Winter ‘26: The Launchpad for Salesforce Partners Entering the New Agentic Era

The advantage of building your next business on Salesforce is undeniable. Standalone AI platforms simply can’t compete with the unified power of AI + Data + CRM + Trust. When you build with us, you get a secure and trusted foundation, instant access to the world’s largest enterprise ecosystem via the AppExchange and AgentExchange, and the credibility and strength of our partner ecosystem to grow faster.

The Winter ’26 Release is far more than a technical update; it’s a pivotal moment that will define the revolution in our partner business. This release marks the full launch of the complete platform, tools, and monetization engine you need to build what’s next in the agentic era. Leading with Agentforce and Data Cloud for OEM GA which are ready for you to use on October 28, we help you move from simple apps to launching and scaling an entire, AI-native vertical company on a single, trusted foundation.

No time for lengthy release notes? No problem. We’ve already done the heavy lifting. In this blog, we focus solely on the most impactful updates, giving you the knowledge to seize this market shift and deliver exceptional customer value.

A New Era for AI Partners: Your Launchpad to the Agentic Business

The shift to the agentic economy starts with the platform. The Winter ’26 Release details the definitive platform capabilities and the groundbreaking OEM model you need to move beyond single-app development and truly accelerate into the agentic economy.

• Agentforce and Data Cloud for OEMs: The general availability of Agentforce and Data Cloud for OEMs grants you the transformative power to not just build an app, but to architect and sell an entire, integrated AI-native vertical business. This powerful combination works by seamlessly uniting two enterprise-grade capabilities: the generative, autonomous power of Agentforce and the real-time, unified data foundation of Data Cloud. By delivering this complete solution, we’re giving you a revolutionary new business model that accelerates your time-to-market and propels you directly into the agentic economy. You gain the power to monetize high-value AI solutions with a simple, consumption-based structure, allowing you to focus on innovation and market expansion with the full, integrated stack of AI + Data + CRM + Trust —a trusted foundation uniquely available on the Salesforce platform.

• Agentforce for Security and Compliance: To unlock regulated markets faster, Agentforce now features built-in, automated detection of data anomalies and compliance risks with proactive remediation guidance. Need an example? Imagine your medical app detects unauthorized access; the agent flags the breach, investigates, and provides steps to mask PII for HIPAA reporting. This capability accelerates your time-to-market by integrating security and compliance directly—Agentforce for Security is available with Security Center, and Agentforce for Compliance is available with Privacy Center.

Build for What’s Next: Smarter Tools for the AI-First World

A powerful platform is nothing without speed. The Winter ’26 Release provides an end-to-end blueprint for your development workflow, removing roadblocks to help you build the next generation of AI-native solutions faster, smarter, and more efficiently.

• Agentforce Vibes: Our new AI-powered IDE is a unified environment that proactively suggests best practices, builds unit tests, and generates code – all using natural language. It’s designed to fundamentally change how you work, helping you cut development time and enabling rapid prototyping for your new AI solutions.

• Improving Code Quality: Code Analyzer v5 is now smarter, checking LWC code against best practices for the Salesforce Lightning Design System 2. Developers gain speed with the Code Analyzer IDE Extension, which now integrates ApexGuru for quick performance scans and instant fixes. Looking ahead, Code Analyzer MCP tools (currently in Developer Preview) introduce AI agents that will automatically analyze code results and suggest optimizations. For release management, DevOps Testing has expanded, supporting mission-critical providers like the Agentforce Testing Center, Apex Unit Tests, and Flow Tests, all while integrating Scale Test to ensure enterprise applications are bulletproof and ready for peak events like Black Friday.

• Package Migrations (1GP->2GP): The ability to move package development of an existing First-Generation Packaging (1GP) package to the newer, more efficient Second-Generation Packaging (2GP) package is now generally available. You can now convert packages, migrate customers and fully move development over to 2GP to reap the benefits of a modern, source-driven and automation-friendly development model.

• Agentforce Builder (beta in November): A new UI for a streamlined experience with more intuitive agent development and with a new language, Agent Script, for building and powering agents that combines the flexibility of natural language with reliability of programmatic expressions. These agents deliver predictable, consistent, and reliable outcomes, directly elevating the quality and complexity of your partner solutions and securing the trustworthy performance customers demand.

