Key takeaways

• Salesforce prioritises customer-focused, AI-first recruitment and upskilling strategies to satisfy today’s market demand for AI and data skills across functions.
• As AI agents become core to the workplace, Thattai says hybrid teams of humans and technology will reshape job structures and unlock new efficiencies.
• For leaders, Thattai says success means staying focused on outcomes, avoiding the ‘AI for everything’ trap and thoughtfully redesigning processes to take advantage of the strengths of both people and AI agents.

As the Chief Operating Officer of Agentforce at Salesforce, Madhav Thattai is obsessed with customer success. He’s especially passionate about the future of work, advocating for recruitment and upskilling strategies that prioritise both technical AI skills and the ability to work effectively alongside the technology. As organisations across industries grapple with the rapid pace of innovation, his expertise sheds light on how to thoughtfully integrate AI into talent strategy.

This conversation kicks off our new Q&A series spotlighting talent professionals who are shaping the future of work. In each instalment, we’ll ask what’s on their minds, what challenges they’re facing and what they see on the horizon for the workplace. Don’t miss out: sign up for our newsletter to get the latest Q&As delivered straight to your inbox.

Meet Madhav Thattai

Role: SVP and COO, Agentforce, at Salesforce

First job: managing a production line on a factory floor

At a glance: ‘To be effective in the future’s hybrid workforce of humans and AI agents, people across industries will need to learn how to get the most value from AI. The talent industry is at the heart of a significant reskilling of the population.’

The speed at which we can innovate and improve technology is the path to success for everyone’, says Salesforce SVP and COO of Agentforce Madhav Thattai.

What are the biggest recruitment or workforce challenges you're seeing today?

Thattai: The pace of innovation is so fast, it’s creating an ongoing strong demand for critical skills in AI platforms, data technologies and engineering.

But we also want to bring in people who are becoming AI-proficient in any role, not just engineering. Truly AI-first people are pushing the boundaries of how technology can improve experiences, and we can learn from them. That's true in customer service, HR, IT, legal – across all functions.

At Salesforce, we focus on two things: being obsessed with customer success and being AI-first in everything we do. This applies to our recruitment and the education, onboarding and upskilling we provide.

What are you looking forward to seeing AI do in the future of work?

This will be the last generation of companies to have a purely human workforce. That's incredible. Moving forward, every job will involve managing a hybrid workforce of agents and humans in some way. This will create a new standard for customer experiences and for how we operate efficiently in organisations. It means we can reach more candidates and customers and achieve things that have been economically limited. 

I see a future where projects that didn't make sense due to ROI can now be greenlit with automation, leading to exciting innovation. Once we see the impact of agentic technology, people will be excited about the possibilities for driving businesses forward.

What is something you think most talent leaders don't know about AI or aren't thinking about, but should be?

First, that the technology can make our talent, recruitment and screening processes much better. Indeed is a great example of a company with a deeply meaningful goal of reducing the job search duration by 50%. Every talent leader now needs to understand how to leverage AI to optimise their entire process.

Secondly, the nature of jobs themselves is changing. These agentic systems are unlocking the ability to interact with technology in natural language, which is powerful. It means more people can harness and deploy these powerful tools. 

To be effective in the future’s hybrid workforce of humans and AI agents, people across industries will need to learn how to get the most value from AI. The talent industry is at the heart of a significant reskilling of the population.

[Pullquote] This will be the last generation of companies to have a purely human workforce. – Salesforce SVP and COO of Agentforce Madhav Thattai

What role is AI playing in talent acquisition and management at Salesforce?

AI plays a role at every stage of the talent journey at Salesforce. To create job descriptions, we think about how the roles we need, and their skill sets will evolve as we move into this agentic future. 

We also focus on more scalable vetting of candidates. There’s a significant bottleneck at talent organisations due to receiving more candidates than people who can vet them. Suppose you have agents to review job descriptions, understand the context of the role, match it to candidate profiles and interpret a candidate’s skill set and potential based on the data available. Then, it can efficiently screen thousands of applicants in the background.

We’re also continuing to find ways to innovate with our customers like Indeed, helping automate administrative tasks so that teams can focus on building stronger relationships and accelerate recruitment.

Read about how Indeed Chief Revenue Officer Maggie Hulce introduced new AI-enabled products at Indeed FutureWorks 2025 that help get past this bottleneck and more.

What advice would you offer fellow C-suite leaders navigating change in today's world of work?

Three things come to mind: first, always keep the outcome in mind. It's easy to lose sight of the outcome. 

Secondly, don't try to do everything at once. Pick one or two things you believe are the most important. Otherwise, you risk spreading yourself too thin with an 'AI for everything' strategy, which takes a long time to implement. 

Third, don't assume your process with humans will be identical with AI agents – people often make the mistake of simply transferring over what they do now. If you're a C-suite leader, look at adoption with fresh eyes. Having humans in the process creates a lot of connectivity, so consider what changes when using agents.

Where do you find inspiration as a leader? Are there any books, podcasts or thinkers you'd recommend to peers?

There are many great AI and agent-specific podcasts, such as Latent Space and AI Weekly. But, at the end of the day, the best way to learn is by doing. This technology will impact all of us, either as consumers or in our work. Experimenting and playing with both consumer and business tools will teach you more than trying to absorb all the information out there. 

What's the best piece of career advice you've ever received?

You can work on many things you're passionate about, but who you surround yourself with – the leaders you learn from and your peers – will have an incredible impact on your day-to-day experience and your career trajectory. Early in your career, that choice often isn’t available but, as you grow, it's the most important decision you can make.

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