Keir Bowden’s resume speaks for itself.
He’s the CTO for Salesforce at Credera, a Certified Technical Architect, and Salesforce MVP Hall of Famer with 36 years of experience in IT. Oh, and he’s also a blogger at the Bob Buzzard Blog and Substack, a speaker at various Salesforce events, and a winner of the Outstanding Contribution to the Salesforce Community award at the 2024 Digital Revolution Awards!
Or to put it another way: Keir Bowden is a Salesforce expert.
With that in mind, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to catch up with him and feature more of his invaluable insights in the 2025 edition of Mason Frank’s market-leading Careers and Hiring Guide, which you can check out here.
Unsurprisingly, AI continues to be the hottest topic of conversation across the Salesforce ecosystem right now, with new tools and solutions evolving rapidly to create exciting new opportunities—and tough new challenges—for professionals and employers alike.
So after featuring Keir’s insights on Salesforce AI in last year’s guide (and don’t worry—you can still catch that interview here!), we thought we’d ask the same questions 12 months on to discover what impact AI has had on the Salesforce ecosystem today, and how it looks set to shape the Salesforce ecosystem tomorrow.
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Careers and Hiring Guide
The Salesforce AI Cloud is constantly evolving. With Salesforce now offering generative AI tools directly to end users, what opportunities do you expect to arise for professionals in the ecosystem?
After implementing many of these AI tools for customers, I believe these aren’t complex technical engagements; they’re people projects. Users interact with tools like Copilot in a very different way from traditional Salesforce—instead of filling in forms and clicking buttons, they ask questions in their natural language.
Because of this different method of interaction, I see new opportunities in:
- Requirements gathering – in this area we’ve historically avoided “solutioneering”, which is coming up with a technical solution rather than capturing what the user needs. But in the AI sphere, we need to turn that on its head—we have the solution ready to go, so we need to consider whether it’s appropriate as we encounter requirements.
- Training – many users will be new to this way of working. So, to get the most out of these tools, they’ll need training in areas like crafting a request to receive a useful response, refining the request to adjust the response, and, of course, the ever-growing importance of quality data.
What’s the best way for Salesforce professionals to learn, upskill, and gain experience with artificial intelligence? And how can employers get AI-ready by better understanding its features and functions, and identifying knowledge gaps in their teams?
As always, the first port of call is Trailhead. There are now multiple trails targeting machine learning, predictive and generative AI, and Salesforce tools like Prompt Builder and Copilot.
On the certification front, we have AI Associate and AI Specialist. Completing this training will allow you to implement the Salesforce generative AI tools, but it won’t give you the depth of understanding you need to stand out from the pack.
For that, I’d recommend additional training from providers like DeepLearning.AI, DataBricks, LinkedIn Learning, and Udacity. The more you understand generative AI and the machine learning underpinning it, the better you’ll be able to advise your stakeholders and customers.
Employers first need to decide what they’re trying to achieve with AI. Once they have that, they can determine the skills needed and identify any gaps. The most important aspect, in my view, is to help staff get the skills they’ll actually use—learning all about generative AI but not having the opportunity to apply that knowledge will inevitably lead to dissatisfaction.
Job security is present in almost every conversation about AI. Are there any roles or skill sets that AI risks making obsolete? How can employers overcome staff hesitancy around AI to maintain a positive work environment and ensure a successful integration?
With the introduction of Agentforce, I think some entry-level positions in sales and service will be at risk. Autonomous agents that can handle basic tasks at scale will mean fewer humans are needed in that business area. I’d recommend companies exercise caution before removing entire teams, though. You need seniors to handle the more complex requests that the agent can’t, and if you don’t have any juniors, where will your next generation of seniors come from?
Communication is vital to any business change—in this instance, arguably even more so given the blanket news coverage that generative AI enjoys. If you don’t explain the motivations and objectives of AI integration, rumors will take control and staff will assume the worst. Be clear that the goal is to do more with the same number of people, not the same output with fewer people. Engage early and often, and you’ll bring your teams on this journey along with you.
You can find Keir Bowden on Twitter and LinkedIn, and to hear more invaluable insight like this, don’t forget to check out Keir’s comments in the Mason Frank Careers and Hiring Guide.
