During my last Salesforce conference, I got some hands-on time with Salesforce’s Agentforce. My first reaction? Wow, AI Agents integrated with Salesforce are really powerful… and then: OMG WHY IS THIS SO EXPENSIVE AND DIFFICULT? The setup was miserably complex, and at $2 per conversation—ridiculously expensive. I knew none of our clients would ever pay for that. I left that session deeply disappointed and resolved to find a better solution.

At Relay, we work with small businesses—from mom-and-pops to rapidly scaling companies—designing custom Salesforce solutions that actually work for them. And they all have something in common: they’re cost-conscious, focused on results, and don’t have the patience (or budget!) for massive implementations that take years to pay off. Salesforce was missing the point entirely with Agentforce—and small businesses, the people I know best, were going to miss out.

So, a day later, I set out to find a solution. My focus: Conversational Workflows. I wanted to give our clients the ability to augment AI bots with Salesforce data and trigger automation—without the cost, complexity, or chaos. The truth is, Salesforce already gives us an incredible superpower: Flows. With no-code and low-code tools, we can build workflows that fit each business perfectly.

Now, with generative AI like ChatGPT, the idea became clear: combine the conversational power of ChatGPT with the automation power of Salesforce Flows. I kept telling myself: keep it simple—just Flows and ChatGPT.

And that’s what inspired me to build ShapeAgent.

ShapeAgent lets businesses create AI agents powered by Salesforce Flows—for 1/100th the cost of Agentforce. You can build a chatbot that fetches Salesforce data, updates records, and kicks off automation—all through simple, friendly conversations. And the best part? You can do it yourself, without ever talking to a Salesforce Account Executive (I can hear the collective sigh of relief).

We’re intentionally keeping ShapeAgent… small. It won’t become another bloated SaaS platform that tries to wash, dry, fold, and put away your laundry, costs as much as a mortgage, and requires an entire consulting firm just to turn it on.

Instead, ShapeAgent does one thing really well: lets you create powerful, personalized AI agents that plug directly into your Salesforce CRM. That’s it. Simple, smart, and built for the businesses we love working with.

I’m excited to share ShapeAgent with you—and to see how small tools can make a big impact, just like our clients do every day.