Aug 30, 2024

The Salesforce event of the year: Top 10 Dreamforce 2024 sessions you can’t miss

Elena Devnina

The Salesforce event of the year: Top 10 Dreamforce 2024 sessions you can’t miss

Dreamforce 2024 is just weeks away, and the lineup of sessions promises to be more exciting and informative than ever. The biggest Salesforce event of the year, Dreamforce will showcase the latest innovations in artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, and business tech.

With over 1,000 breakout sessions, 150 workshops and demos, and 50 visionary keynotes, there is no shortage of opportunities to get up to speed on the tools and strategies shaping the future of work.

In this blog post, we'll dive into the top 10 Dreamforce sessions you won't want to miss. From the fundamentals of trusted AI to industry-specific road maps and solutions, we'll share the best sessions to help you make the most of this spectacular event.

1. Main Keynote

When: Tuesday, Sept. 17, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. PDT Where: Moscone South, LL, Keynote Room *Available on Salesforce+

Why attend: The highlight of Dreamforce 2024 will undoubtedly be the main keynote session led by Salesforce's founder and CEO, Marc Benioff. This is a flagship session where Benioff will be joined by special guests to showcase the latest advancements in Salesforce's AI technology. They'll reveal how any business can use these powerful AI tools to transform the way they work.

Dreamforce, known for blending technology with celebrity influence, has previously featured exciting surprise guests including Stevie Wonder, Sam Altman, and Matthew McConaughey. This year's keynote is sure to be just as exciting and inspiring, giving you an excellent opportunity to get a firsthand look at the cutting-edge innovations that will shape the years ahead.

2. Enhance Einstein With Fine-Tuned Large Language Models

When: Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2-2:20 p.m. PDT; Thursday, Sept. 19, 12:30-12:50 p.m. PDT Where: Moscone West, L1 Forest, Developer Theater

Why attend: We may be biased, but this is one of the sessions you don’t want to miss. Credera’s Chief Technology Officer of Credera UK Keir Bowden will show you how to take your Einstein AI capabilities to the next level using advanced large language models (LLMs).

Bowden will demonstrate how your own LLMs can seamlessly integrate with Einstein to deliver a new level of accuracy, relevance, and consistency for your employees.

3. Public Sector Keynote: The AI Enterprise for Government

When: Thursday, Sept. 19, 12:30-1:20 p.m. PDT Where: Moscone West, L3, Keynote Room *Available on Salesforce+

Why attend: While many industries are rushing to adopt AI, it's especially important for government agencies to take advantage of this transformational technology as well. This session will outline the key capabilities needed to build an AI enterprise for the public sector—from strategic planning to responsible data governance. Public sector leaders will learn how to use AI to transform the citizen experience and integrate these powerful technologies directly into their workflows.

You'll leave this keynote with a clear road map for harnessing the full potential of AI while prioritizing the needs of citizens. For a deeper look at the requirements for successful public sector AI adoption, be sure to check out our related blog series What to consider when scaling AI in public sector.

4. Turning Vehicle, Driver, and Finance Data Into Revenue

When: Tuesday, Sept. 17, 4:15-5:05 p.m. PDT Where: InterContinental, L3, Grand Ballroom ABC *Available on Salesforce+

Why attend: The auto industry is evolving rapidly, with digitalization impacting every part of the value chain. In this session, you'll see how a leading automaker is using Salesforce to pioneer connected vehicle services by leveraging vehicle, driver, and financial data.

This is a must-attend for anyone in manufacturing, finance, or automotive retail who want to explore the data-driven strategies pushing innovation in the connected car space. You'll walk away with valuable insights to boost customer satisfaction and open new revenue streams.

5. Discover the Future of Salesforce Development: Road Map & Q&A

When: Tuesday, Sept. 17, 8:30-9:15 a.m. PDT; Thursday, Sept. 19, 1:30-2:15 p.m. PDT Where: Moscone North, LL, Campground, Tuesday: Theater 4; Thursday: Theater 3

Why attend: Whether you are a Salesforce developer, work closely with the development team, or are simply interested in the future of the platform, this session has you covered.

In this interactive breakout session, you'll hear directly from Salesforce product managers about the road map for exciting new capabilities like AI development agents, resilient application grid (RAG), and DevSecOps. You'll also have the chance to ask questions and get hands-on with the tools.

