Agentforce and the New Language of Product Design

“If I had to boil down user experience design to one word, I think it’s empathy.”

That mindset runs through everything he does—whether it’s reviewing early-stage wireframes, offering feedback across 90 designers, or ensuring product quality during peak design phases before a release. “Those four weeks get incredibly intense,” he says. “But I stay deeply plugged in, working shoulder to shoulder with our designers because it ensures we’re shipping work that meets Salesforce standards.”

After these peaks, the team often finds momentum hard to switch off. So, Malhar and his team channel that energy into innovation—whether it’s building stronger academic ties with institutions like NID and Chitkara University, or leading industry-defining conversations through initiatives like Design Days, the hugely popular design conference originated in India that’s now in its third year.

Crucially, Malhar believes that leading by example is key to building lasting change. “If I want my team to explore AI or maintain work-life balance, I need to model it,” he says. That ethos inspired an unusual experiment: hosting his January all-hands meeting entirely through an AI-generated avatar—slides, script, Q&A, and even a closing song, all created using AI tools. It wasn’t just a fun gimmick; it was a provocation to embrace change.

“Unless I do these things myself,” he says, “no matter how much I ask the team to try new tools, it won’t land. But when they see me doing it, it becomes real.”

To sustain this culture of innovation, he’s equally focused on putting the right systems in place. “It’s not enough for me to experiment with AI and hope others follow,” he explains. “We have to protect time, create bandwidth, and set up frameworks that enable exploration.”

One such system is a workload tracking stream that flags when designers are overloaded. If someone crosses 80% capacity, Malhar works with product managers to rebalance priorities—ensuring that protected time for exploration, innovation, and experimentation remains intact.

Building with Agentforce

At Salesforce, AI isn’t just a buzzword — it’s reshaping how teams work across the product lifecycle. Malhar’s design team has been at the centre of this shift, using Agentforce to fundamentally change the way they research, prototype, and build.

Agentforce emerged during a period of rapid experimentation. What started as a platform to accelerate workflows has evolved into a strategic tool that enables the team to do more with less—faster, and with more confidence.

“Agentforce helps us uncover insights we’d otherwise miss. It can process 25 years of knowledge and spot patterns we can’t always see.”

For example, that depth of intelligence means the team no longer has to rely on interviews with hard-to-reach professionals like investment bankers or medical reps. Instead, they simulate those roles using AI personas, trained on years of domain data. A designer can now upload a mock-up and get contextual feedback instantly—what’s working, what’s unclear, what needs to change.

But it’s not just about speed or scale. It’s also about trust. Agentforce is built with strict guardrails to protect data while still offering flexibility—teams can plug in their own models, or use large foundational ones, with Salesforce’s privacy layer in place. “Customers’ data is theirs. That’s how we preserve trust.” Malhar explains.

Today, Agentforce plays a role across the board — from generating user flows to annotating designs for accessibility. For Malhar, this blend of craft and intelligence is where the magic lies. It’s helped his team move from siloed tools to a more unified, responsive way of working—one where AI isn’t replacing creativity but amplifying it.

Leading with Purpose at Salesforce

At Salesforce, Malhar’s work sits at the intersection of multiple industries—from healthcare to financial services. “We sit at the cusp of our customers and their customers… our impact is multifold.”

That multiplier effect is what drives him. Every seamless workflow designed, every intuitive AI interaction built — ripples outwards, improving lives at scale. “That’s what motivates me every day,” he says. “Design, when done right, can uplift the human race. And at a platform like Salesforce, that potential becomes enormous.”

The same goes for AI. For Malhar, AI isn’t just about automation—it’s about giving people back their time. “Even if it gets you 40–50% ahead, that’s time you could spend with your loved ones. Or just… breathe,” he smiles. The real win? Making that power accessible. With intuitive design and seamless onboarding, even non-tech users can now bring big ideas to life.

“Tomorrow, a billion-dollar product might come from someone with no tech background — just vision and a few AI agents at their side. And honestly, that’s the future I want to design for.”

Malhar Gupta’s journey at Salesforce exemplifies how empathy-driven design and innovative technology can come together to create meaningful change. His work with Agentforce showcases the potential of AI when thoughtfully integrated—and his commitment to scalable, responsible design offers a window into what it truly means to build for the future.

Are you interested in shaping the future of design and AI like Malhar? Join our journey and let’s reimagine what is possible.