization
• Salesforce Integration with Other Systems
• Salesforce Support and Maintenance
• Salesforce Training and Development
• Salesforce Consulting and Advisory Services

We are dedicated to providing the highest quality of service to our clients. Our team is enthusiastic about Salesforce and stays informed with the latest developments and best practices in the industry. Our team members are certified Salesforce professionals and have a proven track record of delivering successful Salesforce projects.

We serve clients across various industries, including retail, manufacturing, healthcare, and finance. Our solutions have helped our clients achieve significant improvements in their business processes, increased efficiency, and enhanced customer experience.

In today’s rapidly changing business landscape, having a robust and dependable CRM system has become increasingly important. Salesforce is the world’s leading CRM platform and has the scalability and versatility to meet the needs of any organization.

If you’re searching for a partner who can help you unleash the full potential of Salesforce, look no further than Target Everest. Get in touch with us today to schedule a consultation and learn more about how we can help your business thrive.