This week brought big changes for marketing teams using AI helpers called agents. These smart computer programs are now doing more work that humans used to do.

Salesforce, a big company that helps businesses talk to customers, shared amazing news. Their AI agents now handle half of all customer service chats and calls. This helped them cut 4,000 jobs because the AI can do the work faster. The CEO said this was the most exciting time in his career because AI made everything work better.

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, made their voice AI much better this week. Their new gpt-realtime system can talk to customers on the phone like a real person. This means companies can use AI to answer customer questions without waiting. The system works in many languages and costs 20% less than before.

New research shows that 40% of marketing workers now use AI tools every single day. Even better, 70% of these workers say AI makes their jobs easier. Companies using AI for marketing are making more money too. About 68% of businesses say they earn more from their marketing when they use AI tools.

The AI agent market is growing super fast. These helpful AI programs will be worth $42.7 billion by 2030. That's up from just $5.32 billion this year. North America leads the way, with 40% of all AI agent use happening there.

IBM also launched a new campaign this week to help more businesses use AI. They want to close the gap between companies that use AI and those that don't. This shows how important AI agents are becoming for marketing teams everywhere.