6. Generative AI Content Creation Guidelines

When: Tuesday, Sept. 17, 1:45-2:30 p.m. PDT Where: Metreon AMC, L2, Theater 11

Why attend: In this session, especially relevant to marketers and content creators, you will discover how your teams can leverage this technology to create valuable and differentiated content.

You’ll learn how to kickstart your generative AI journey in marketing, explore strategies to "get to good, faster," and understand how AI can save you time and money while enhancing human creativity. This session will also highlight the importance of focusing on best use cases to measure and maximize your impact.

For more on the strategic approach to integrating generative AI in marketing, check out our recent blog post Beyond the buzzwords: Generative AI in marketing.

7. Designing Trusted AI: Salesforce’s Trust Patterns

When: Tuesday, Sept. 17, 4:30-4:50 p.m. PDT; Thursday, Sept. 19, 11-11:20 a.m. PDT Where: Moscone West, L2, Einstein Theater

Why attend: As AI becomes more prevalent, it's crucial that AI-powered solutions meet the same trust standards as the systems they replace. In this session, Salesforce will share the core "trust patterns" they use to build AI features that empower users to leverage AI solutions responsibly. You'll see how these principles are integrated into Salesforce's latest AI offerings, from model explainability to bias mitigation.

Whether you're an admin, developer, or architect, you'll walk away with practical insights to deploy AI initiatives that deliver the reliability and transparency your stakeholders expect. And if you can't attend, be sure to check out Keir Bowden's blog post 5 values for the ethical use of generative AI for extra guidance.

8. Get Best Practices for AI-Ready Salesforce Data

When: Thursday, Sept. 19, 2-2:20 p.m. PDT Where: Moscone West, L1 Forest, Community Cove Campfire

Why attend: We all know bad data leads to bad results, especially with AI. That's why this session focuses on ensuring your Salesforce data is clean, complete, and ready for AI, showing you how to transform your customer relationship management (CRM) data into a solid foundation for AI-powered applications. You'll learn how to identify the key data fields and metadata essential for AI success, plus best practices for assessing readiness and setting up reliable, data-driven key progress indicators (KPIs).

9. Insights From a Billion Transactions: Stripe’s Tips on AI

When: Wednesday, Sept. 18, 11-11:20 a.m. PDT Where: Moscone North, LL, Campground, Theater 2

Why attend: This session provides a unique, data-driven perspective on practical AI applications that goes beyond just theory. You'll hear directly from Stripe about how they use generative AI to enhance the customer experience and combat fraud. Drawing from billions of real payment transactions, they'll share concrete examples and best practices of integrating AI into their systems to streamline workflows, identify suspicious activity, and deliver better service.

10. What's New in Einstein Copilot

When: Tuesday, Sept. 17, 3:30-3:50 p.m. PDT; Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2:30-2:50 p.m. PDT Where: Tuesday: Moscone West, L2, Einstein Theater; Wednesday: Moscone South, LL, Content Pavilion, Stage 9 *Available on Salesforce+

Why attend: Dreamforce is the perfect event to discover the latest product updates and innovations. This session will give you an exclusive look at the newest enhancements to Einstein Copilot.

You'll learn about features, such as proactive and recommended actions, that make the AI assistant even more helpful and easy to use. You'll see how these new capabilities can streamline your workflows, surface relevant insights, and boost your productivity.

Bonus for the techies: Deep Dive on Advanced Prompt Engineering

When: Wednesday, Sept. 18, 1:30-1:50 p.m. PDT Where: Moscone West, L1 Forest, Developer Theater

Why attend: The rise of LLMs has already made prompt engineering a crucial skill. In this session, personally recommended by our CTO Keir Bowden, you'll explore advanced techniques to craft better prompts and get more accurate, useful results from any LLM you use. You'll learn methods like few-shot learning, chain of thought, prompt chaining, and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG).

Connect with Credera at Dreamforce

We hope this overview has given you a helpful look at some of the top Dreamforce sessions this year. Whether you're looking to stay ahead on platform innovations, unlock new AI-powered efficiencies, or make sure you’re keeping up with the latest innovations in your industry, Dreamforce has something for everyone. Check out the full session catalog on the official Dreamforce website for more.

If you’re attending Dreamforce in San Francisco and would like to discuss how your business can get the most out of Salesforce with data and AI, book a meeting with our team while you’re there! We're excited to connect with you at the event.