tech
April 15, 2026
Exclusive: Salesforce Unveils New AI ROI Metric
It's a rebuttal to tokenmaxxing.
TL;DR
- Salesforce is launching Agentic Work Units (AWUs) to measure AI productivity by output and impact, not token usage.
- AWUs aim to replace 'tokenmaxxing,' a Silicon Valley trend of equating AI token consumption with productivity.
- The metric translates AI inputs (tokens, compute) into tangible outputs or completed work.
- Singapore Airlines uses AWUs to measure customer service issue resolution time, and Williams Sonoma uses it for product recommendation reasoning.
- Salesforce reported 2.4 billion AWUs generated across its platform as of Q4, with triple-digit year-over-year growth.
- Other tech leaders, including HubSpot's CEO, have criticized 'tokenmaxxing' and advocate for outcome-based measurement.
- The article notes potential concerns that AWUs could also become a vanity metric if not independently audited.
- Salesforce emphasizes that the ultimate goal of AI should be customer satisfaction and achieving business objectives, not just high token counts.
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