Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has publicly endorsed Google’s Gemini Live AI voice assistant, calling it the “future of consumer AI” in a social media post on Sunday. Benioff praised the tool’s “zero latency” response time and urged his followers to “try it immediately,” tagging Google CEO Sundar Pichai in his enthusiastic endorsement.
This public praise comes as Benioff has been increasingly vocal about his experiences with various AI tools, particularly criticizing Microsoft’s AI assistant, Copilot. In recent months, the Salesforce executive has repeatedly called Copilot “disappointing” and compared it unfavorably to Microsoft’s discontinued digital assistant, Clippy. Benioff told Business Insider that “Microsoft has really disappointed so many of our customers” by “delivering a level of hype around their AI solutions.”
Microsoft’s response came from Jared Spataro, the company’s chief marketing officer of AI at Work, who suggested that “when competitors talk about you, it’s because they’re behind.” Spataro emphasized Microsoft’s focus on strategic patience and execution.
Google released the Gemini Live smartphone app on Apple’s App Store on Thursday, making it available just months after the virtual assistant became free for users. The timing was strategic, coming days after Apple released the iPhone 16, which was specifically built to handle Apple Intelligence. Gemini Live allows users to interact with an AI chatbot through natural conversation, with users asking questions verbally and receiving conversational responses.
When tested by Business Insider, Gemini provided conversational, engaging responses to questions about San Francisco’s fog, explaining the phenomenon in accessible language. Similar tests with ChatGPT and Copilot showed comparable conversational capabilities, though each has distinct strengths. According to Axios, ChatGPT works well for most tasks, Gemini can access more timely information, and Copilot excels at productivity tasks.
During Salesforce’s annual Dreamforce conference in September, Benioff told Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang that he uses ChatGPT “mostly as my therapist.” He also stated in a September interview that AI has reached a point where it is indistinguishable from human customer service workers, saying “We are already at the point. We already have that live.”
Key Quotes
Just downloaded Gemini Live, and I’m absolutely blown away. Zero latency. This is the future of consumer AI.
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff posted this enthusiastic endorsement on social media, highlighting Gemini Live’s instant response time as a breakthrough feature that sets it apart from competitors.
Microsoft has really disappointed so many of our customers. They’ve really done it by delivering a level of hype around their AI solutions.
Benioff told Business Insider this criticism of Microsoft’s Copilot, suggesting a gap between Microsoft’s marketing promises and actual AI performance that has frustrated enterprise customers.
History tells us that when competitors talk about you, it’s because they’re behind.
Jared Spataro, Microsoft’s chief marketing officer of AI at Work, responded to Benioff’s criticism by suggesting that competitive attacks indicate Microsoft’s leadership position in the AI space.
We are already at the point. We already have that live. We’re really getting to, like, another level of capability, and I think that’s it’s pretty impressive.
Benioff made this statement in a September interview, asserting that AI has already reached human-level performance in customer service interactions, signaling a major milestone in AI capabilities.
Our Take
Benioff’s public endorsement of Gemini Live while criticizing Copilot reveals the high-stakes battle for AI assistant supremacy. What’s particularly notable is that a CEO of Benioff’s stature is willing to publicly evaluate and compare AI tools—this suggests the technology has matured to a point where performance differences are meaningful and measurable.
The emphasis on “zero latency” is crucial: conversational AI’s success depends on natural interaction speeds. If Gemini Live truly delivers instantaneous responses, it could overcome one of the major barriers to AI assistant adoption.
However, we should view these endorsements with some skepticism. Salesforce competes with Microsoft in enterprise software, and Benioff’s criticism may serve strategic business interests. The real test will be whether enterprise customers validate his assessment. What’s undeniable is that the AI assistant market is rapidly consolidating around a few major players, and executive endorsements like this could significantly influence which platforms achieve market dominance in the critical next phase of AI adoption.
Why This Matters
This endorsement from a major tech CEO signals the intensifying competition in the consumer AI assistant market, where Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI are vying for dominance. Benioff’s public criticism of Microsoft Copilot while praising Google Gemini represents more than personal preference—it reflects broader industry concerns about AI hype versus actual performance.
The timing is particularly significant as enterprise leaders are making critical decisions about which AI platforms to integrate into their business operations. Salesforce, as a major CRM platform serving thousands of businesses, has substantial influence in shaping enterprise AI adoption patterns.
Benioff’s assertion that AI is already indistinguishable from human customer service workers has profound implications for the workforce and business operations. This suggests we’re entering a new phase where AI assistants move from experimental tools to core business infrastructure. The zero-latency performance Benioff praised in Gemini Live could be a game-changer for real-time customer interactions, potentially accelerating AI adoption across industries. As tech leaders publicly evaluate and compare AI tools, their assessments will likely influence enterprise purchasing decisions and shape the competitive landscape of the rapidly evolving AI assistant market.
Recommended Reading
For those interested in learning more about artificial intelligence, machine learning, and effective AI communication, here are some excellent resources:
Recommended Reading
Related Stories
- Google’s Gemini: A Potential Game-Changer in the AI Race
- Mistral AI Launches Le Chat Assistant for Consumers and Enterprise
- The AI Hype Cycle: Reality Check and Future Expectations
- Wall Street Asks Big Tech: Will AI Ever Make Money?
Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/salesforce-ceo-marc-benioff-praises-google-gemini-2024-11