2025 is shaping up to be the year for the new AI agent "workforce" to enter healthcare.
Salesforce on Friday released Agentforce for Health, a new library of pre-built agent skills and actions designed to tackle time-consuming administrative tasks in healthcare. The AI tools can check eligibility, schedule appointments, verify insurance benefits and prior authorization and analyze clinical trial sites, the company said.
Agentforce for Health will focus on tasks related to patient access, public health and clinical research.
Salesforce developed the AI tools that can answer patient inquiries and perform eligibility checks with insurers and also help health and human services organizations care for at-risk groups with financial assistance and monitor the spread of infections with auto-classified cases. The AI agents also were designed to help accelerate research and development innovation for drugs and devices with integrated, real-time study data and intelligent trial support, according to the company.
Healthcare organizations face the challenge of trying to do more with less.
Eighty-seven percent of healthcare staff say they have to work late weekly to handle administrative work, according to Salesforce research. That burden takes its toll on an already understaffed workforce, with 59% saying it negatively impacts their job satisfaction.
Tech companies see opportunities to use artificial intelligence, including assistive and autonomous agents, to take on some of the administrative workload.
Healthcare teams estimate they’d save up to 10 hours a week by using agents, and 61% believe agentic AI would boost their career satisfaction. Medical professionals estimate agents could reduce administrative burdens by 30% for doctors, 39% for nurses and 28% for administrative staff. Administrative workers predict they’ll save 10 hours each week by using agents, Salesforce's survey found.
The company has inked partnerships with athenahealth, Availity and Infinitus.ai to integrate the AI technology.
The AI assistants can chat directly with patients or members and match them with in-network providers and specialists and then help schedule the appointment using intelligent logic with direct integration to athenahealth.
Leading up to an appointment, Agentforce can provide care coordinators with a summary of the patient including medical history, referrals, care gaps, visit summaries and benefits. Salesforce’s new integration with Availity will allow providers to communicate directly with payers to run eligibility checks and, if a procedure or visit requires prior authorization, submit and receive decisions within seconds, meeting and exceeding compliance with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services interoperability mandates while simultaneously reducing administrative burden, Salesforce executives said.
The AI assistants can help verify pharmacy or durable medical equipment benefits with AI-powered call scripts or check directly with electronic benefits verification providers like Infinitus.ai to validate insurance coverage and collect missing information.
Healthcare organizations including Rush University System for Health and Transcend, a telehealth diagnostics company, are using the AI assistants to automate administrative tasks.
"With Agentforce, we can support patients 24/7 with tasks like navigating facilities and finding healthcare providers based on their preferences. This frees up our human agents, allowing them to focus on more complex issues. We’re excited to explore ways to supercharge the patient experience at Rush," Jeff Gautney, chief information officer of the Rush University System for Health, said in a statement.
Salesforce launched Agentforce in October as a software innovation for businesses. During the company's recent earnings call, executives talked down the potential 2025 sales impact of its AI agents after its earnings release.
Agentforce is expected to create a modest contribution to revenue in fiscal year 2026 and a “more meaningful” contribution in the following year, Chief Financial Officer Amy Weaver said on a call with analysts after the results, Bloomberg reported.