Dive Brief:

• Salesforce is planning to release an artificial intelligence product called "Einstein," which will integrate AI across the company's product suite, according to Forbes.
• The company is expected to formally announce the product at Salesforce's Dreamforce conference in October. 
• Unlike other offerings that are added onto the cloud, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff told Forbes that the functionality will become part of the "nerve system" for the business, allowing for the application of predictive and analytical capabilities into nearly ever part of the business. 

Dive Insight:

The San Francisco-based business software and cloud solutions provider has purchased several AI companies over the past two years, including MetaMind, which could all work to boost Einstein's capabilities.

Companies such as Google, Intel and Microsoft have invested heavily in AI as well, but Salesforce could be one of the first companies to roll out such a widespread integration of the technology into its offferings. 

Benioff is likely looking for a way to generate new growth for the company. Although Salesforce is the world’s fourth-biggest enterprise software company, with approximately 45% of the sales-software market, like any tech company today, Benioff knows continuous innovation is essential to survival.

With the new capabilities, Benioff told Forbes that "we are going to catch our competitors by surpirse." 

A Bank of America report citing IDC research recently predicted that the AI industry will grow to $70 billion by 2020 from just $8.2 billion in 2013. Word of the new offering pushed Salesforce’s stock price up 3% last week.