• Apex: We’ve delivered some key updates to boost your development velocity and AI readiness. Your CI/CD pipelines are now simpler and faster with a single API endpoint for running both Apex and Flow tests (Unified Test Discovery and Execution). Most importantly for your AI strategy, you can now securely invoke your existing trusted @AuraEnabled methods as Agent Actions, dramatically accelerating your time-to-market for new AI-powered solutions.

For you, the focus on speed and efficiency extends directly to your toolkit. This release also delivers powerful, new benefits built just for you: Scale Test to validate your solutions at production scale, Scale Center to optimize app performance and improve scale health, and new Slack Sandboxes that let you instantly develop and demo Enterprise+ features. These essential development and demo tools are your direct path to scaled success and a faster time-to-market.

Capitalize on Every Interaction: The Next Generation of Monetization

You’ve built the AI-native solution — now, how do you maximize its value? Earning revenue in the AI era requires seamless discovery, transparent usage, and new revenue channels. The Winter ’26 Release gives you the tools to understand solution usage, drive high-value adoption, and capitalize on every interaction.

• AppExchange & AgentExchange: We’ve made it easier than ever for customers to find the exact solution they need. New metadata fields on the AppExchange and AgentExchange give you a more powerful way to optimize your listings, ensuring the right customers (and agents) can discover your solution at the right time and the right place.

• MCP Server Registration (Beta): This is your official on-ramp to the Agentforce ecosystem, eliminating complex custom integrations via the Model Context Protocol (MCP). By registering your external services, you gain a formalized, secure method to deliver sophisticated solutions that scale effortlessly. Seize this early mover advantage to maximize discovery and drive sales on AgentExchange.

• Accelerate Your Solutions with Slack: Your customers live in Slack, and now your solutions can, too. We’ve made it easier than ever to build with new Slack Real-time Search APIs, and extend your offerings into the flow of work with new Work objects and MCPs in Slack. For the first time, you can also cross-list your solutions on the Slack Marketplace, helping you reach millions of new customers and expand your install base.

• Agentforce Voice: Agentforce Voice delivers immediate market capture by bringing truly human-like conversation to your solutions, utilizing an ultra-low-latency architecture to modernize service and accelerate new conversational AI revenue. The best part for partners is that Agentforce Voice is designed for interoperability: your existing and new Agentforce Topics and Actions are instantly compatible across two key channels — Digital (coming soon), providing voice interaction via browser, website, or mobile, and the Phone (GA now), which will enable Voice Agents answering calls via Service Cloud Voice and third-party telephony. While this compatibility is a huge win, partners should note that Phone support with Service Cloud Voice is not available for PaaS (OEM) partners.

Your Blueprint for the AI Revolution: 5 Key Actions

The future isn’t just an abstract concept, it’s what you build next. Here are five essential actions to capitalize on this platform shift.

1. Rethink Your Roadmap for an AI-First World. This release is a major shift. Don’t just ask how these tools improve your current app; ask what entirely new company or vertical CRM you can now build. The full launch of Agentforce for OEM is your green light to think bigger and disrupt your market.
2. Adopt Data Cloud & Agentforce. AI is nothing without trusted data. Make Data Cloud the foundational, zero-copy data store for your next application. This isn’t a workaround; it’s the engine for the future. By building natively with Agentforce and Data Cloud, you align your business with a powerful new monetization model and redefine your competitive advantage.
3. Build Your AI Experience for Slack. Your customers live in Slack, and now your solutions can, too. We’ve made it easier than ever to build with new Slack Real-time Search APIs and Work objects. You can now cross-list your solutions on the Slack Marketplace to reach millions of new customers and expand your install base into the flow of work.
4. Modernize Your Development with a 2GP Migration. To build the future, you need a modern development foundation. The GA of 1GP-to-2GP migration is your call to action. Prioritize your migration to a source-driven, CLI-based workflow to accelerate your AI development lifecycle.
5. Dominate Discovery on the AppExchange & AgentExchange. Finally, a revolutionary product is useless if no one can find it. Your fifth action is all about seizing the market: dominate discovery. It’s time to elevate your listings: Update your metadata immediately. You need to internalize the new reality: Your listing must be built for machine consumption (agents) to unlock new revenue, not just for human consumption (customers). Do this, and you guarantee the right customers and the right agents discover your solution at the exact moment they need it most.

The future of your vertical is now. Are you building it?