Estimated Read Time: 7 Minutes

Overview

AskElephant's Salesforce Agent is a powerful AI tool designed to streamline your customer relationship management (CRM) processes by automating data entry and providing intelligent insights from your Salesforce instance. This feature eliminates the time-consuming task of manually updating CRM records after meetings while giving you the ability to query your Salesforce data through natural conversation.

The Salesforce Agent addresses one of the biggest pain points for sales teams: keeping CRM data current and accurate without sacrificing valuable selling time.

• Liberate your teams from admin drudgery.
• Arm leaders and reps alike with clarity and real-time insight.
• Never lose a detail, never drop the baton, never sacrifice momentum.

Core Capabilities

Automated CRM Interactions

The primary function of the Salesforce Agent is to automatically create, read, and update your Salesforce records based on meeting conversations. Examples of records the Salesforce agent interacts with include:

• Accounts
• Contacts
• Leads
• Opportunities
• Notes

Chat with your Salesforce Instance

Beyond automation, you can interact with your Salesforce data through natural language. Simply ask questions like:

• "Show me all opportunities closing this quarter"
• "What accounts need follow-up this week?"
• "Create a new opportunity for [company name]"

The agent understands your permissions within Salesforce and only provides access to data you're authorized to view or modify.

When to chat with your Salesforce Instance vs. when to chat with your AskElephant

• Asking about Salesforce objects, records, or fields
• Asking about

Getting Connected

The Salesforce Agent operates with two levels of integration:

Workspace-Level Integration

• Set up once by your Salesforce administrator
• Used for automated workflows
• Maintains admin-level permissions for background processes

User-Level Integration

• Individual connection for each team member
• Required for chat-based interactions
• Respects your individual Salesforce permissions

Admins: Insure users in your workspace can self-authorize when connecting Salesforce to AskElephant.

To set your OAuth to allow self-authorization for AskElephant locate AskElephant in the Salesforce App Manager.

Then click “Edit Policies” and change Permitted Users to: “All users may self-authorize”

This will allow a seamless and secure connection for everyone in your Salesforce and AskElephant workspace.

How It Works

Three Interaction Methods

Chat Interface

Access the Salesforce Agent directly through AskElephant's chat feature by enabling the Salesforce Agent tool. This allows real-time queries and manual updates to your CRM data.

Workflow Automation

Create automated workflows that trigger after meetings to update Salesforce records without any manual intervention. This is the most powerful application for busy sales teams.

Workflow Automation with Human in the Loop

Create automated workflows that ask team members for confirmation before completing crucial tasks. Helps keep your team aware of CRM changes without the demanding need of navigating through menus and locating fields.

1. Using the Salesforce Agent in AskElephant Chat

The Salesforce Agent is accessible in the AskElephant Chat under the tools list. Toggling the agent on will allow you to ask questions directly related to your Salesforce workspace and aligned with your Salesforce user permissions.

Example Use Cases:

• Quick inquiries into new opportunities. Pull contact info, deadlines, and sale amounts.
• Look for missed upsell opportunities in a recent meeting and push relevant notes to Salesforce.
• Get insights on possible account churn or expansion opportunities.
• Update a new opportunity with the latest sales plan.

2. Building Automated Workflows

The Salesforce Agent Workflow node allows you to automate and interact dynamically with Salesforce directly within your workflows, functioning similarly to chatting with Salesforce.

Once added after a trigger, this node can be configured with custom prompts to perform a wide range of actions or retrieve and update Salesforce data, all within the permissions set in your Salesforce account. Its flexibility lets you adjust prompts and models as needed, making it ideal for automating sales and service processes—from populating notes and updating fields to tracking contacts or generating insights—without ever leaving your workflow.

Example Use Cases:

• Automatically summarize meetings and push summaries to Opportunities, Contacts, or Engagements in Salesforce.
• Update Salesforce fields (e.g., deal values) in real-time after meetings or calls.
• Monitor call transcripts for coaching, competitor mentions, or account changes and push insights to Salesforce.
• Track and update stakeholder types (e.g., Champion, Blocker, Decision Maker) for contacts after meetings.
• Generate and push deal scorecards for open, recently won, or lost deals.
• Prepare for meetings using a workflow that gathers information from Salesforce, LinkedIn, and previous conversations to create meeting prep reports.

3. Keeping Humans in the Loop

Keeping your team involved is one of the greatest benefits of using the Salesforce Agent in AskElephant. By combining automated workflows with natural language prompts, you maintain control and oversight while gaining efficiency.

Here’s how it works: Start with a standard automated workflow and add a Salesforce Agent node. Within the prompt, simply include a line like “Ask for confirmation before proceeding with these updates.” This instructs the Salesforce Agent to request human confirmation for any proposed changes before taking action.

Importantly, the agent will prompt for this confirmation directly within whatever engagement the workflow is associated with—such as meetings, conversations, or follow-ups. This keeps the approval process smooth and context-specific, ensuring no critical updates move forward without the proper review.

By keeping humans in the loop, AskElephant helps you strike the right balance between automation and oversight, so your CRM stays accurate and your team stays informed.

Custom Objects Support

One of the most valuable features is support for Salesforce custom objects. Many organizations create custom objects to track:

• Sales scorecards with call ratings and feedback
• Account planning information with key stakeholders and risks
• Handoff summaries from sales to customer success teams

The Salesforce Agent can read from, update, and create records in these custom objects, making it incredibly flexible for your specific business processes.

Best Practices

Workflow Design

• Start with simple, low-risk automations like adding meeting notes
• Use descriptive prompts that specify exactly what data to extract and where to place it
• Include human review steps for critical data updates
• Test workflows thoroughly before enabling for your entire team

Data Quality

• Provide clear, specific instructions in your workflow prompts
• Include data validation rules when possible
• Regularly review automated updates to ensure accuracy
• Use consistent naming conventions for fields and objects

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Connection Problems

If you can't access Salesforce data through chat, verify that you've connected your individual Salesforce account in user preferences. Workspace-level integration alone isn't sufficient for chat functionality.

Permission Errors

If you receive permission errors, check with your Salesforce administrator to ensure:

• Your user profile has appropriate object and field permissions
• AskElephant is approved as a connected app in your Salesforce org
• OAuth policies allow user self-authorization

Security and Permissions

Your data security remains paramount. The Salesforce Agent:

• Only accesses data you have permission to view in Salesforce
• Maintains audit trails showing who made what changes
• Can be configured for human-in-the-loop approval before making updates
• Respects all existing Salesforce security protocols

For sensitive operations, you can set up workflows to propose changes rather than automatically implement them, giving you review control.

Next Steps

Start with simple use cases and gradually expand to more complex automations as your team becomes comfortable with the tool.

For technical setup assistance or advanced configuration questions, reach out to your AskElephant customer success team who can help design workflows specific to your business needs.

Need Additional Help?

If you have questions or need further assistance, the AskElephant support team is here to help:

• Click the chat button in the bottom right corner of your screen
• Email us at support@askelephant.ai
• Use @askelephant support in your dedicated Slack channel

We're committed to getting you the answers you need as quickly as possible.